THE UNIVERSITY OF MARY KANSAN
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2009
SPORTS
3B
SOCCER
Jerry Wang/KANSA Sophomore midfielder Emily Cressy plays a ball to a teammate. After last season's loss to Oklahoma State, the women's soccer team is eager to not even with a win in today's game.
Jayhawks want to even score with Cowgirls in matchup
BY JOEL PETTERSON jpetterson@kansan.com
The resentment is clear in Lauren Jackson's eyes at the mere mention of Oklahoma State. After a bitter loss to the Cowgirls last year, in which the Jayhawks gave up an equalizing goal with one minute left and eventually lost in overtime, the entire team is hoping for some revenge tonight in Stillwater Okla.
Jackson, a junior defender, called that game "a heartbreaker."
"We deserved to win that game last year," she said. "There's a lot of motivation for me, personally."
Senior defender Estelle Johnson agreed that the team has extra incentive to win the matchup, which is Kansas' first Big 12 game of the year.
"We felt like we worked too hard to lose that game," said Johnson. "Our extra motivation is getting that game that we felt like was stolen from us."
But revenge won't come easy
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against Oklahoma State, the defending Big 12 champions. Coach Mark Francis said the game would probably be the most difficult his team has had thus far.
"We're playing the defending Big 12 champs on the road on Friday night," he said. "It doesn't really get any tougher than that."
"We know that we can compete with them," said Johnson. "If we work hard we'll get the results that we deserve."
Kansas isn't short on confidence going into the game, though. They claim the best overall record in the Big 12 at 7-1-1, while Oklahoma State is 6-3-0, including a 0-1 loss to Colorado in their conference opener. The highlight of Kansas' non-conference play was a 5-0 win over then-No. 18 San Diego State. Johnson said the team's consistency has been a major part of their early success and would continue to be imperative in Big 12 play.
The Jayhawks will certainly have to work hard to win against a very athletic Cowgirl team, Francis said. The team's main focus in practice this week was quickening their playing speed, especially at midfield, to keep pace with Oklahoma State.
TENNIS
It's difficult to tell how Kansas stacks up against other teams in a typically tight Big 12 conference. But Francis said tonight will provide a good indicator for how well Kansas is prepared for the rest of their season.
"I think playing the defending champs the first game lets you know right off the bat where you're at," he said.
The game starts at 7 p.m., and can be followed via Gametracker on the Kansas Athletics Web site.
AND THE
WINNER
IS
?
THIS YEAR'S CALLED DAY SHIRT
WILL BE ANNOUNCED
MONDAY
Edited by Abby Olcese
Team shows confidence going into tournament
Ryan Waggoner/KANSAN
BY ANDREW POSCH
aposch@kansan.com
Ryan Waggoner/KANSAN
Senior Kuni Dorn returns a shot during a singles match against UMKC last spring at First Serve Tennis. This weekend's tournament will be the team's first since the season open Sept. 11-13.
Women's tennis has defeated UMKC and Saint Louis University two years in a row. The last time they faced Illinois State University, in 2005, Kansas escaped with a 4-3 victory.
With all three of those teams playing this weekend in Kansas home tournament, the squad has reason to be confident.
"It's a good tournament to play lots of matches and hopefully we come out in first place," coach Amy Hall-Holt said.
This is the first event for the Jawhayks since the fall season opened Sept. 11-13 in Wilmington, N.C., which freshman Sara Lazarevic called extremely tough.
"Coach said that this tournament should be a little easier than the last one in Wilmington." Lazarevic said. "We've been working hard in practice, so we all have the expectation to do really well."
She said she hopes to use this weekend's match experience to better prepare for the main season in the spring.
"Maybe it'll be easier, but you never know." Dorn said.
Kansas' opponents enter the fall season after finishing in low spots last spring within their respective conferences — with the exception of Illinois State. The Redbirds finished in fourth place in the Missouri Valley Conference. UMKC finished seventh in the Summit League and Saint Louis took 11th in the Atlantic 10 Conference.
A little easier still doesn't guarantee a high finish, though.
According to senior Kuni Dorn, it all depends on the day and everyone still has to come out and be prepared to work their hardest.
Despite last year's outcomes, coach Hall-Holt expects every
member of the team to come out and compete hard. The lajayh squad hasn't played for almost two weeks, so practices have been preparation intensive.
"We've been working a lot on consistency, especially in doubles," said Lazarevic, who will pair up this weekend with sophomore Ekaterina Morozova.
After that 12-day break, players now have a chance to put their training into action.
Some, though, have focused more on their individual goals. Dorn said she has been working on improving her anticipation and movement with hopes of implementing a more offensive game, rather than being stuck on the defensive end of points.
Play begins at 9 a.m. today at First Serve in Lawrence, and will continue at the same time Saturday and Sunday.
Edited by Abby Olcese