Thursday, October 9.1997
The University Daily Kansan
Section B · Page 3
Women's golf places eighth Kansas cross country team helps runner find second home tournament-champion Oklahoma State. Beth Reuter had a
Sophomore leads team in conference preview
Kansan staff report
The Kansas women's golf team placed eighth with a total score of 961 at the Big 12 Conference Preview in Columbia, Mo., Tuesday.
The Jayhawks shot first- and second-round scores of 318 and 319 Monday before completing the tournament with a third-round score of 324 Tuesday.
Kansas finished 40 strokes behind
tournament-champion Oklahoma State. The other schools that placed ahead of Kansas were Texas A&M, Missouri, Texas Tech, Texas, Nebraska and Oklahoma.
Sophomore Susan Tessary was the Jayhawks' top golfer at the tournament with a total score of 236 after rounds of 77, 79 and 80.
Tessary's 16th-place finish was a team high this season. Junior Mandy Munsch had the previous best when she tied for 26th at the Northwest Invitational.
Freshman Jamie Tucker had the highest finish of her career when she tied for 20th with a total score of 237. Senior
Beth Reuter had a total score of 243 and tied for 33rd. Freshman Ashley Bishop tied for 44th, her highest finish, in her third career tournament with a total score of 248.
Munsch, who entered the tournament as Kansas' top golfer, finished 47th with a 250 total. She had rounds of 86, 81 and 83 for a total score of 250.
The Jayhawks will next compete Oct. 19-21 in the Marilynn Smith/Sunflower Invitational in Wichita.
Men's golf impresses in Indiana
Kansan staff report
For the third time this season the Kansas men's golf team claimed an individual title and placed in the top five at a tournament.
The Jayhawks placed second and sophomore Ryan Vermeer won a share of the individual championship at the Legends of Indiana Intercollegiate Tournament in Franklin, Ind.
Vermeer, who finished the tournament with a 9-under-par 207, had a double-bogey at 16 and was three strokes behind Missouri's Colby Robertson at the 18th hole. At the 18th, Vermeer got an eagle from 163 yards out using an 8-iron and tied the score.
There was no playoff as Vermeer and Robertson shared the title.
"It was a slam-dunk right into the cup," Kansas men's golf coach Ross Randall said. "It was really an outstanding shot."
Vermeer shot rounds of 68, 70 and 69 for his total score. Vermeer's total score was a personal record, and he tied his best round with a 68 in the first round. His three-round score is believed to be the lowest in Randall's 18-year tenure at Kansas.
As a team, Kansas placed second only to the University of Miami, Ohio, and the Jayhawks broke a team record for lowest three-round score with a total of 852.
The previous mark of 859 was set at the Kansas Invitational at Alvamar Golf Course in 1955. The Jayhawks are averaging a three-round score of 861.7.
"The team totals are the lowest in school history, at least since I've been around," Randall said. "We've been under par as a team in two of the three tournaments we've played in. That's remarkable."
Junior Chris Thompson placed seventh in the tournament with a 6-under score of 210. Sophomore Brad Davis tied for 18th with a 216 total.
Senior Brad Barnett tied for 39th with a total score of 220, while freshman Jim Gates finished in 88th with a total score of 240.
There are books to buy, classes to find, cheers to learn and roommates to deal with, along with dozens of other adaptations for a freshman at the University of Kansas.
By Alex E. Runner sports@kansan.com Special to the Kansan
But for Ricardo Amezcua, Acambaro, Mexico, freshman and member of the men's cross country team, there is more to remember. Although Amezcua is in his second semester, he still is learning English, making cultural adjustments and finding out how to compete against some of the finest athletes in the world. Despite these challenges, he seems to be doing just fine.
"Now he seems very well adjusted," said Gary Schwartz, Kansas cross country coach. "He's more settled."
In his first college race – the Stanford Invitational on September 27 – Amezuca led the Kansas men's cross country team to an eighth-place finish. He finished 14 overall at 24:29.
"It was a good race, but I think that I can place better, and I think that the team can do much better." Amezcua said.
In 1996, Amezoua won the Mexican national championships in both the 10,000 meters and the 5,000 meters and raced in Germany and Japan.
Having success against international competition made Amezcua think about using his athletic ability to further his education.
"After national championships, I decided to look for a scholarship in America," Amezuca said. "Some of the friends I was racing with told me about different scholarships."
When he saw that going to a university in the United States was an option, Amezcua looked
at four schools: UCLA, Pittsburgh State, Western State College of Colorado and Kansas.
"I finally chose Kansas because I knew of the great history of Kansas running with Billy Mills and Jim Rum." said Amezcua.
Running cross country has not only given him the opportunity to experience life in the United States, but life as a Jayhawk.
"The campus is beautiful," said Amezcua,
"The teachers are great. I'm very happy here in Kansas."
The 21-year-old athlete is the 11th of 12 children born to Mimel and Jovita Amegrona.
"My family is not a really rich family, but they've given me all I need and even more," said Amezcua.
Amezuca's coaches and teammates have helped him adjust to life at the University.
"Coach Schwartz and Coach Danger help me all the time, and all the guys on the team are really nice and helpful," he said. "To train is really hard and painful, but when we help each other, it's much easier."
The Kansas men's cross country team will compete for the first time in two weeks Saturday at the Iowa State Invitational in Ames, Iowa. Amecuca said that he hoped to do well at Iowa State so that he was more prepared for Big 12 Championships.
"I want to race three times before the Big 12 Championships because I want to do my best in that race," he said. "I talked to Coach Schwartz about the race, and he told me to relax for the first races and just get a good workout."
"I think that everyone has an opportunity in life to do something," Amezuca said. "I have this opportunity, and I'm going to do my best with it."
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