MONDAY, NOV. 26, 2001 SPORTS THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN = 3B VOLLEYBALL Volleyball team swept by'Buffs, loss ends season Colorado swept the Kansas volleyball team in its final match of the season Saturday. The Buffaloes took three straight games from the Jayhawks, 30-25, 30-27, 30-23, on Colorado's Senior Day at the Coors Event Center in Boulder Colo. The loss fixed Kansas' 2001 record at 16-15, 6-14 in the Big 12 Conference, while Colorado improved to 18-10, 13-7. "Colorado played really well this afternoon," Kansas coach Ray Bechard said. "We ran into a hot team here on their Senior Day. We battled hard but gave up a couple of runs in each game, which cost us." Sophomore outside hitter Sarah Rome led the Jayhawks with 10 kills, marking the fifthstraight game in which Rome recorded double-digit kills. She also led the Jayhawks with 12 digs against the Buffalooes. Junior defensive specialist Jennifer Kraft chipped in 11 digs. Junior middle blocker Molly Scavuzzo added five block assists and a solo block. Colorado's Sonja Russell pounded a match-high 16 kills. The loss ended the career of senior setter Molly LaMere. LaMere finished second all-time on the school's career assist list. After posting 37 assists against Colorado, LaMere ended her career with 4,108 assists, finishing second all-time on the team's career assist list behind leader Julie Woodruff. Final season statistics saw Rome leading the Jayhawks in two key categories. She led Kansas with 398 total kills, averaging 3.9 per game, and 284 total digs, averaging 2.78 per game. game. Scavuzzo was second on the team with 325 total kills. LaMere followed Rome with 259 total digs. The Jayhawks finished the season with 192 total service aces. Rome led the Jayhawks with 39 total aces. Sophomore middle blocker Jordan Garrison led the Jayhawks at the net with 14 solo blocks, while Thomas led Kansas with 76 block assists. Note: LaMere was named AllBig 12 honorable mention by the conference yesterday. Her career-average 10.17 assists per game is a school record. Steve Laurenzo KANSAN FILE PHOTO Kansas senior setter Molly LaMere side sets the ball in a match against Texas Nov. 17. The Jayhawks ended their season Saturday, losing to the Colorado Buffaloes. Six commit to track cross country teams By Matt Norton Kansan sportswriter The Kansas track and cross country teams hope to receive an immediate boost from six athletes recruited during the early signing period. Abby Emsick, of Council Bluffs, Iowa, is among the best returning high school discus throwers in the nation. She tossed the disc 157-5 at the United States Track and Field regional meet last summer. That mark gave her the 10th-best throw in the country, and she is the fifth-best returning throw this season. She also threw the shot 46-10, one of the top 30 performances in that event in 2001. Kansas assistant coach Doug Reynolds said he made signing Emsick his top priority for the early signing period this fall. "I had no question." Reynolds said. "I watched her compete at the Drake Relays last year. She's a stud, and I went after her from the get go." Cameron Schwehr, from Colbert, Wash., runs cross country and track. He is the third-fastest returning high school runner in the mile. His time of 4:10.78 at the Washington state meet last May was the 13th-fastest high school time in the United States last year Jenna Bimbi and Allison Martin, a cross-country standout from Smith Center, will also run cross country and track for the Jayhawks. KANSAS RECRUITS Abby Emsick, Council Bluffs, Iowa Cameron Schweir, Colbert Wash. Jenna Bimba, Pueblo, Colo. Allison Martin, Smith Center Cherise Backus, Trinidad, Kan. Clark Grisell, Garden City Bimbii will come to Kansas from Pueblo, Colo. She was second in the large-class state cross country meet this fall. She posted times of 2:11.94 for 800 meters and 5:07.00 for 1,600 meters last season. Kansas assistant coach Doug Clark said he was very excited about having Bimbi join the team next year. next year. "She could end up being better than anyone we've got," Clark said. Martin finished eighth in the Kansas 3A cross country meet last month. She ran the 800-meter event in 2:15.59 meters last season. Roundting out the early recruits for Kansas are Cherise Backus and Clark Grisell. Backus is a multiple-event threat from Trinidad. She will probably be given the opportunity to compete in the indoor pentathlon and outdoor heptathlon at Kansas. Grisell, a Garden City native, finished third in the high jump at the 6A championships last spring with a jump of 6-6. Men's golf team surpasses fall season expectations Contact Norton at 864-4858 By John Domoney Kansan sportswriter Randall knew that his group would be tested early, and he was counting on several players to fill the roles of departed seniors Conrad Roberts and Casey Harbour. Kansas men's golf coach Ross Randall was concerned about the youth and inexperience of his team as it prepared for the fall season. But the Jayhawks head into winter break full of confidence and ranked 38th nationally in Golfweek magazine. The fall season didn't begin as the Jayhawks would have liked. The team finished 10th out of 15 teams at The Ridges Intercollegiate in early Sept. in Jonesborough, Tenn. Kansas followed that performance with a fifth-place finish out of a nine-team field at the Jim Colbert Intercollegiate in Manhattan on Oct.1-2. KANSAS MEN'S GOLF FALL 2001 FINAL STATISTICS "I think at the beginning of the year we struggled a little bit," sophomore Tyler Hall said. "A lot of it had to do with our team is really young." Kansas began to improve as the season progressed, starting with the Purina-Missouri Bluffs Classic in St. Charles, Mo., on Oct. 8-9. At the event, the 'Hawks posted a fifth-place finish out of 15 teams.
RoundsStrokesAvg.18Best18Best Finish
Chris Marshall151,08672.4068Tied for 10th
Travis Hurst151,09472.93644th
Tyler Hall151,09673.0667Tied for second
Kevin Ward644173.5072Tied for 38th
Casey Harbour151,13175.4069Tied for 31st
Andrew Price1290775.5871Tied for 13th
The Jayhawks' new bravado was put on display at their final two tournaments of the fall on the West Coast. After a tie for fifth place at the demanding Nelson-Stanford Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif. on Oct. 28. Kansas had its beer finish of the fall in a tie for second place at The Prestige at Palm Desert, Calif., on Nov. 5-6. Randall said he thought that the last two tournaments of the fall were a preview of good things to come in the spring. "I just think certain people started playing a little better," Randall said. "Things got better and players got playing better to end on a high note in the last two tournaments." One of the players who started to produce late in the fall was junior Chris Marshall, who led the team with a stroke average of 72.4 coupled with four top-20 finishes. Heading into the fall season, Hurst was considered to be among the Jayhawks' top performers, and he lived up to the hype, shooting a 72.93 stroke average to go along with three top-20 finishes. Senior Travis Hurst and Hall also had strong seasons. Hall vaulted his way into one of the top spots on the team with his 73.06 stroke average. Hall owned the team's best individual finish of the fall season with a tie for second place at The Nelson-Stanford Invitational. The team plans to conduct weight training sessions three times each week during the off-season. The Jayhawks kick off their spring schedule on Feb. 13 at the Taylor Made/Big Island Invitational in Waikoloa, Hawaii. While the event is more than two months away, Kansas is looking forward to the trip and its spring schedule. "You really can't get much better than Hawaii," Hall said. "It will be a great start to the season. If we can jump out and get a great start there, it will catapult us through the rest of the year." Contact Domoney at 864-4858 KANSAN FILE PHOTO Kansas senior Travis Hurst drives the ball in practice. Hurst averaged 72.93 for the season. We're not like every other high-tech company. We're hiring. U. S.AIR FORCE No one told you the hardest part of being an engineer would be finding your first job. Of course, it's still possible to get the high-tech work you want by joining the U.S. Air Force. You can leverage your degree immediately and get hands-on experience with some of the most sophisticated technology on earth.To find out how to get your career off the ground, call 1-800-423-USAF or visit our Web site at airforce.com. WINTER AND SPRING BREAK BEACH & SKI TRIPS On Sale Now! www.sunchase.com 1-800-BUNCHASE ---