FOOTBALL Kansas takes on Iowa State and a solid run defense on Saturday. PAGE 4B
SPORTS
dent survey
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2004
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
www.kansan.com
Kansas savvy at Media Day
Coach Self center of attention as he talks about injury and filling that last starting spot
BY JESSE NEWELL
jnewell@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTSWRIETER
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Bill Self sat at the head table surrounded by the biggest crowd at Big 12 Media Day, but he didn't seem to mind.
While all other coaches brought just two representatives from their respective teams, Self crammed onto the front table with all four of his seniors.
Then again, there might not be another coach in the Big 12 with the luxury of returning senior contributors such as Wayne Simien, Aaron Miles, Keith Langford and Michael Lee.
"A lot of coaches feel a team is only as good as the seniors allow them to
be," Self said. "That's one reason we feel we have a special team, because of these four guys."
The four seniors were part of the reason Big 12 coaches chose Kansas, along with Oklahoma State, as the preseason picks to win the conference.
conference.
"Kansas has their whole team back; everybody knows what to expect from Kansas," Texas A&M forward Antoine Wright said. "They're going to play fast, and they're going to play hard."
SELF
Coaches have already chosen Simien
as Preseason Big 12 Player of the Year after averaging 17.8 points per game and 9.3 rebounds per game last season.
"It's a great honor," Simien said. "There are a lot of other great players in this conference that could easily sneak up and lay hold to that."
Along with Simien, Langford was named to the Big 12 first team, and Miles received honorable mention.
Though he has had injury problems in the past, Simien said health was not a concern for him in his final season.
"This is it for me. This is the last year, so there really is no need for me to hold back in any way." Simien said.
Kansas is battling some injury problems in practice. Guards Stephen Vinson, Jeremy Case and forward Alex
MORE MEDIA DAY
See what other Big 12 coaches and players talked about at Media Day in Kansas City.
Galino continue to miss time because of groin injuries.
Self said that Galindo's missed time in practice set him back the most because of his status as a freshman.
"He's going to be healthy." Self said. "My concern is by the time he gets healthy he's missed so many repetitions that it will be more difficult for him to be ready to play."
Forward C.J. Giles has also been held out of practice because of shin
splints.
Self has yet to determine who will fill the final spot in the starting lineup but said that he would not consider starting four guards.
"We have about four guys that are all about the same," Self said. "Nobody has really emerged yet. It's kind of a different guy in practice, and a lot of times it's a different guy throughout each practice."
Freshman forward Darnell Jackson, freshman center Sasha Kaun, Giles and junior forward Christian Moody are the current candidates for the final spot.
'Hawks blow away Cyclones
Edited by Jon Ralston
Kansas sweeps Iowa State despite serving problems; Transfer player improves
Brian Lewis/KANSAN
The Kansas women's volleyball team celebrates after scoring a point against Iowa State last night. The Jayhawks swept the Cyclones in their second Big 12 Conference victory of the year.
BY BILL CROSS
bcross@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTWRITER
The Kansas volleyball team's outside hitters led the team to its second straight Big 12 Conference victory with a sweep of Iowa State last night.
Junior Paula Caten led the Jayhawks with 13 kills, while fellow outside hitter lana Correa followed with 12.
Correa, a sophomore who struggled with a knee injury earlier this season, led the team in kills in its previous two matches.
"It's good to see our two leaders are someone besides Josi and Ashley," he said when handed the box score of last night's match.
Middle blockers Josi Lima and Ashley Michaels led the offense during the first half of the season, but Correa's return to form and Caten's steady adjustment to the speed of Big 12 volleyball have shifted some of the Jayhawks' power to the edges of the net. coach Rav Bechard said.
Before Oct. 16, Lima or Michaels led the team in six of eight Big 12 matches.
Caten, who transferred to Kansas from Barton County Community College, started fast in game one, when she posted seven kills.
Service errors — when a served ball does not land inbounds — continued to haunt the Jayhawks, as they have during the last two matches. An error by Correia let the Cyclones pull within three points. 9-6.
But then the Jayhawks unleashed a six-point rally, sparked by Lima's serves and four Caten kills.
In the second game, service errors
were a bigger problem. Four Jayhawks missed serves in the first half of the set, allowing the Cyclones to build a 15-13 lead.
The teams traded kills until a score by Lima put the Jayhawks ahead 20-19. Despite two more service errors, Kansas won the set 30-24. The Jayhawks had seven blocks in the game, including three by Michaels.
"When you get those instant points, it really makes lie a lot easier," Bechard said.
In the third game, Kansas built a 23-15 lead as Caten and Correa combined for five early kills. Kansas errors allowed Iowa State to narrow the lead to two when Correa, who had been
replaced by sophomore outside hitter Meghan Hill, returned to the game and immediately contributed her last kill of the match.
After Iowa State outside hitter Meghan Ferrie scored a kill and a block, Bechard took a time-out. His team led just 29-28. Michaels immediately ended the match with a kill that went from the right side of the net to the middle of Iowa State's baseline.
"Game one we were pretty good. Game two, we were good in the second half. But we got really sloppy at the end of the match," Bechard said.
Michaelsa said the team played a well-rounded game.
than that, everything was good for us," she said.
But she said the Jayhawks would have to play better to keep winning in the Big 12.
"We've got to beat teams who are going to be in the tournament," she said.
The team's next opponent, Kansas State, will most likely compete in December's tournament.
The Jayhawks and Wildcats will play at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Ahearn Field House in Manhattan.
"We need to win this match," Caten said.
en-bounded game.
"We had serving errors, but other — Edited by Neil Mulbo"
Home-field advantage possible
Soccer team vies for host privileges in first rounds of NCAA tournament
BY KELLIE ROBINETT
krobinett@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTSWITTER
Friday's game against Iowa State may be senior day for the Kansas soccer team, but it may not be the last time the team's seven seniors take the field at SuperTarget Field.
In the NCAA women's soccer tournament, teams are allowed to play on their home fields throughout the first four rounds, and the Kansas Athletics Department wants to host every tournament game possible.
"We submitted a bid to host the first and second rounds and a regional," said Kelly Mhertens, associate athletics director. "It would be nice to host and have a great crowd behind the team."
The No: 6 Jayhawks, who are 15-3 overall and 7-2 in Big 12 Conference
play, are having the best season in school history and would qualify easily for home-field advantage in the NCAA tournament. But SuperTarget Field can't compete with other facilities across the country. It does not have sufficient seating, concession stands, bathrooms, stadium lights or locker rooms, or a sufficient press box.
Kansas coach Mark Francis said the Athletics Department did not try to host tournament games last year. Last season Kansas was the 13th seed in the tournament and joined Duke University as the only seeded teams not hosting a tournament game.
"I have no idea why we didn't send in a bid," Francis said. "But home-field advantage would be huge in the NCAA tournament, and now that we are trying to host games I think we will get to host."
"I think we have a pretty good opportunity," Mehrtens said. "The soccer committee tries to give schools a chance to host, and we have just as good a chance as anyone who is ranked like we are."
The Jayhawks' ranking and record are superior to those of last season and stand a better chance of getting home games in the first two rounds.
The NCAA women's soccer tournament consists of 64 teams, with the top 16 teams seeded. The selection committee designates 16 schools to host first- and second-round games and sends a group of four teams to each selected site.
The highest ranked team remaining after the first two rounds in each region is usually given the opportunity to host a regional event. The Final Four will be held in Carry, N.C., Dec. 5 through 7.
Kansas' Top-10 ranking will be difficult
for the selection committee to ignore, but so will the fact that SuperTarget Field does not have stadium lights.
Playing two games a day on the field should not be a problem, but if bad weather delays either game the session may not end by sundown. The first round of the tournament starts Nov. 12, and with the amount of daylight decreasing every day, that doesn't leave much room for error.
---
"The NCAA is hard to predict," said Adam Quisenberry, Kansas media relations consultant. "They may not mind that problem, but then again it could bother them."
In the past, soccer matches delayed by weather have been played at Memorial Stadium and the Hummer Sports Complex in Topeka.
SEE FIELD ON 8B
GOING DEEP
SHANE KUCERA skucera@kansan.com
Pitcher proves his dedication
Editor's note: Athletes at the University of Kansas are more than just victories and statistics — they're real people with opinions on sports, life and love. Each Thursday, Kansan sportswriter Shane Kucera sits with a student athlete and discusses issues beyond the playing field.
For a season and a half he patiently sat the bench and didn't get any playing time — the most action he saw was chasing after fly balls. But, when he got his chance, Hayakawa proved to everyone he had talent.
Ryotaro Hayakawa left Narita, Japan, two years ago to play baseball at the University of Kansas. He had never heard of the University, he had never seen Kansas and he had never talked to a baseball coach here, but he decided to try to walk on to the team.
He showed up for tryouts in fall 2002 barely able to speak English. Most of the time he just nodded his head in agreement when the coaches would talk. Three times a week he would get out of bed at 5:30 a.m. and walk from Hashinger Hall down to the baseball field for morning conditioning, all so he could have a chance to play baseball in America.
This week Ryotaro Hayakawa talks about baseball and much more:
In his most notable appearance last season, the 5-foot-9 pitcher came in for more than six innings of shut-out relief against a Texas Longhorns team that would go on to play for the national championship. In just more than a season, Hayakawa went from a walk-on to earning the Tom Hendrick award for most improved player at Kansas.
Hayakawa immediately impressed coaches when his first pitches registered at 88 mph. His pitching earned him one of only two walk-on spots given in 2002.
Q: How is it being a student athlete and a foreign exchange student?
A: It's pretty tough because we have a language difference and a culture difference and everything is in a totally different style than what I did in Japan.
Q: How do you throw so hard, being a shorter-than-average pitcher?
A: The one most important thing is mechanics. It doesn't matter how big you are as long as you have good mechanics. As long as you have good mechanics then you throw hard and finish hard and you can throw 90 to 91.
Q. How do classes at KU compare to your classes in Japan?
SEE DEDICATION ON 8B
.
---
4