THE UNIVERSITY OF JAIRY KANSAN
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2008
SPORTS
3B
SWIMMING AND DIVING
2 locals among 6 recruits to sign for 2009-10 team
BY ADAM SAMSON asamson@kansan.com
Coach Clark Campbell and assistant coach Jen Fox announced a fall signing class of six new swimmers for the 2009-10 swimming and diving team.
The new additions to the KU swimming and diving team are Rachel Barker.
Brooke Blunt
Cora Powers,
Brittany
Rospierski,
Alyssa Rudman,
Rebecca Swank
and Madison
Wagner. Out of
the six, four are
from Kansas and
two swim for the
local Lawrence
Aquahawks club
team.
an asset in the relays.
"... The countless hours Jen has put into this year's recruiting effort has really paid off."
Powers, who attends Olathe South High School, swims for the Lawrence Aquahawk club team and will become a breaststroke specialist for the Jayhawks.
"We lose nine seniors this year, who will be greatly missed, and the countless hours Jen has put into this year's recruiting effort has really paid off" Campbell said in a statement last week about this year's recruiting.
In Campbell's statement, he said Powers had tremendous upside and that she was one of the most athletic swimmers in the midwest.
Brull, a senior at Shawnee Mission Northwest High School, is being recruited as a freestyle specialist and is a Junior Nationals qualifier.
Campbell said that Brull would come in right away to help the team in sprint and middle-distance freestyle events. As well as helping out individually, Brull will also be
CLARK CAMPBELL Coach
Campbellasso sees Powers making significant time drops in college with her athletics in the pool.
T he jayhawks will be getting a competitor in Rosipersi, an Ohio native
who attends The Hawken School. Rospierski participated in the Olympic Trials in Omaha, Neb., last summer and is also an Ohio state champion and record holder in the 100 yard-breaststroke.
Campbell and the staff are excited to bring an Olympic Trials qualifier to the program. Campbell also said in his statement that Rospierski's competitiveness was going to help her compete for Big 12 and NCAA championships, and that she could be a player at the 2012 Olympic Trials.
Rudman, who is from Baldwin City and home-schooled, is a club
teammate of recruit Cora Powers through the Lawrence Aquahawks program. Rudman is being recruited for the backstroke.
The staff is thrilled that Rudman chose to stay close to home and swim for the Jayhawks, Campbell also said that her experience on the Junior National Team would help her in college swimming.
Swank, a senior at Wichita Trinity Academy, swims for the Wichita Swim Club. Also a Junior National Qualifier, Swank is being recruited for her skills in the distance free events.
The layhawks will get a fierce competitor in Swank. In his statement, Campbell said that her strong work ethic and desire to be the best was going to make her a fun one to coach and watch succeed in the KU program.
Wagner, a senior at South Fort Myers High School in Florida, is being recruited as a sprint freestyle specialist and is also a NISCA High School All-American.
One of the reasons Campbell likes Wagner is her athletic abilities. Wagner not only swims, but also plays varsity basketball. Campbell said in his statement that Wagner reminded him of former Jayhawk swimmer, Jenny Short.
The team also plans to sign a few more athletes during the spring signing period.
— Edited by Kelsey Hayes
SWIMMING AND DIVING
Meet closes fall season
BY ADAM SAMSON asamson@kansan.com
The Kansas swimming and driving team heads to Gambier, Ohio; today for the Kenyon Invitational. The top-ranked Division III squad Kenyon College will play host to the three-day event at the Kenyon Athletic Center.
This meet will conclude the fall meet season. The Jayhawks won't compete again until Jan. 9 in away dual meets against Florida International and Miami (FL).
Last year at the Kenyon
Invitational the jayhawks finished first and broke 11 Kenyon Athletic Center Natatorium records in the three days of competition. Three current Jayhawks broke individual pool records, including senior Maria Mayrovich, who broke the 50-, 100- and 200-yard freestyle records, senior Danielle Herrmann, who broke the 100-yard breaststroke record and senior Ashley Leidigh, who broke the 200-yard butterfly record. Five relay records were also broken during last year's invite.
style race, the rest of the events will have preliminary heats in the morning and final heats at night.
Excluding the 800-yard free-style relay and the 1650-yard free-
Other participants at the invitational include Carnegie-Mellon, Colgate, Pennsylvania, Johns Hopkins and Carnegie-Mellon and Davidson. Both Johns Hopkins and Carnegie-Mellon are ranked in the top 15 in the Division III poll. Davidson is ranked No. 22 in the CollegeSwimming.com Mid-Major poll.
Edited by Brenna Hawley
Kenyon Invite Schedule
Today — Timed Finals at 6:00 p.m.
800 Freestyle Relay
1650 Freestyle
Friday — Preliminaries at 9:30 a.m. and Finals at 6:00 p.m.
200 Freestyle Relay
200 Butterfly
200 Freestyle
100 Breaststroke
100 Backstroke
400 I.M.
50 Freestyle
400 Medley Relay
Saturday — Preliminaries at 9:30 a.m. and Finals 6:00 p.m.
200 Medley Relay
500 Freestyle
200 Backstroke
100 Butterfly
200 Breaststroke
100 Freestyle
200 I.M.
400 Freestyle Relay
BIG 12 FOOTBALL
Maclin's talent for returns could give Mizzou an edge against the Sooners
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Missouri wide receiver Jeremy Macin run's with the ball during the third quarter of an NCAA college football game against Kansas in Kansas City, Mo. Oklahoma is the only team in the country to allow four kickoff returns for touchdown. And the Sooners haven't even played Missouri All-American Jeremy Macin yet.
THE GREATEST SPECTACLE ON ICE!
Oklahoma has allowed four kickoff returns for touchdowns
"It's a big challenge," Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said. "Every week there seems to be someone back there that's awfully good, that you'd rather not see have the ball.
BY R.B. FALLSTROM
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Maclin, the Tigers' do-it-all sophomore with 4.3 40 speed, has four TD returns in his career. Given a chance to get his hands on a few Oklahoma kicks, Maclin perhaps represents Missouri's best chance to pull an upset Saturday night against the high-scoring Sooners in the Big 12 championship game in Kansas City.
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Oklahoma is the only team in the country to allow four kickoff returns for touchdown. And the Sooners haven't even faced Missouri All-American Jeremy Maclin — yet.
"You've got to be able to kick it and cover."
Maclin leads the nation with an average of 205.5 all-purpose yards, and during his short, scintillating college career has gone the distance on two kickoffs and two punts. He also has a team-leading 88 receptions with 11 touchdowns.
"Id love to get one (kick)," Maclin said. "But you can't be too overanxious, you can't try to make
something that's not there. You've got to take what they give you."
Kansas did its best to limit the electricity Maclin can generate with sidesaddle punts designed to roll toward the goal and away from the return man. Other teams have tried pooch kickoffs, popping it up to a less dangerous player in front of Maclin.
Of course, Oklahoma (11-1, 7-1) will have to give him a chance. The Sooners were burned last week by Perrish Cox's 90-yard return for Oklahoma State that cut their lead to 44-41.
"J-Mac gets his hands on the ball a lot, but they're doing a lot of squibbing," coach Gary Pinkel said. "Doing everything they can. His numbers might not be as good because people are smarter about what they do."
Pinkel noted the tactic was a first for Kansas.
"It was smart. They wanted the ball to roll, and he doesn't have a chance to get it," the coach said.
The interesting aspect of Oklahoma's weakness is except when return men go the distance, the coverage teams are not that bad. The Sooners kick off more than any team in the nation so they're going to give up more yards.
Their profile has been to kick away until they give up a touch.
down, and then start the squib treatment. Maclin doesn't know what to expect.
"You've just got to make the best of the opportunity that's given to you," Maclin said. "If they kick the ball deep, hopefully we can get together a return and try to exploit them a little bit."
Even without a big return game, Maclin sees ways to beat the school that's won 18 of 19 against the Tigers and whipped them 38-17 in last year's conference championship game. He's a smarter player in his second college season, adding diligent film study to his regimen, and expects those hours in a darkened room will provide a few tips to taking down Oklahoma.
"You've got to take their weaknesses, man, try to expose them," Maclin said. "That's the blueprint to beating any team, regardless of who you're playing. You've got to do the little things necessary to take that extra step."
Maclin maintains Oklahoma is far from perfect. The Sooners have a recent history of stumbling at the finish line, too, losing to West Virginia and Boise State the last two years in the Fiesta Bowl, getting blown out by Southern California in the 2005 Orange Bowl, and getting upset 35-7 by Kansas State in 2003 conference title.
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