10A = THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SPORTS
FRIDAY,OCT.12,2001
Soccer team to battle struggling foes
By Ryan Wood Kansan sportswriter
With the season approaching its halfway mark, coach Mark Francis and the Kansas soccer team are poised to make a run at top three finish in the Big 12 Conference.
"We've got six conference games left," said Francis, whose team is tied with Oklahoma for third place in the Big 12. "For us to finish in the top three or four, we need to win at least four of those games. That would make us 7-3 in the conference. Historically, that would put us in the top three. I think to give ourselves a good shot for the NCAA tournament, that needs to be our goal."
The Jayhawks (7-3, 3-1) continue their conference schedule at 4 p.m. today with a game at Texas Tech. They conclude the weekend on Sunday with a 1 p.m. game at Colorado.
Texas Tech comes into today's game with a 3-9 overall record and a cellar-dwelling 0-
4 conference mark. The Red Raiders played Wednesday night, defeating West Texas A&M 1-0 in a non-conference match.
After the matchup in Lubbock, Texas, Kansas will travel to Boulder, Colo., to take on another struggling Big 12 team. The Buffaloaes (1-7-1, 0-3-1) lost 4-0 to Oklahoma on Sunday. They showed a flash of brilliance on Sept. 30, playing No. 10 Texas A&M to a 2-2 tie. But Colorado's season has been a disappointment otherwise.
With the Jayhawks favored for both of its contests this weekend, coach Mark Francis said he had discussed with his squad the problem of playing down to the opponent's level.
"We've had a little bit of a problem with that, to this point," he said. "We had a meeting and addressed that."
The games this weekend mark the last road games of the regular season for Kansas. The Jayhawks finish the season with six home games before the
Big 12 tournament.
"We've put ourselves in a great situation." Francis said. "It's kind of like building a house. We've bought the land, we've built the foundation. We haven't built the house yet. The season could be wasted if we don't finish the job."
Notes
If the Jayhawks come away with two victories this weekend, it will give them nine for the season, a team record.
Kansas' match with St. Louis University, originally scheduled for Sept. 14, has been rescheduled for 3 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 30 at Super Target Field. The game was postponed after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Kansas has a 3-2 all-time record against Texas Tech, having beat the Red Raiders last season 1-0 at Super Target Field. The Jayhawks are 2-5 against Colorado. They lost to the Buffaloes 1-0 last year.
Contact Wood at 864-485R
KANSAN FILE PHOTO
Rachel Gilfillan, freshman forward, dribbles upfield in a game this season. With six games left this season, the team is hoping for a top-three finish in the Big 12.
Weekend regatta to be competition among the ranks
By Brent Wasko
Kansan sportswriter
The Kansas rowing team is looking forward to facing some tough competition this weekend—itself.
Coach Rob Catloth said his team prepared for Sunday's American Royal Fall Rowing Classic in Kansas City, Kan., like any regular race, but the regatta would actually be more of a scrimmage for the Jayhawks.
Kansas will battle Kansas State, Tulsa and 11 club teams,
including Nebraska and St. Louis. To make the regatta more interesting, Catloth said he decided to divide his team into four boats: a freshman crew, sophomore crew, junior crew and Canadian crew. The team's seniors are separated among the boats.
"I know there is not going to be too much competition at the regatta, so we're having a little intra-team rivalry, "Catloth said. "The fall season is more about watching how the rowers develop their technique than about the races. The
results are not that important to me."
Senior Dana Parsons said the Kansas City regatta would be the first time the team's upperclassmen had the opportunity to meet the freshman. The experienced and novice rowers practice at different times.
"This time of year is a real bonding time for us," Parsons said. "It's our chance to prove something for our class and talk it up in the practice. This is a really fun race."
Catloth said the fall season
was important for more than just developing team unity. He said he was beginning to find the best combination of rowers for the varsity boats that would compete in the spring. However, he said the varsity spots wouldn't be decided until after winter break.
"It's always a continual evaluation," he said. "We're starting to separate the team out more, but I'm basing a lot of my stuff by what they are doing on the rowing machines. I have to watch them compete."
would probably field its best team for the regatta. He said K-State was planning to make a trip to a large regatta in Boston
Catloth said Kansas State
Jenn Jewett, vice president of the Kansas City Rowing Club, said Sunday's regatta was her organization's biggest fund-raiser. Each participating team must pay to enter. The proceeds are used to buy rowing equipment for high school students in the Kansas City area.
Contact Wasko at 864-4810
SWIMMING Intrasquad meet to prepare team for Big 12 Relavs
The Kansas swimming and diving team will have its annual Crimson and Blue meet at 6 p.m. today at Robinson Center.The event is free.
Center. The intrasquad meet will feature a 16 event format, with the team paired off into two squads, crimson and blue. The blue team will consist of the sophomores and seniors, while the Crimson team will be the freshmen and juniors. The Blue squad defeated the Crimson squad last year, 56-48.
The Jayhawks will use the meet to prepare for the Big 12 Relays.
-Kansan staff reports
VOLLEYBALL Recent loss to be forgotten during travels, competition
Members of the Kansas volleyball team will do their best to clear their heads of the loss to Nebraska on Wednesday while traveling to Chapel Hill, N.C., to take on the North Carolina Tarheels.
Tarheels. The Jayhawks face the Tarheels at 8 tonight in the Dean E. Smith Center. The team will then travel to nearby Raleigh, N.C., to take on the North Carolina State Wolf pack at 6 p.m. tomorrow in the Reynolds Center.
Steve Laurenzo
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL Kristen May leaves school, team to recover from illness
Kansas women's basketball guard Kristen May will not return for her junior season.
Coach Marian Washington said May left the University of Kansas for the fall semester for personal reasons. Washington said at the team's preseason media day Wednesday that May had been ill. ...
"Well, Kristen May is not with us, I'll announce that right now." Washington said. "She's been ill and I just don't know what's going to happen with her. Her family is with her and I'm going to see them tonight, and it's a very real situation."
Brent Briggeman and Jessica Scott
4