Sports
University Daily Kansan / Wednesday, September 26, 1990
11
Richard Quinn/KANSAN
Pivotal play
A Hutchinson Community College baserunner slides into Jeff Berlinger at second base as he pivots and throws to first. The Jayhawks played Hutchinson yesterday afternoon. Kansas plays at 4 p.m. tomorrow against Crowder Community College at home.
OU, KU show new faces
By Rob Wheat
Kansan sportswriter
Fullback Roger Robben has been wanting to beat the Sooners since he was 15 years old.
Robbain said he remembered watching Oklahoma play on television and thinking they were a great football team. But the game that had the biggest impact on him was in 184, when Kansas beat an Oklahoma team ranked in the top to Robbain a freshman in high school that year.
Robbain said he remembered that game last season in the locker room before Kansas began conference play against Oklahoma.
"Because I watched them on TV, and remembered them having success, I wanted to do well against them," Robben said. "I wanted to do what I could to beat them, to show that they are as great as they think they are."
Robben is one example of the many changes both the Kansas and Oklahoma football teams have gone
through since they last faced each other almost a year ago.
"We have a lot more confidence going into conference games after the tough schedule we've played," Robben said. "We can win games. And I'm looking forward to playing on offense Saturday."
After leading the Big Eight Conference in tackles in 1989 with 146, Robben was moved to fullback in the spring.
Another reason the Jayhawks may have confidence when facing the Sooners is the return of linebacker Curtis Moore. Moore led the Big Eight in tackles in 1988 but had to miss last season because of a knee
strength now, and our defense has improved a lot more." Moore said. "As for Oklahoma, I think they've become better at throwing the ball, but not as good as they can run the option better now, and they have a great running attack."
After being named head coach in June, Oklahoma's Gary Gibbs inherited a new star fullback in Kenyon Rashedhe, a native of Kansas City. Mr. Rashedhe's average so far is 6.4 points and he has scored three touchdowns.
Defensive lineman Chris Maumalanga said that although he had never played against Oklahoma, he could play to play the Sooners on Saturday.
"We have much more size and
Moore said that stopping the Sooners running game was the key to shutting down its offense, and that he took the lead with his assistants on defense to help him Saturday.
"Kenyon is a big guy and is a bi-part of their attack, but size isn't everything." "Maumalanga said. "We think we'll be ready for them."
7'1" basketball player commits to Jayhawks
By Derek Simmons
Kansan sportswriter
Greg Ostertag, a 7-foot 1 senior at Duncanville High School in Duncanville, Texas, said yesterday that he would sign a letter of intent with Kansas on Nov. 14, the first day of the regular signing period for basketball
Ostertag said he chose Kansas rather than Syracuse and Kentucky for a variety of reasons.
"I really liked the people," he said.
"I liked the coaches, the players, the campus . . . I really liked everything about Kansas."
One other factor in his decision was Kansas' proximity to his home in northeast Texas.
"I liked it a lot better, and it was a little closer than Syracuse." he said. Ostertag said he made his announcement early to relieve some of the pressure of constant recruiting.
"I wanted to get it over with so I could concentrate on basketball," he said. "I got my first letter from Baylor when I was in seventh grade, and it really picked up during the last year."
Oostergaard was 6-4 at the beginning of his seventh grade year and 6-7 at the end of bg year. Even now he isn't as strong in coachville coach Phil McNeely said.
"He was 7-1 and a quarter last time I measured him." McNeely said. "And he's only 17. He's starting to fill out, weighs about 250 pounds now."
"He runs the floor well for a big man, and he's got good hands and a nice rim touch. I think Kansas got 'em a good one."
McNeely said he encouraged Ostertag to make his decision early. "When you've been dealing with it for four years, it doesn't seem early." he said. "It was getting prettyhetic, and we were glad to get
it over with."
McNeely said Kansas coaches in particular attracted Ostertag to the school.
"Some of them are more like salesmen, but Roy Williams and Kevin Stallings were really down-to-earth people," he said of the Kansas coach and assistant. "They were really honest and straightforward. They just did a good job of recruiting."
Although Ostertag averaged 15 points and 13 rebounds last year, McNeely said the center would be even better this season.
"He just keeps improving," he said. "We were 25 to last year, and we've got a couple of other kids who have been doing better and will improve that record significantly."
The NCAA prohibits college coaches from commenting on players until they are officially part of a school's program.
Big Eight members meeting to discuss conference future
By Chris Oster
Kansan sportswriter
Athletic directors, faculty representatives, and presidents of Big Eight Conference member universities will hold meetings today and tomorrow to assess the state of the conference.
This morning at 10, the athletic directors will meet at the Airport Morton Hotel in Kansas City, Mo.
Bob Frederick, Kansas athletic director said that recent talk about conference realignment and statements from Oklahoma about financial restructuring were not the reason for the meeting.
He said that the conference scheduled regular meetings four times a year and that the meeting would have a lot of other topics on the
agenda.
Frederick said that the revenue issue would likely be a topic, but that it was unlikely any decisions would be made.
"I would really be surprised if there is a decision made," Frederick said. "If anything would happen, it would probably be the appointment of some committee to study the issue."
He said no financial decisions would be made before December.
Oklahoma is concerned about the revenue sharing problem in the Big Eight because the school is generating more revenue for the conference than it is taking away, Frederick said.
Tomorrow night, presidents of the members of the Association of Big
Eight Universities will meet to discuss the future of the conference.
Association President Jon Wefal, also the president of Kansas State, said the meeting was called to discuss the options of the conference.
"The Big Eight Conference is in very good shape today," Welfaad said. "We just want to discuss what our options are for the future."
Welfaid said that he and Karsas Chancellor Gene A. Badig talked about a meeting of the Big Eight school executives about three weeks
The recent additions of Penn State to the Big 10 and Arkansas to the Southeast Conference, along with rarerous meetings of the leaders of other conferences, were reasons Wetald gave for calling the meeting.
Golf team's 5th place finish disappoints Kansas players
By Chris Oster
Kansan sportswriter
The Kansas golf team finished in a tie for fifth place with Washington yesterday in the 18-tem team Rum Interstate Golf Course in Cog Hill golf course in Lemont, Ill.
Kansas finished with a three-round total of 927,15 strokes behind tournament winner Kent State.
come.
Coach Ross Randall said that despite the fifth-place finish, the team was disappointed with the out-
Senior Len Johnsen placed sixth in the tournament with a total of 228, eight strokes behind medalist Ron Wuensche of Wisconsin.
"We didn't know how we were going to do in going," Randal said. "But we had a chance to finish better then we did."
He said that the team was in a position to place high heading into the final nine holes.
"It's a difficult course," Randall said. "We didn't handle it well down the stretch."
He said that the younger players on the team had particular trouble on the final day.
Kansas took two seniors, a sophomore and two freshmen to the tournament.
Sophonore Jim Young finished with a total of 232. He began the tournament with rounds of 76 and 74 after first finishing with a third round of 82
Johnsen had a first round of 82 before finishing with rounds of 72 and 73.
He said that the improvement in his play was caused by a change in his approach to the course.
"I played really well the last two days," Johnson said. "I tried to play the course intelligently instead of just knocking the ball around."
Johnsen he was 1-over-par for the final 41 holes of the tournament.
Students stay in the swim of things with Lawrence Aquahawks
By Juli Watkins
Kansan sportswriter
The Jayhawk is a mystical creature with origins tracing from 1858 to its eventual adoption as the Kansas mascot in the 1998 to the present.
The Aquahawks, also known as the Lawrence Swim Club, became an organization in 1969 with the installation of a new pool and Eighth and Kentucky streets.
The Aquahawk, the waterfowl variety of the Jayhawk, has a history dating back to 1698 when Brent Schoeneck used this nickname to his swum team.
Before 1968, Lawrence had several small swim teams working out at private clubs in Lawrence. That summer, the local teams combined to form a swim team called Club. When the city pool was installed the next year in Central Park, the team was able to work together in one pool. Barnes, whose parents coached the team, nicknamed the team the Aquahlaws that rode.
Ronda Lusty, Pendleton, Ore., freshman, practices the backstroke during a workout with the Aquahawks swimming club
The Aquahawks are a United States Swimming team. USS is the national organization that oversees amateur competitive swimming. The Aquahawks also belong to Missouri Valley Swimming, which includes the region extending from Columbia. Mo., to the western Kansas border, and Kansas-Kansas Border. St. Joseph, Mo., to the Oklahoma border
Larry Morlan, director of corporation and foundation support for the Kansas University Endowment Association, is the Aquahawks co-president with his wife, Joyce. The president is elected annually and oversees
the mechanics of the club.
"We get a budget, set the philosophies and get with the coaches and talk about what equipment is needed." Morlan said. "They concentrate on the swimming and we concentrate on the administrative part."
"It's an age group club," he said. "We're more interested in all the kids developing. We don't put an emphasis on all the practice time going to one age group, so we don't sacrifice pool time."
Kempf said most of the KU students she coached were members of the Kansas swim team, and they worked out with the Aquahawks in the summers. There are, however, a few students who swim with the Aquahawks who are not on the Kansas team. she said.
Lawrence has only one indoor pool that the Aquahawks can use, which is at Lawrence High School, Morlan said. The club hopes to gain use of the indoor pool at Haskell Indian Junior High. They also plan a masters program more feasible.
The Aquahaws are coached by Dorothy Kempf, whose husband is Kansas swim coach Gary Kempf. He has been the head coach since 1986.
"Usually if you're out of college or not swimming for KU, your goals are harder to reach," she said. "Our kids are fast and it's really hard to swim
behind junior high and high school kids when you're in college."
Several Kansas students help coach the younger swimmers.
Dan Breedlove, Lille, Ill., senior, is a former Kansas swimmer who has been coaching for a year. He said he was very fortunate to have devote were long, especially on meet
weekends, but that the experience was rewarding.
"I worked this summer with an an environmental company and hated it because I couldn't coach," Breedlove said. "We made sure the kids again, and I'm so happy."
Bobby Kelley, also a former Kansas swimmer and Big Eight champ
The Aquahawks are divided into three levels. The beginning level is called the white team. The second level is the green team. Its members
ion, is another assistant coach for the Aquahawk. Carol Beeson, former Kansas swimmer, and Claudine Blake, from Monroe, also are assist coaches.
are more advanced, have more endurance and work on endurance and improving their strokes.
The highest level is the gold team. Its members are highly competitive and have a lot of experience. They swim higher yardage and are expected to compete on a regular basis.