+
sports
+
KANSAN.COM/SPORTS | THURSDAY, DEC. 8, 2016
Yulduz Kuchkarova finds a family away from home
► ERIK NELSON
@erikthefan
Yulduz Kuchkarova competes for the Jayhawks during the 2015 season.
Photo courtesy of KU Athletics
Clark Campbell, coach of the Kansas women's swimming team, had no idea what he would be getting when Yulduz Kuchkarova came to Kansas. The senior and native of Uzbekistan was a mystery.
With the way international swimming is individualized, most foreign swimmers don't have experience swimming on a team. However, Campbell said he's been impressed—shocked, almost by Kuchkarova's team-first mentality.
"She's really embraced the team aspect of swimming in collegiate competition," Campbell said.
Kuchkarova started swimming when she was 8 years old. However, she said Uzbek culture discourages women from playing sports, because it is a 90 percent Islamic country that expects women to dress conservatively.
"They don't support girls in swimsuits," Kuchkarova said. "But at the same time, they look at you for what you have achieved in the sport. They don't look at it like, 'Oh my God, she's naked.'"
Kuchkarova said she was proud of her parents' willingness to support her career as one of only a few Uzbek women to participate in sports.
"It was some kind of a barrier that we overcame as a family," Kuchkarova said. "The fact that my parents were supporting me throughout my swimming career is amazing."
She said that leaving Uzbekistan without her parents, who had supported her for so long, was difficult.
But she has since adapted to U.S. culture and society, again with her parents' support. They were the ones who encouraged her to take the opportunity to go to the United States. But Kuchkarova said while her parents encouraged her to move to the United States, she was anxious.
"At first, I was the one saying, 'Oh my God, I don't think I want to, because I don't want to leave you guys. I'm going to be alone,' Kuch-karova said." "But my parents were actually the ones saying, 'No, you should go, it's a great opportunity. You have been dreaming about it. If you're going to say no, then you're going to be a typical person living in Uzbekistan.' They pushed me."
The fact that my parents were supporting me throughout my swimming career is amazing."
Yulduz Kuchkarova Swimmer
Kuchkarova swam for her country at the 2012 London
Olympics but did not earn a medal. After swimming for a few years with a team in Redlands, Calif., she decided to attend college.
Kuchkarova said she chose Kansas because the team component of swimming was very important to her — it felt like a new family.
"Finding a place where people treat you the same and treat you like you're a part of their family was a huge thing to me," she said. "I found people who accepted me for who I am."
Kuehkarova swims in backstroke and freestyle events. She holds the second-fastest times in the University's history in the
100-yard backstroke and the 200-yard backstroke. At the 2016 Big 12 Championship, she finished in second place in the 100-yard backstroke and third place in the 200-yard backstroke. She was named to the All-Big 12 First Team in both events.
Campbell said that Kuchkarova was shy at the beginning of her career at the University, because English is not her first language, but has become more comfortable communicating and being with the team as time passes.
"She started communicating more," Campbell said. "Once you learn to care about people and communicate
with them, trust builds."
When she is not swimming for Kansas, Kuchkarova studies psychology. She does not have any definitive plans after graduation, though she said she could possibly leave the United States if she can't find a job right away.
And while Campbell said she has become one of the best teammates, there's one thing he will miss more than anything else when Kuchkarova finishes her Kansas career this spring — her talent in the pool.
Bill Self's 4 favorite regular-season wins with KU
"She's fast," he said. "And she's one of our top backstrokers — one of the best backstrokers we've ever had at KU."
The Jawhaws celebrate their Big 12 title in March 2015 after defeating West Virginia in overtime.
CHRISTIAN S. HARDY
@ByHardy
Save the National Championship and Final Four win, it's tough for Bill Self to narrow his 600 wins down to his favorite.
Before he went for career win No. 600 against UMKC on Tuesday, he was asked about what his favorite regular season win was. Instead of one, he named four. All four were at Kansas, all conference games, all at Allen Fieldhouse.
"I think there's been a lot that stands out to me," Self said. "There's a lot of great ones, but certainly those are four that come to mind from a regular season standpoint."
File photo/KANSAN
Below is a quick rundown of those games, in the order Self mentioned them, and what he remembers about them.
NO. 9 KANSAS 76, NO.
20 WEST VIRGINIA 69
(OT)
March 3,2015
Win No. 556
How Self remembers it:
"When we beat West Virginia a couple of years ago to win the league when Perry (Ellis) went down in the second half, that was a gusty win."
On senior night in 2015, Kansas won its 11th straight Big 12 title in overtime with a comeback win. Kansas trailed by eight points with 3:39 to play, with Perry Ellis in the locker room injured.
What happened:
But then Frank Mason III and Jamari Traylor took over before overtime. Traaylor's 14 points and nine boards all came in the second half and overtime, as he overcame first-half foul trouble to lead Kansas to victory late. Mason's free-throws down the stretch - he scored the team's final eight points in overtime - helped down the Mountaineers. The win avenged a loss to the Mountaineers from earlier in the season, when then-No. 23 West Virginia defeated then-No. 8 Kansas.
KANSAS 59, NO.19 OKLAHOMA 58 February 4,2006 Win No.269
How Self remembers it:
"We beat Oklahoma when we were down 17 with seven (minutes) and they were a top-15 team when those guys were all freshmen. I thought that was a pretty gutsy win."
"Those guys" were Brandon Rush, Julian Wright and Mario Chalmers — two of which would go on and win a National Championship just two years later. Self remembers it a bit wrong too, though that makes sense considering it was over 10 years ago. Oklahoma was No. 19 in the nation, according to College Basketball Reference. Kansas never fell behind by more than 16, and that was with 10:22 left in the game. But with 7:51, Kansas was down 15 points - 53-38
What happened:
before a tremendous rally. Rush hit a three-pointer and got a fast-break layup to put Kansas within 10. A short jumper from Chalmers put Kansas on top with 20 seconds to play. Unranked Kansas didn't play its best game offensively, but held Oklahoma to 58 points on 34.8 percent shooting, had 10 steals and eight blocks.
NO.1 KANSAS 109,
NO.2 OKLAHOMA 106
(3OT)
January 4, 2016
Win No.572
How Self remembers it:
"The OU win last year was obviously big."
What happened:
What happened:
This one is fresh in the mind
of Kansas fans, and it's probably one of the most competitive games ever played in Allen Fieldhouse. Perry Ellis went for 27 points and had 13 boards, Devonte' Graham went for 22 points, and Wayne Selden Jr. had 21. All of that, along with big steals late in the third overtime from Frank Mason III, helped Kansas down the No. 2 team in the country despite Buddy Hield's ridiculous 46-point day. Hield shot 23 times from the field, along with 14 free throws. As Oklahoma had a chance to win the game, Mason defended Hield as he prepared to throw the inbound at the end of the game. Instead, Mason stripped the ball away on the pass in, and hit a pair of free throws — two of his 15 points
on the day - for the win. "The only game I have been a part of in (Allen Fieldhouse) that rivals it is that Missouri game," Self said after the game.
NO.4 KANSAS 87, NO.3 MISSOURI 86 (OT)
February 25, 2012
Win No.467
How Self remembers it:
How Self remembers it?
"But the win, at least at Kansas, that trumps everything was the Missouri win. When you're down 19 in the second half to a top five team in the country and have the wherewithal and the fan support to come back and win that one."
What happened:
Self has often said this the best game he's played at Allen Fieldhouse, and for good reason. The Jayhawks trailed by 19 with 17 minutes left, but erased the deficit against the No. 3 team in the country to force overtime. It was the final installment of the Border War, at least while Missouri was in the Big 12. Now, it's been cemented into Kansas basketball folklore and forever commemorated in the pre-game Allen Fieldhouse video. Thomas Robinson scored seven of the team's last nine points, then blocked Missouri's game-winning shot to force overtime — the block heard around the world. Tyshawn Taylor and Robinson combined for 52 points to carry Kansas to the victory over Missouri.