12A = THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SPORTS
THURSDAY, AUG. 23, 2001
Swimmers try to climb out of conference cellar
By Jeremy Giles Kansan sportswriter
The women's swimming office, in room 250 of Allen Fieldhouse, is filled with championship trophies, plaques and certificates, displaying the team's glory days in the Big 8 Conference.
In the five years since the Big 12 Conference's inception, the Jayhawks have yet to win a Conference Championship. Last year, they finished six out of the six women's swimming programs in the conference.
Second-year coach Cathy Burgess said swimmers returning from that sixth-place team were eager to improve.
"We had a good core group, and they are excited about this year," Burgess said. "They weren't happy with sixth and neither were the coaches. The only place to move is up, and that is what we are looking for."
The team will rely on the leadership of its three senior captains. Rebecca McFall is entering her second year as a captain. Burgess said Carrie Kirkham was on the verge of qualifying for the NCAA Championships. Kirkham finished ninth in the 100-meter freestyle at the Big 12 Championships in February with a time of 0:50.99. She was also one of four swimmers on Kansas' third-place 400-meter relay team at the championships.
Molly O'Connor, recipient of last year's Coaches' Award, rounds out the trio of captains.
"She's just an all-around hard-worker," Burgess said of O'Connor. "She's an automatic leader on the team by her performance both in the pool and in the classroom."
Another Jayhawk who excelled in both the classroom and the pool last year was junior Gwen Haley. Haley's 4.0 grade point aver
age both semesters led the fall and spring teams' overall GPAs of 3.0 and 3.1, respectively. Last season's Most Valuable Player, Haley, turned in one of Kansas' top finishes at the Big 12 Championships when she took eighth in the 200-meter butterfly with a time of 2:03.97.
The team has improved its chances of moving up in the conference with this year's recruiting class, which includes one diver and eight swimmers. Freshmen Jackie Krueger and Amy Gruber should stand out in this class, Burgess said.
"Jackie Krueger comes in with very fast times in sprint to middle-distance free style. She's going to play a pretty big part in a lot of our relays."
"Amy Gruber is another free-styler, but she also swims backstroke and butterfly, so she's pretty broad-based. Those two will probably lead that class," Burgess said.
Burgess said the new recruits added an additional spark to an already fired-up team.
"It's fun to see freshmen join a crew. They are going to have an immediate impact," Burgess said. "The reason I am excited about them is freshmen usually spark the upperclassmen every year in the fall. They get them excited for a new year and our upperclassmen are excited to have the talent to help them reach their goals."
Some potential standouts have yet to emerge, Burgess said. With times extremely competitive among many women, Burgess said she was waiting for someone to step up and "take the bull by the horns."
Before coming to Kansas, Burgess was an assistant coach at Division I Davidson College where she helped lead both the men's and women's
teams to Southern Conference championships.
More than half of the Big 12 women's swim teams are often ranked in the Top 25 nationally, which makes rising in the standings difficult, Burgess said. Last year, Texas hovered in the top five nationally for much of the season.
"Moving up in the conference and being in the top three is very attainable," she said. "That's something that is exciting for us, because there is the chance of moving up. We have the talent and ability to move up with the added newcomers coming in."
Creating a team attitude may be what turns things around for the team this year, said Eric Elkenbary, assistant coach.
"Last year, we did a lot of things to work on a team environment, and it wasn't necessarily inherited by Cathy her first season," Eikenbary said. She had to work to establish a good, strong team environment. And right now, there's no question that's our strong attribute."
"At the end of the season, when we're going to the Big 12 Conference Championships, when we walk on deck, if we feel like a bunch of individuals, we are in big trouble," Eikenbary said. "If we get on deck at that meet and we feel like one team, we're right on the money."
Likenbary said the team's performance at the Big 12 Conference Championships would be determined by whether it felt cohesive and united.
The Kansas women's swimming and diving team is unaccompanied by a men's program this year after budget cuts led to the elimination of the men's team last spring.
Reach Giles at 864-4810
BEING A FAN TO PAY BIG
LAURIE SISK/KANSAN
Allen Bohl, director of athletics, announces at Traditions Night at Memorial Stadium on Tuesday that 25 $1,000 scholarships will be awarded to random student fans who attend the UCLA-Kansas football game on Sept. 8.
Garden City picked tops in league
The Associated Press
Four of the eight teams in the Jayhawk Community College Conference have new coaches this season, but Bob Larson of top-ranked Garden City Community College said he doesn't expect a breather in the Bronchusters' defense of the conference title.
Independence Community College.
The new coaches in the conference are Jeff Leiker at Coffeyville Community College, head coach last year at Fort Hays State University and former head coach at Garden City; John Rossetti at Dodge City Community College, a Larson assistant last year at Garden City; Kevin Verdugo at Fort Scott Community College; and Keith Kent at
"I am very, very impressed with the new coaches," Larson said. "Don't let that first-year thing fool you. These guys know the game. The bar's definitely being raised and the question is whether we can keep up with it."
Garden City won all seven conference games and was 11-0 before losing in the National Junior College Athletic Association championship game to Glendale, Ariz.
The Broncbusters return four starters, including all-conference first-team picks Jon Hawk at offensive tackle, Lance Carson on the defensive line and Derrick Pope at linebacker.
"Now the biggest thing for us right now is trying to get everyone together and put them in pressure situations, which is something you can't do in practices," Larson said.
Butler County, picked to finish behind Garden City, won national championships in 1998 and 1999 and last year lost 23-17 to Garden City in four overtimes in postseason play.
Fifteen lettermen return, including tailback Ronald McClendon, the league's No. 3 rusher last year.