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University Daily Kansan / Thursday, March 26, 1997
SPORTS
Swimmers aim for 15th at final meet
Seven Javhawks will see NCAAs for the first time
By Chris Jenson
Kenton sportswriter
Kansan sportswriter
The Kansas swim team has high expectations for the NCAA championships which begin today in Indianapolis. Although the Jayhawks have been ranked no higher than 25th this season, they plan to finish strong at the championships.
"Right now we want to try and place in the top 15," senior captain Ed Riddle said. "We want to go in and get the best
place we can."
The Jayhawks will take seven swimmers to the meet and are hoping to follow the lead set by the women's team last weekend.
The women finished 15th at the women's NCAA championships in Austin, Texas last weekend, the second-highest finish in team history.
inh "
"We're taking seven guys that have never been to the championships before," Coach Gary Kemp said. "But I expect them to stand up and do the
Junior Zhawn Stevens is the only Kansas swimmer who will swim in individual events at the meet. Stevens is seeded eighth in the 200-yard breaststroke and also will compete in the 200 and 400-yard individual medley. He is seeded 26th and 27th in those two events.
"I'd like to make All-America in the breaststroke and the 200 I.M. " he said. "The field is wide open in the 200 I.M. so I think I have a good shot at doing
The top eight swimmers in each event make All-American, and places nine through 16 are considered honorable mention All-American.
that."
Stevens also will swim as a member of the 200- and 400-yard medley relay teams. But he does not think the team can win, so many events will become a factor.
get the adrenaline going it all works out. A lot of the top swimers are in the same situation as I am. So, I don't think it will be a factor.
"The girls were 15th in the nation last weekend. We feel we have as strong or stronger relays as they did. We feel more nishing in the top 15 is a realistic goal."
Other swimmers competing in the meet will be junior Robert Townsend, sophomore Scott Townsend, freshman Marc Bontrager and sophomore Curtis Taylor. The four will make up the 200-yard freestyle relay. Kansas is seeded fifth in the event.
The Jayhawks are also seeded in the 400 freestyle relay. Relay members Taylor, Bontraguer, senior Tom Rosinski and Robert Townsend hope the 11th seed the relay has going into the meet will improve.
"We're definitely going to have to place high in the relays," Riddle said. He will attend the meet as an alternate on the 200 and 400 freeplay relay teams. "We're going to have to place in the top eight in a few events if we want to finish in the top 15."
The Jayhawks also will compete in the 800 freestyle relay and the 200 and 400 medley relays.
Tennis teams bask in respect
Polls reflect ground gained in recent years
By Lyle Niedens
Kansan sportswriter
When Scott Perelman took over as director of Kansas tennis in 1982, the program was in shambles.
Both the men's and women's teams were off of last-place finishes in the Big Eight Conference, and Perelman said the program had no direction.
What a difference a decade makes. The Kansas women's team received its first-ever ranking March 10, and moved up from No. 20 to No. 17 in the new Volvo National Collegiate rankings released Tuesday.
Although the Kansas men's team dropped four spots from two weeks ago, the Jayhawks still received a No. 21 ranking in the poll, which is determined by computer for the first time this season. Until now, coaches had been voting for the rankings.
Perelman, who also coaches the men's team, said the rankings proved that Kansas tennis had gained respect nationwide, something that it did not have, or deserve, 10 years ago.
"Kansas tennis then was just existing without a purpose." Perelman said of the program when he took over. "I think Kansas tennis now, both men and women, has established itself on a national basis."
Perelman said that the addition of an indoor complex, which will be completed adjacent to Allen Field House after the addition to Parrott Athletic Center is finished, would add to the national perception of Kansas as a growing national power.
"I feel good about what is happening," Perelman said. "My focus now has come to taking both programs to another level, to see if we can now get ourselves into the top 15 annually and stay there."
Perelman said that the rankings eventually could become a distraction if players worried about them but that rankings were a big plus for recruiting.
Kansas women's coach Michael Center said he didn't have much to start with when he began coaching the Jayhawks three years ago.
"Most prospective athletes want to know where you're ranked and what kind of schedule you play," he said. "For us to be able to answer positively to both those areas is important."
In addition to the team rankings, three Kansas men's players and three Kansas women's players are ranked in the new poll.
"I think people now recognize us as a top-20 program," Center said. "We got in some impact players. I was hoping to get to get this point; maybe it's gone a little quicker than I anticipated."
On the men's side, senior No. 1 singles player Rafael Rangel is ranked No. 100 and senior Paul Garvin is ranked along with doubles partner Carlos Fleming as the No. 33 doubles team in the nation.
Perelman said the low individual rankings reflected the depth of the Kansas men's team.
"It it's a testament to the fact that the reason this team has been so successful is that we have so many guys who can play well," he said. "All five of our top guys on any given day are capable of playing in the No. 1 position."
Three time All-American Eveline Hamers leads the way for the Kansas women's team with a No. 12 ranking at singles. Freshmen Nora Koves and Rebecca Jensen are ranked No. 28 and No. 45 at singles, respectively, and Hamers-Jensen are No. 16 at doubles.
However, Center said that even though the rankings were nice, the women's team has to keen looking forward.
"I keep telling them it's better to be there at the end of the year than at the beginning of the year," he said.
Kansas soophomore Brian Harris concentrates on his forehand during practice yesterday.
Cowboys, Reeves hoping to muscle past Wolverines
The Associated Press
STILLWATER, Okla. — Conversations about Oklahoma State invariably turn to forward Byron Houston, a second-team All-American, or the other three seniors in the starting lineup.
"We wouldn't be where we are today if it weren't for Bryant Reeves." Sutton said.
Reeves is a 7-foot freshman from the eastern Oklahoma town of Gans, with a population of about 350. His high school team had only seven players, and he rarely, if ever, went up against anyone who could challenge him.
Sutton planned to red shirt Reeves, but those plans changed quickly.
"He surprised us in the first week of practice, 'Sutton said, 'We saw in him a player eager to learn. He played well and achieved as I've seen a player ever make."
At 270 pounds, Reeves gives the Cowboys much-needed bulk up front. He alternates with 6-Randy Davis, but Davis weighs only 205.
Reeves averages eight points and five rebounds every game. He has good hands and a nice shooting
touch, but he is still not as athletic as some of the large Michigan players, Sutton said.
Michigan has five outstanding freshmen, whom Sutton calls one of the best recruiting classes ever assembled. The Wolverines have a decided height advantage at four positions, a concern for Sutton
"I think the big key is how we well can board with Michigan," he said. "We're giving away a lot of size. We'll give them off the offering hearts."
He also knows Houston, who is just over 6-5 but leads the team in scoring and rebounding, will get plenty of double-teaming.
"There's no doubt in my mind that would be the way they'll try to defend Byron Houston," Sutton said. "We've seen that all year, and hopefully he's learned how to handle that."
The Cowboys got to the regional semifinals by beating Georgia Southern and Tulane University. Against Tulane, they shot an NCAA tournament-record 80 percent from the field.
Shooting hurt the Cowboys when they lost five of six games. They started the season 20-0, including winning the preseason NIT title, and had risen to No. 2 in the national rankings before the slide.
"When you're undefeated, you always feel like you're being hunted, and we felt that way." Sutton said. "When you drop a couple of games, you lose some confidence and many times that shows up in your shooting."
DeBerg plans to prove ability
The Associated Press
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Steve DeBerg said that he was more than willing to prove that he should be the starting quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs.
"I have no problem competing with any quarterback in the NFL," said DeBerg, who has led the Chiefs to consecutive playoff bethesda. "I've been a lot of times that I can't do things, and I've overcome them."
Kansas City signed former Seattle starting quarterback Dave Krieg last week. The Chiefs also have Mark Vlasic and Steve Pellor on the roster. Four fourquarterbacks are working out in the off-season program.
"My reaction was, 'So what?' DeBerg said of the phone call from coach Marty Schottenheimer to inform him Krieg had signed.
If you have a team that wants to win the championship, you better have the
quarterback part of it covered. You better have two high-quality guvrs.
"Nobody is going to come in here and have a better understanding of the personnel and how to use it, or a better relationship with the team. Nobody is going to do the play-action part of it better."
DeBerg, who at 38 is the oldest starting quarterback in the league, could resolve the issue himself if he chooses to help Chiefs for another team before April 1.
But he said that there was not a better situation for him personally than right here.
If DeBerg decides to stay with the Chiefs, the team has several options. They could trade him to another club, though his salary might limit the number of teams that would trade for him. DeBerg's salary calls for a base, including roster bonuses, of $1.7 million.
SPORTS BRIEFS
'Hawks fall at Creighton
Creighton pitcher Alan Benes threw a five-hit shutout in leading the Blue Jays to a 5-0 victory against Kansas yesterday in a non-conference game in Omaha, Neb.
Benes, younger brother of San Diego Padres' pitcher Andy Benes, recorded six strikeouts and walked only three Jayhawk batters. Senior Curtis Schmidt pitched five and two-thirds innings and gave up four earned runs on seven hits in the loss. Schmidt, now 3-2, struck out six batters and walked one.
Creighton scored two runs in the fifth inning, two more in the sixth and added another in seventh.
The defeat dropped Kansas' record to 15-8 overall. Creighton improved to 12-8-1.
Kansas has lost four of its last five contests and was shut out for the first time since a 1-0 defeat to Missouri on May 1, 1990.
The Jahawks committed three errors in the contest, two by junior shortstop Ayala Ayala.
Freshman third baseman Brent Wilhelm led the Kansas offense with two of the team's five hits.
Coach discusses penalty
Kansas track coach Gary Schwartz met with athletic director Bob Frederick to decide upon disciplinary action for assistant coach Steve Guymon and track athlete Jason Teal.
The two were arrested with Kansas State track athlete Todd Trask after taking the champagne from the Tobacco Station store in downtown Indianapolis.
"The outcome of the meeting will be handled internally," Schwartz said. "We had a real good discussion."
Guymon and Teal accepted a plea bargain after being charged with stealing two bottles of champagne after the NCAA Division I Track Championships in Indianapolis on March 16.
Police said the three ran from a security guard and tried to enter their hotel before they were caught.
Softball tourney is homecoming
Teal said that Guymon only became involved when he and Trask entered the hotel and saw him in the hallway.
Teal and Guymon could not be reached for comment.
From Kansan staff reports
By Cody Holt
Kansan sportswriter
Six members of the Kansas softball team will be going home this weekend.
However, the other 15 teams in the National Invitational Softball Tournament, which the Jayhawks will be competing in today through Sunday in San Jose, Calif., don't want this to be a memorable homecoming for the six California natives on Kansas' roster.
Kansas coach Kalum Haack said the strong field could pose problems for the No. 18 Jayhawks.
"This is the toughest tournament we'll be in this year," Haack said. "There will be a lot of ranked teams there and some of the best pitchers in the nation."
Six teams from the NCAA Top 20 poll and six of the 13 first team All-Americans of 1991 will be competing in the tournament.
Senior third baseman Camille Spitalieri, who will return to her hometown to compete in the tournament, said Kansas should match up player for player with any team in the tournament. However, she said the Jayhawks would face better pitching than they had faced all year.
Camille Spitaleri
"Pitching that good often carries a team," she said. "But I'm not concerned and I don't think anybody else is too worried."
Spitaleri and teammate Stephani Williams were selected as Big Eight Conference-player-and pitcher-of-the-week, respectively.
Spitaleri leads the Jayhawks in hitting, with a. 435 batting average; homeruns, four; and runs batted in, 16. She was chosen as an All-American for a second consecutive year last season.
Williams is a sophomore pitcher with an 8-1 record and a 1.24 earned run average. She has pitched four shutouts and only allowed 10 earned runs in 56.7 innings.
The Jayhawks will take a 14-2 record into the
This year, the Jayhawks will open pool at 7 p.m. against Colorado State, a team Kansas defeated 4-1 earlier this year. The Jayhawks will battle the host team, No. 19 San Jose State. Friday. The University of Toledo is the only other team in Kansas' pool.
tournament where they have had some luck.
Last year, Kansas was one of four undefeated teams remaining in the tournament when the tournament was canceled because of rain.
"I know we'll be underdogs for much of the tournament," Haack said. "But my players won't back down. They'll play hard and look for the upset."
Williams, who grew up just 20 minutes from the tournament site, said that Kansas would not be intimidated by the national powerhouses and that she looked forward to the challenge.
"I haven't ever gone up against UCLA, but it's something I can't wait to do," she said. "I'd love to play against those teams all the time."
Other Kansas players from California are junior Tay Saxby, sophomore Kelly Bongatti, and freshmen Krissy Carpenter and Joy Herrera.