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Universitv Dallv Kansan, February 16, 1983
M. JACK AGRIBIAN 0445 19770812 11313012
Thomas sets sights on NCAA meet
By COLLIN HERMRECK
Sports Writer
KU swimmer Tammy Thomas hated water until she was 10, but now you can't drag her out it.
It was not until the Lawton, Okla., senior was 10 that she managed enough nerve to jump into a swimming pool for the first time.
Thomas' father was stationed with the Army in Thailand, Thomas, influenced by the region's warm climate and her brother, decided to give the
"I just decided that it was about time after I had watched my brother Buck," Thomas said. "So I ended up teaching myself how to swim."
FROM THERE she began a swimming career that proved to be competitive and successful. A three-time All-American, Thomas has qualified for this year's National College Athletic Association championships in ten different events, including the 50- and 100-yard freestyles, the 50- and 100-yard butterflys, the 100-yard individual medley and all five of the relay events. But each competitor is only allowed to compete in seven events, so she will be placed in those where KU needs the most points.
She currently holds individual Big Eight records in the 100 freestyle, the 50 butterfly and the 100 individual medley, all see at last year's Big Eight records.
Setting records is not anything new for Thomas, who was establishing Big John.
t munk Tammy has obviously developed into one of the premier sprinfers in the nation," Coach Gary
kempt said. "And I don't think this
thing of thing just comes naturally.
"WHEN I FIRST saw her she was just a tall, gangly girl who had a tremendous amount of ability in all areas, but very little experience. And she didn't know a tremendous amount about competitive swimming. But through the past four years Tammy has learned a lot."
That shows as she continues to build her credentials. Besides owning Big Eight records, she also tops KU records with top listings in four individual events as well being part of four KU record-holding relay teams.
rms year's Big Eight meet will once again be important for Thomas and the Jayhawks as they go for their ninth straight title Feb. 24-26 in Norman, Okla. Thomas said she will be after the women's American record freestyle, currently held by Jill Sterkel at the University of Texas with a time of 22.4.
AFTER THAT it will be on to Lincoln, Neb., March 17-19 for the NCAA championships, which for Thomas means the possible attainment of another goal becoming the first woman swimmaster in history and being ranked in the 30 freestyle. To Thomas, it's a feasible goal that she said she can't help being obsessed with.
"I've got my goals for the Big Eights, but my aim is for the NCAA, she said. "And I don't want to."
Thomas, who had to swim with the men's team her freshman year in high school because there was no women's program, made her way to Lawrence after selecting KU from a recruiting tug-of-war with such schools as Princeton, Southern Methodist, Florida, Michigan and Texas Tech.
to go home at night because of all the phone calls. I would even get things in school during class," Thomas said.
A CALL FROM KEMpt, however, and a visit to the KU campus gave Thomas that boost of confidence she had been searching for.
"There's a swimming tradition here. The men are about ready to get back into it and the women have won it eight years in a row. That's tradition."
"I would not have been happy
anywhere else," Thomas said. "I never
"It got to the point where I was afraid
had the chance in high school as I do here. It's nice having all the support, It's just like having 22 other sisters."
Thomas said she never regretted that first dive into a pool, which has led her to KU, and eventually, she hopes, to the Olympics.
“It’s rough and you have to make a lot of sacrifices, but the sacrifices you make are up to you. You have control of what you want. And I have made a lot of sacrifices, but I don’t regret a single because it helped me get where I am.”
KU swimmer Tammy Thomas has her sights set on the Big Eight Championships, the NCAA Championships, and even further in the future. the 1984 Olympics.
By BILL HORNER Sports Writer
The KU women's basketball team, which moved into second place in the conference last week, gets a chance to avenge an early-season loss to non-conference foe Wichita State when the Shockers invade Allen Field House tonight for a 7:30 game.
For the Jayhawks, who lost to WSU by 22 points in the December contest, this game represents more than a shot at revenge. KU gets to show off its latest Big Eight Player of the Week — Philiacia Allen.
But Allen, who picked apart opposing centers last week for 35 points, 29 rebounds and seven blocked shots in leading the Jayhawks to their fourth and fifth consecutive victories, will have to deal with an obstacle of her own: the imposing height of WSU-6.4 Thetessa Dreiling and 6-3 Mary Kenny
DREILANG, whose brother Greg has transferred to KU, scored 17 points and pulled down 20 in that December match with KU, a game that the 6-6 Allen missed because she was not yet eligible after transferring to KU.
The matchup with Dreiling, who shares time at the post position with Kennedy and 6-1 Terra Dawson, marks the first time Allen has faced an opponent of her own size since she transferred to KU from South Carolina, and both coaches agree that the game should be a good one.
"It should be a very interesting game," said KU coach Marian Washington. "Philicia is starting to play with
confidence and aggressiveness on defense. Good things are happening for her here. She's starting to take pride in herself."
SHOCKER COACH Kathryn Bunnell is also looking for a good match between the two teams, particularly between her centers and Philicia.
"I think that it'll be interesting, to say the leavert," she said. "Allen is a lot more mobile than our big girls and I'm going to be quicker, and is quicker, so it's going to be tough."
Kansas, which has won in six of its last seven outings, isn't the same team that faced WSU two short months ago, and both coaches realize this fact.
"They have a lot of talent." Bunnell said. "We know that it's going to be a totally different game than when we saw them last. They are a much better team."
BESIDES ALLEN, who is averaging 14.6 points and 10.2 rebounds a game, Kansas features the conference's third leading scorer, Angie Snider, Snider, who won player-of-the-week honors last week, is averaging 19.7 points and 7.4 rebounds a game. Barbara Adkins is averaging 12.8; Vickie Adkins, 7.6. Angela Taylor adds 10.6 points a game to round out KU's startline.
The Shockers are led by guard Lisa Hodgson, who is averaging 18.4 points a game. Dreiling, who is playing an average of 15 minutes a game, is scoring 6.4 points a game, while Kennedy, playing 12 minutes per contest, is averaging 7.1 points. The two split playing time with freshman Dawson, who is averaging 15 minutes a game.
Tigers dominate Big Eight at season's halfwav mark
Sports Writer
By GINO STRIPPOLI
The Big Eight title race at the halfway mark in the season has turned out to be more or less a one-team stroll by Missouri, with the other teams battling it out for the remaining seven positions.
The Big Eight, as a whole, has had one of its best seasons ever, with only one team, the Kansas Jayhawks, playing under .500 ball.
Analysis
Press poll and No. 10 in the United Press International poll; Oklahoma is No. 19 in AP's poll; and Oklahoma State is No. 20 in UPUs' poll.
Here is a team-by-team rundown of the Big Eight as the conference teams enter their final six games.
fourth straight year, and even if they don't win the conference title they will go to the NCAA tournament.
Missouri (7-1) - The Tigers have the best record in the conference and are 18-3 overall. The Tigers are all but a shoe-in as big Eight champions for the
Missouri has been led by the play of center Steve Stipanovich, who is second in the conference in scoring and first in rebounding. Stipanovich, who many doubted could take charge of the Tigers after Ricky Frazier left, has been everything Missouri coach Norm Stewart could ask for.
The Tigers also have Jon Sundold, one of the top guards in the country. Oklahoma Guard Be Overton said that Sundold may not be the best player in the country, but down the stretch there aren't too many better.
The Tigers face a rough three-game schedule this week. They take on Kansas tomorrow, Oklahoma State on Saturday and national power Virginia on Sunday.
Oklahoma (5-3) — When you talk about Oklahoma this year, you have to start off with freshman Wayman Tisdale, the leading scorer in the Big Eight and one of the top scorers in the country.
Tisdale has been a fine addition to an already good OU team, but even with Tisdale, Oklahoma has failed to beat Missouri in their two games.
Tisdale isn't the only high quality player at Oklahoma. He's teamed with Chucky Barnett and David Little, the top two scorers in the conference last year, to give the Sooners the top offense in the country.
Oklahoma's schedule is not a favorable one. They have four of their last six games on the road, where they've gotten two of their three conference
tosses.
Oklahoma State (5-3) — Oklahoma
State looks like a good bet to finish in
the second spot in the conference
because they play four of their last six
conference games at home.
conference game. They play Oklahoma at home tonight and they catch Missouri between Kansas and Virginia on Saturday, two games they need to win for a second-place finish.
The Cowboys are led by Matt Clark, called by OSU coach Paul Hansen "the best point guard in the country." He is leading the conference in assists and is averaging more than 14 points a contest.
The Cowboys, who start three seniors, also have Lorena Andrews and Leroy Combs in their starting lineup, both averaging more than 16 points in conference games.
Nebraska (5-3) — The Cornhoppers have also been led by a freshman center, but this team needs all five starters. With the team to come away with a victory.
This year's Nebraska team is unlike past Cornhusker teams because they like to push the ball up the floor. Two of the reasons for that are junior college transfers Ponce and Stan Derrick who have added quickness to the Cornhuskers.
Nebraska's top scorer is freshman David Hoppen, but when he has been off, his backup, Terry Smith, has come in and given Nebraska a lift.
Nebraska splits its last six games at home and the road so they may be able to hold onto the fourth spot in the conference and a first-round home court advantage in the post-season Big Eight tournament.
Eighth Grade Iowa State (4-4) — Realistically the only other team with a chance to snare an upper division finish, the Cyclones have been the surprise team in the Big Eight. The Cyclones are the only team that has defeated Missouri in conference play.
iowa State's Barry Stevens has won the Big Eight Player of the Week award two of the past three weeks. He scored
40 points in the ISU victory over Missouri and has been one of the hottest players in the Big Eight the past few weeks.
Ron Harris has been the Cyclones' other top player and both will be back next year. The Cyclones start only one senior, center Ron Falenschek.
They play four of their last six games on the road, and if they can pick up one road victory and win both games at home, they should be in good shape.
Kansas State (3-5) — The Wildcats played well early but the youth of K-State has shown recently as the Wildcats dropped both of their conference games last week.
Les Craft has been the Wildcats' 'top scorer, but has been moved to the bench as coach Hack Hartman has turned to his younger players.
K-State's second-half schedule is a tough one. They must travel to Colorado and Kansas, the two teams in the state that will play in the collar. They also must visit Ohio.
Their home games, Oklahoma State and Missouri, aren't much better.
Colorado (2.6) — If you gave an award to the team that played the most overtime games, Colorado would take
it. They took Missouri into double overtime before losing and then lost to Oklahoma State in quadruple overtime.
The Buffaloes are a young team and will battle it out with Kansas and K-State for the bottom three spots in the conference. They are led by Jay Humphries, one of the top five scorers in the conference.
Colorado plays four of its last six games at home, with both K-State and Kansas visiting Boulder.
Kansas (1-7) — The Jayhawks have been struggling all year long, but it hasn't been because of the play of Carl Henry.
Henry, Kansas' leading scorer,
scored 38 points and collected 26
rebounds in KU's two games last week.
With all hope for a home-court slot in the post season tournament gone, the 'Hawks are now in the spoiler role with their only hope to improve on their last-place position. The Jayhawks split their final six games at home and on the road and could manage to get out of the cellar.
Editor's note - All statistics are from Big Eight Conference games alone.
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