SPORTS UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Thursday, March 10, 1994
13
Australian native finds home - at last
Bv Matt Slegel
Kansan sportswrite
Kim Rogers' powerful serve and blistering strokes has earned her an unusual nickname in the Kansas women's tennis team.
"Abby Woods and I were playing doubles, and I must of been serving and hitting the ball really well," Rogers said. "Coach started calling me the 'Rocket,' and it has stuck ever since."
The "Rocket" has performed well for the Kansas women's tennis team. She plays at the No. 4 singles spot and is nationally ranked at No. 57 in singles and No. 12 in doubles.
But with the obstacles that Rogers had to overcome, she said she considered herself lucky to play college tennis at all.
Rogers, who hails from Adelaide, Australia, was set on attending a tennis academy in Queensland, Australia. But a friend of Rogers at Texas called her and told that there was a scholarship available at Tulsa. Rogers, who had never been outside of Australia, decided she wanted an education along with tennis. Within three weeks, at the age of 16, she was in the United States.
"When I arrived in the U.S., I was terrified," she said. "The coach from
Kim Rogers
Tulsa, who was supposed to pick me up at the airport, had left Tulsa, so I was staying with a player. The first night I broke down in tears."
But a 3 a.m.
phone call from
her father
calmed her down
"I have no idea how he found out who I was staying with," she said. "But he always finds me. He told me to stick it up for two weeks, and then, if I still didn't like it, I could come back home. I didn't unpack for the first week."
It may have taken awhile, but Rogers settled in. She grew to like Tula, but ironically, she became disenchanted with the tennis program. Despite being the No. 1 singles player for the Golden Hurricanes, she wanted out.
"The coach didn't care," she said.
"He didn't even show up to our practices half the time. I thought to myself,
'Why am I doing all of this work when nobody cares?'"
The timing of her transfer to Kansas in the middle of the 1992-93 season
was not the best. Most scholarships had been filled by mid-semester. But Rogers had practiced with Woods before. The clincher was that Rogers liked the fact that Kansas coach Michael Center cared about his players. But when Rogers arrived, she was in for a shock.
"Coach Center called me into his office and told me that he had accepted the men's position," Rogers said. "Luckily, he brought in a great replacement."
Kansas coach Chuck Merzbacher, who called Rogers the most improved player on the team, said Rogers was what Kansas tennis is all about.
"From a No. 6 player a year ago, to what she has done this year, is amazing," he said, citing her victories against the No. 12, 19, 26 and 58 nationally ranked singles players this season. "After she graduates, I think she has the strength to play at the pro level."
Now, as a senior and just 20 years old, Rogers said that she would try to take the next step to the professional level. But for now, the girl known as the "Rocket" is only concerned with firing those cannon serves and razor strokes at Kansas opponents.
SPORTS BRIEF S
Florida journey ends in ninth place finish for men's golf team
The Kansas men's golf team, participating in the Central Florida Golf Classic, finished ninth Tuesday. The Jayhawks had two players finish in the top 20. Seniors Casey Brozek and John Hess tied for 18th place.
Kansas finished the three-round tournament with a score of 905 strokes. The host team, Central Florida, won the tournament with a score of 883, and Florida International finished second.
Trey Sones of UCF finished first with a score of 213 and Curtis Deal of Virginia Tech finished second at 215.
tied for 69th place
Other Jayhawks in the tournament were junior Tom Sims, who tied for 21st place, sophomore Jason Seeman, who tied for 60th, and junior Tyler Shelton, who
Kansas plays next March 23 at the Pacific Coast Intercollegiate in Santa Barbara, Calif.
KU golfer second in classic
The Kansas women's golf team placed ninth in the Dixie Classic Tuesday and had some individual superlatives along the way. Senior Holly Reynolds, who led after two rounds of play, finished second in the tournament.
She lost her lead in the third and final round to Oklahoma State's Charlotte Elliasson, who shot a 69. Reynolds shot a 76. Other Jayhawks in the tournament were senior Pam Wineinger, who finished in 46th place, freshman Missy Russell, who was 52nd, junior Tracy Belisle, who finished 58th, and junior Ann Holbrook, who finished 61st. Oklahoma State finished first with 904 strokes. Kansas had 959 strokes.
The women return to action on March 24 in Santee, Calif., for the San Diego State Invitational.
Compiled from Kansan staff reports.
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