SPORTS UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Thursday, October 8, 1992
9
'Huskers continue to dominate 'Hawks
By David Dorsey Kansan sportswriter
The Kansas volleyball team lost to Nebraska in three consecutive games last night, but the Jayhawks elevated their play and stayed with the Cornhuskers throughout the match.
"They're fifth in the nation, and I felt we were fairly competitive," said Kansas coach Frankie Albitz. "I'm very pleased with my team."
The Jayhawks lost 15-12, 15-8 and 15-10 to the defending Big Eight Conference champions. Nebraska has won the conference 16 consecutive years and has a 49-0 record against Kansas.
The match was the first of the season in Allen Field House for the Jayhawks. The field house's new floor was completed last week.
Kim DeHoff was the only starting senior for Kansas. Juniors Bbella and Cyndie Kanabel also started as middle blockers, with freshmen outside hitters Jenny Larson and Tracie Walt. Freshmen Lesli Steinier, the Big Eight player of the week, was the starting setter.
Kanabel led the Jayhawks with 12 kills and two service aces. Steinhart had 9 kills.
In the first game, Kansas scored first when junior middle blocker Barb Bella blocked an attempted kill.
Nebraska had a 4-2 lead when the score became deadlocked for five sideouts. The scoring drought ended and Nebraska scored, allowing the set the ball over the net for the point.
The teams continued trading points until the score was 6-6. Kanabel served an ace, and Bella had two kills, making it 9-6.
Nebraska rallied and went on a 5-0 scoring run. The score was tied again in the final half.
"I think if we had won that game, the second one would have gone a lot better," Kanabel said. "I think everybody went cold or something."
In the second game, Kansas kept
Nebraska in the early stages of
scores.
The score was tied 7-7 before the "Huskers could take control, scoring five consecutive points for the second time during the match. Kansas junior setter Shelby Lella entered the game for Barb Bella and contributed with a pass to the jayhawks did not win another point for the remainder of the game.
"I thought our level of play dropped off a little in the second game," Albizt said. "Most of the time we'll get close and not win, so we need to try and get over the hump. I wish we could have won that first game. The match might have gone differently."
With Nebraska ahead 11-3, the Hawks rallied, scoring four unanswered points. Nebraska scored again, making it 12-7, when senior Kyle Farnsworth led the Hawks on a 3-0 run. Larson had a kill for the Jayhawks' final point.
In the final game, Nebraska took a 8-1 lead. Refusing to back down, the 'Hawks broke the 'Huskers run when Larson tipped one over for the kill. Kanabel and Bella then combined for a block against Nebraska middle blocker Stephanie Thater.
"I thought they played with a lot of heart, 'Petit said. "Larson did a nice job passing and I don't think they had have played harder than they did."
Nebraska coach Terry Pettit said that Kansas displayed a valiant effort.
Thater, last year's conference Player of the Year, led all players with 19
Senior Julie Larkin, standing, watches her teammate, junior Shelby Lard, dive for the ball during the Kansas-Nebraska volleyball game. KU lost three consecutive games in Allen Field House last night.
Kansas swimmer refuses to quit
Cordsen sticks with sport, finds success in collegiate competition
By David Bartkoski
Kansan sportswriter
Fifteen minutes into junior Krista Cordsen's swimming career, she wanted to quit. She did not think she was any good.
Cordsen was 8 years-old at the time and had just started her first practice under a new coach.
"I had to swim one lap of the pool," she said. "I got out of the pool. I thought, 'I don't want to do this.'"
Cordsen stuck with the sport and found out that she was not so bad after all. Last year, she was named the Outstanding Swimmer at the Big Eight Championships and swam the 50-meter freestyle at the Olympic Trials.
Kansas coach Gary Kempf said Cordsen was an outstanding swimmer for three reasons.
"She's about as dynamic off the starting block as anybody I've ever
seen in my life," he said. "Also, she demands a lot out of herself and has a great work ethic."
He said Cordsen was his top swimmer.
"She's one of our stoppers," he said. "In meets that are close, I want to put her in and let her go."
Kempf is a demanding coach, Cordsen said, and a great motivator. She said Kempf was always pushing members to new levels of achievement.
Cordsen said she did not have much confidence in her ability when she started.
"A lot of people don't believe what their coaches are doing," she said. "With Gary, I really trust that what he's doing is going to help me."
She did not know if she could measure up to collegiate competition, she said. That was until performing well in a meet in Alabama her freshman year.
"In meets that are close,I want to put her in and let her go."
Swimming coach Gary Kempf
"In my first event, I dropped my time by three or four seconds," she said. "I set the school record in the breast-stroke. I thought, 'maybe this is going to work out.'"
As a freshman, Cordsen won Big Eight titles in the 200-yard individual medley and 100-yard breaststroke championship. As a junior champion 200-yard medley relay team.
Last year at the Big Eight meet, she repeated a 200-yard individual medley and 100-yard breaststroke champion and added a 100-yard freestyle
title. She also swam on all five of Kansas' tussy teams that qualified for the NCAA championship.
Cordsen said she was glad she went to the Olympic Trials but was disappointed with her performance in the 50-meter freestyle.
Well-known swimmers, like Olympic gold medalists Janet Evans and Summer Sanders, were more of a distraction for her outside of the pool than in, she said.
"Everything it买 at once," she said. "I was looking around a lot at the big-name swimmers and was not concentrating."
Cordsen's teammate, junior Ronda
lusty, also competed in the 50-meter
race.
"We tied," Lusty said. "We both went 27.51 or 27.52. We were the only two people from Kansas in the race, and we fired."
Kempf said he thought Cordsen had unlimited potential.
"Nothing she's done has surprised me," he said. "She's going to get better and better. She's going to compete at the top."
Shankel is new faculty representative for KU
By David Bartkoski
Kansan sportswriter
Del Shankel, professor of microbiology and biology, has been named the faculty representative for the University of Kansas to the Big Eight Conference and the NCAA beginning Jan. 15, 1993.
Shankel will replace Del Brinkman, vice chancellor for academic affairs, who served 14 years as faculty representative.
He said Shankel's appointment was an excellent choice.
Brinkman will take a research leave of absence to work on the papers of William Allen White at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. from Jan. 15 to July 15, 1993.
"He has served the university in every capacity you could think of," he said. "He knows the campus and program as well as any one."
Shankel said he was looking forward to the new position.
"We have an athletic director and a group of coaches committed to working with integrity," he said. "I look forward to working with the athletic director, coaches and players in representing their interests at the Big Eight and the NCAA."
Shankel served as acting athletic director for parts of 1981 and 1982. he said he thought his experience working with the athletic department would help as faculty representative.
Chancellor Gene Budig said Shankel had an established record of strong advocacy for men's and women's athletic programs.
Brinkman said there were many duties associated with being faculty representative.
"On the internal side, it's working with people on campus to make sure the rules by the Big Eight and NCAA are followed," he said.
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PLAYOFFS
"Dr. Shankel is the perfect choice." he said.
Pirates' perils continue as Braves take 2-0 lead
The Associated Press
ATLANTA — Oh, what pitching. Atlanta has it all. Oh, what hitt'g it. The Braves own that, too. The only oh for the Pittsburgh Pirates: 0-2.
Pittsburgh finally ended 13 years without a big inning in postseason play, but the four meaningless runs in the seventh came after Atlanta was down by one. It was a game on yesterday and a 2-1 lead in the best-of-7 series.
"We were embarrassed. We're in an uphill climb and it's not a good situation to be in," Pirates manager Jim Leyland said. "But I don't think anybody's pressing and you can throw out all the psychological stuff. What we need are some hits."
"The weight's on their shoulders now," Avery said. "They wanted to come in here and split and they didn't do it."
And soon. Only two of the 10 teams to trail 2-0 in the NL playoffs have rallied to win the series, and the Pirates give no sign they will be the third to do it.
"The pressure's on them now," said Avery, whose major-league record of 221 1/3 scoreless in 1985 was a standout.
The game was long since over by then, thanks to a four-run Braves' second and a four-run fifth that featured Ron Gant's first grand slam in the majors. The tail end of Atlanta's lineup continued to torment Pittsburgh, with eight hits; Gant finished 2 for 4 with three runs and four RBs; Mark Lemke had three hits and Damon Berryhill had two.
Runs came in bunches of four, until a five-run seventh enabled the Braves to tie the playoff record for most runs in a game. The 18 combined runs also set a postseason record.
If Cox grabbed by starting the right-handed
Smoltz in game one against the Pirates' left-handed power, Leyland took an even bigger one by going with Jackson in game two. Leyland should have tabled this bet.
Left-hander Danny Jackson was 3-1 in the postseason, 2-0 in the playoffs—but 0-4 against the Braves in six starts this season. He is 6-0 in his last four games and has not won in Atlanta since Sept. 24, 1988.
Brian Hunter, a .500 hitter against Jackson,
singled behind third to start the Braves' second.
Gant walked and Berryhill, playing because
Greg Oison is out with a broken right leg, singled home Hunter with a liner to left.
Lemke, a, 226 career hitter singled up the middle to make it 2-0 and raise his postseason average to. 625 this season and, 365 overall. Seven of Lemke's nine playoff hits have come with runners in scoring position; by contrast, Bonds is 0 for 28 in that situation.
The Braves put up another four in the fifth as Otis Nixon singled and Blauser and David Justice walked ahead of Gant's no-doubt drive into the left-field seats, his second playoff homer and the fourth grand slam in theNL playoffs.
"I don't know what it is," I lemke said. "I'm just glad to have the opportunity to play in the post-season, a lot of great players never get that chance."
Avery helped himself with a long sacrifice fly to center that scored Berryhill, and Blauer, who homered Tuesday, chased Jackson with a run-scoring triple to right-center. Jackson allowed four runs and four hits and walked two in 1 2/3 innings.
The Pirates cut it to 8-4 in the seventh and could have made it a two-run game, but Van Slyke bounced out with two on to end the inning.
NATIONAL
The Atlanta Braves used the pitching of right-hander Steve Avery and a grand slam by Ron Gant to demolish the Pittsburg Pirates 13-5 and take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven National League Championship Series in Atlanta, Ga.
AMERICAN
The Oakland A's, with the help of back-to-back homers by Mark McGwire and Terry Steinback in the second inning, held on for a 4-3 victory against the Toronto Blue Jays last night in the first game of the American League Championship series in Toronto. Oakland leads the series 1-0.
A's outslug Toronto,4-3 take early lead in playoffs
The Associated Press
TORONTO — The Oakland Athletics always manage to do things with flair at the SkyDome. Even without Jose Canseco hitting rocket shots, the A's still won with plenty of power last night.
Mark McGwire and Terry Steinbach hit consecutive home runs in the second inning, while Harold Baines led off the ninth with a drive into the second deck in right to give the A's a 4-3 victory against the Toronto Blue Jay in game one of the American League playoffs.
However, Jack Morris and Dave Winfield, the two free agents that Toronto signed in the winter to help them win in October, did their jobs.
Winfield, shrugged off his horrible slump in the 1981 postseason, and hit a solo home run in the sixth that made it 3-2. He also doubled, then scored the tying run in the eighth on John Olerud's two-out single.
Morris, whose last appearance in the postseason produced a 10-inning shutout in game seven of the World Series last year and earned him the MVP award, was able to score the fourth innings before Baines connected.
Baines singled in his first two b-at-bs, then won it when he hit Morrison's second pitch of the ninth.
Dave Stewart went 7 2/3 innings and maintained his reputation as a big-game pitcher, and Dennis Eckersley enhanced his status by pitching the ninth for a save.
The A's won their seventh consecutive playoff
"It was a slider up over the plate." Baines said. "I was trying to drive it well. I don't consider myself a great home run hitter, but it was a great time to bit one."
Toronto will try to will the series tonight when Dale Cone pitches against Mike Moore.
game, a streak that dates back to 1980, when they wiped out Toronto in five games.
"Everybody has kind of written us off," Steinbach said. "But our attitude all year has been kind of, 'Let's play ball.' Now we have a big game tomorrow. We have a real tough pitcher going against us in David Cone."
Pat Borders also homered for Toronto.
McGwire, whose 42 home runs were second in the majors to Texas' Juan Gonzalez, silenced another sellout crowd in the SkyDome with a two-run shot in the second. Steinbach followed with a homer to left, marking the first consecutive homers in the AL playoff since Rick Cerone and Lou Pinellia did it for the New York Yankees in 1980 against Kansas City.
After Borders put the Blue Jays on the board, Winfield made it a one-run game in the sixth. Winfield is still hounded by his 1-for-22 showing in the 1981 World Series, but showed that, at 41, he was more of a factor than ever.
Winfield doubled into the gap in right-center with two outs in the eighth, finishing Stewart, and Olerud singled past reliever Jeff Russell's reach to make it 3-3.
Russell, acquired along with Ruben Sierra and Bobby Witt in the Aug. 31 trade that sent Canseco to Texas, was the winner despite allowing the game to go into overtime. His postseason decision for Morris.
The A's struggled in the field this season, but no one would have known by the way they kept Stewart and themselves out of trouble.
Shortstop Mike Bordick started double plays in the first two innings, and McGwire showed off a Gold Glove with a diving stop in the third.