THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2009
SPORTS
5A
CROSS COUNTRY
Mike Gunnoe/KANSAN
The Women's Cross Country team starts its run on Wednesday. The队 runs different routes each day and runners decide where they are going to run while they warm up and stretch.
Runners to tweak strategy
BY SAMANTHA ANDERSON sanderson@kansan.com
The cross country team will travel to Oklahoma this weekend for its biggest meet so far this season.
The Oklahoma State Cowboy jamboree is the oldest cross country race in the country, dating back to 1937, and it still attracts many high caliber teams. Last year, the meet consisted of 27 teams in the women's race and 23 in the men's, more than both of the Kansas runners' previous meets combined.
This year's meet will have just as much competition.
The size of the meet will make it harder for the runners to focus on group packing, which is something that has been working well for them.
"It is much harder to run as a
pack in these bigger races, because you can kind of get lost in the soup," assistant coach Michael Whittlese said.
This is something that has been addressed in practice,and the team has developed a strategy for the meet.
"It will be harder but I still think we will be able to do it", sophomore Donny Wasinger said. "We'll just maybe be running in groups of smaller groups."
The Oklahoma State men runners have had a strong season so far. According to the most recent U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association ranking, they are ranked No. 2 in the nation.
"Having them run in front of us will definitely push us to run a little better, too," junior Nick Capriario
said.
On the women's side, senior Lauren Bonds will have to improve on the very successful meet that she ran last year. She placed ninth out of 205 runners.
"I really want to improve upon my time from last year and, you know, really just get out there and compete and, you know, maybe beat some people that beat me last year," Bonds said.
Last year the women's team placed fourth out of 27 teams. The Kansas women's team runs in a tighter pack than in previous years, which could help them finish higher up in the rankings and possibly make the top three.
— Edited by Samantha Foster
ROWING
It all starts tomorrow on the western basin of the Oklahoma River. It starts after a team of athletes dared to try something new, studied and then mastered a craft once foreign, now second nature. It starts after the miles put in during practice, muscles burning like dry wood, blood boiling to regatta-ready temperatures.
Kansas begins competing in 'Boot of the Oklahoma'
After all the preparation, the first competition is here.
The Kansas rowing team's schedule begins tomorrow in Oklahoma City, Okla., with the Boot of the Oklahoma, its first of four regattas this fall. The regatta entails a long race of 4000 meters and a sprint of 500 meters. While the event has no effect on season rankings, coach Ray Catloth said that it is important in translating work from practice into results on competitive waters.
"We've been working on raising
our fitness level and technical performance," Catloth said. "But it's still early."
With only four regattas in the fall compared to the seven regattas in the spring, this time of year is seen more as in-season training.
"We just want to go out and race hard and apply the changes we've been trying to make in practice on the race course," Catloth said.
Max Rothman
Venue poses extra challenge
SOCCER
BY JOEL PETTERSON
Sophomore midfielder Jeannette Francia avoids a slidetackle by a South Dakota defender on Sept 20, Kansas will face Texas ARM on Friday at 7 p.m. and Texas on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Jerry Wang/KANSAN
jpetterson@kansan.com
If Kansas wants to improve on its 0-1 Big 12 start this weekend, it'll have to do so against pretty substantial odds.
First, No. 19 Kansas (8-2-1 overall) must travel to College Station, Texas, to face the highest-ranked team in the Big 12, No. 15 Texas A&M (6-4 overall, 1-1 conference). The team will be without senior midfielder and team assist leader Monica Dolinsky, who received a red card on Sunday against Oral Roberts University, keeping her out of Friday's game.
Coach Mark Francis said he still isn't sure how the team will adjust its strategy without Dolinsky, the team's offensive centerpiece.
"We're going to have to put somebody in to replace her and figure out how we're going to play," he said.
As if these obstacles weren't enough, the Jayhawks will be facing one of the toughest atmospheres in college soccer at Aggie Soccer Stadium in College Station. The Aggies led the nation two out of the past three years in attendance and boast an average crowd size this year of 3,684 - nearly three times the size of the next-closest Big 12 team.
"Playing a Friday night there is always difficult because they have a big crowd," said Francis. "But it'll be exciting for our players. Playing in front of that many people — it's a rush for them."
Despite their No. 19 ranking, the Jayhawks find themselves near the bottom of the Big 12 standings after their 0-3 defeat to Oklahoma State last Friday. However, Texas A&M is also coming off of a 2-3 conference loss at Oklahoma last Sunday.
Francis said it was important for his team to come out of the weekend with some sort of positive result despite the difficult road stretch.
"If you look around the conference, people are winning at home," he said. "So I think for us it's imperative to go on the road and get something out of the weekend, and then we get to come play at home again."
Despite the odds, Francis said there was no reason for his team not to be confident with only two losses in the season and its 5-3
victory against Oral Roberts last Sunday. After Friday's game, the team will stay to face Texas on Sunday. The Longhorns are third in the conference standings after a 1-0-1 start in the Big 12, but their overall record is 4.5-1.
The Texas A&M game will start at 7 p.m. on Friday, and the Texas match kicks off at 1 p.m. on Sunday. Fans can watch live video feeds of both games free of charge online. Links to the video are available at kuathletics.com.
Edited by Lauren Cunningham
Follow Joel Petterson at twitter.com/ petter.
NHL
Reds pitcher denies using pine tar in Cardinals game
MLB
Capitals win season opener against Bruins
CINCINNATI — Reds pitcher Bronson Arroyo has denied accusations by the St. Louis Cardinals that he used pine tar to get better rips on pitches.
black stuff comes off on young fingers every time," Arroyo said. "I guess (Duncan) said I went to my hat time every time. Yeah, I do 8,000 other twitches. What you want me to do about it? That's how I pitch.
BOSTON — Alex Ovechkin had two goals and an assist, and Jose Theodore stopped 19 shots to lead the Washington Capitals to a 4-1 victory over the Boston Bruins on Thursday night in the season-opener.
St. Louis manager Tony La Russa and pitching coach Dave Duncan both told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch the stain on the bill of Arroyo's cap was pine tar that helped him grip balls during a 6-1 victory Wednesday.
Arroyo said the stain on his cap is residue from mud used to rub baseballs at other ballparks.
Cardinals starter John Smoltz found balls slippery and walked five walks in four innings while allowing six runs and six hits.
Duncan said umpires assured him balls were properly rubbed. New baseballs are rubbed by clubhouse attendants with a special mud designed to give pitchers a better grip.
"It's from playing in every other park where there's so much mud on the balls that that
"I guarantee when I pitch against the Cardinals next year, I'll call over and tell Dave Duncan I'm wearing a brand new hat"
Reds manager Dusty Baker said the Cardinals have their own experience with doctored caps.
receiver Ruvell Martin says he's finally up to speed with the playbook.
"If anybody should know, it
Brooks Laich added two goals and an assist, Nicklas Backstrom had three assists, and Alexander Semin had two for Washington.
NFL
Martin was among the Green Bay Packers' final cuts before the start of the regular season. He signed with St. Louis on Sept. 16 and hopes to get his first playing time Sunday at San Francisco.
Rams' new wide receiver has learned the plays
ST.LOUIS — In his third week with the St.Louis Rams, wide
Associated Press
would be Duncan," Baker said.
"I remember they had Julian Tavarez over there. They threw his hat out, remember that? His hat was all messed up. It's not like it's something new."
Tavarez, then with the Cardinals, was suspended for eight days by Major League Baseball in 2004 for applying a foreign substance to balls during a game against Pittsburgh that Aug. 24.
Associated Press
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