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BCS POLL This year's reinvention of the BCS formula is now at work. PAGE 1B
SPORTS
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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2004
GOING DEEP
BY SHANE KUCERA skucera@kansan.com
Freshman stands out behind the racket
Stephanie Smith, Salina freshman, will play a significant role in the future of Kansas tennis. In her collegiate tennis debut in late September, Smith rolled over her competition by sweeping her singles matches. She emerged from that first tournament in Tulsa, Okla., as one of the team's most promising players.
Smith continued to show potential in last weekend's Eck Classic Invitational at South Bend, Ind. She was the only Kansas player to register a victory in a singles match.
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.
The freshman's collegiate success is consistent with her high school career. She was a three-time State singles runner-up and a National Open Doubles Champion.
Q: Is it possible to be a team leader as a freshman?
This week, Stephanie Smith talks about tennis and much more:
A: Yes, I think it's possible. Every time I go out I just try to do my best.
Q: Why have you been successful so far this season?
A: I've just tried to give it 100 percent in practice and matches.
Q: How does Lawrence compare to Salina?
Q: Are you living in the dorms?
A2. It's a lot more diverse, and a lot more hilly.
A: Yeah, I live in Corbin. I like it. It's different living with a whole bunch of girls.
Q: How is it balancing school, tennis and
vour sorority?
A: It's definitely hard. I have to give a lot more time to school and tennis now than I did at home. I don't have much free time.
Q: Who do you want to win the World Series?
A: I don't even know who's in it. You can give me some teams and I'll pick one. I guess the New York Yankees because that sounds the most familiar to me.
Q: Do people recognize you on campus as a tennis player?
A: They don't come up to me and say, "Hey good job," but people I know do. Girls in my sorority and people from home and the dorms tell me good job.
Q: What do you do to prepare for tennis matches?
A: We do our team warm-up and then I kind of stay to myself before matches, and that's about it.
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
O: Are you voting in two weeks?
A: Yeah, my mom sent me a — what do you call it? — an absentee ballot to make sure I'm going to vote. I'm going to vote for Bush, but I don't want to get into that.
www.kansan.com
Q: What are some benefits of being on the tennis team?
A: I get the opportunity to do something I've always worked for. It's an opportunity to stand out and have people know who you are.
A2. The freedom. You get to manage your time however you want.
Q: What the best thing about college?
A: Yeah, my dad. I've always looked up to him and admired him. We've just kind of gone through it all together. My mom, too; she supports me.
O: Do you have a role model?
Kucera is an Omaha, Nob., senior in journalism.
Volleyball stops Oklahoma
BY BILL CROSS
bcross@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTSWRIVER
Shutout of Sooners leads to second consecutive road victory
Last night, sophomore Jana Correa was finally able to put last season's knee injury behind her.
In the same building where she tore her ACL last season, the outside hitter led the Kansas volleyball team to its second straight road victory, a sweep of Oklahoma.
"Our left side hitters stepped up tonight and really gave us a boost," coach Ray Bechard said.
Correa, who plays on on the left side, had a match-high 17 kills while fellow outside hitter Paula Caten, a junior, was second with 15.
The Jayhawks never trailed in game one. When the Sooners closed the gap, Correa answered. She had five kills in
The Jayhawks have no game this weekend, but Bechard said the bye would not deaden his team's emotion.
the set, Kansas won the game. 30-27.
Oklahoma had its first lead of the match after scoring the first point of game two. It would not lead again, as the Brazilian trio of Correa, Caten and junior middle blocker Josi Lima all contributed powerful kills in the second half of the set to win 30-28.
In game three, an early service ace by freshman opposite hitter Emy Brown
— her third in the last two matches and fourth in the last three — forced the Sooners to take a time-out. The
Sooners closed the early six-point gap, but the Jayhawks' front line was too much to handle. The line's hitting percentage for the final match was .395. Hitting percentage indicates how many attack attempts result in a kill.
Correa had an impressive .640 attack percentage on the night, while Caten hit .500 — 15 kills and two errors on 26 attempts.
In addition to Brown's ace, the team had three others in the match. But serving was dismal at other times, as the team had 12 errors in the three sets. On Saturday against Missouri, the team set a season-high with 20 service errors.
The Sooners had 12 blocks on the night to just four for the Jayhawks, who have been outblocked for seven straight matches.
The victory moves Kansas from 10th to ninth in the conference and back
into tournament consideration.
The Jayhawks have no game this weekend, but Bechard said the bye would not deaden his team's emotion. Kansas has won two of its last three matches, with the lone loss being Saturday's five-game thriller against Missouri.
Libero Jill Dorsey said the tournament committee could select as many as nine teams from the Big 12 Conference. The senior said it is the best volleyball conference in the country last week.
"Having the weekend off comes at a good time and this win will give us a little momentum coming into the pivotal second half of Big 12 play," he said.
The team will begin the second half of conference competition when they host Iowa State at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Horeisi Family Athletics Center.
Ready to hurl
Jonathan Edwards, freshman javelin thrower, prepares to launch his javelin. Edwards and the javelin team practiced yesterday afternoon for the first time this year.
John Tran/KANSAN
OU star a 'package deal,' challenges KU defense
BY RYAN COLAIANNI
colaianni@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTWRITER
Few running backs have made the type of impact as a true freshman in college football that Adrian Peterson has for the Oklahoma Sooners.
Peterson ranks third in the Big 12 Conference and fifth nationally with more than 150 rushing yards per game.
"He gets out on the edge so quickly, and he accelerates very quickly out of his stance," Kansas coach Mark Mangino said of Peterson. "He is a guy who, once he gets rolling, he's so powerful that you got to wrap up or you are not going to bring him down."
Peterson took over the starting running back position from Kejuan Jones after the Oklahoma's first game of the season against Bowling Green. In that contest, Jones ran for 148 yards, but Peterson still managed to run for 100 yards.
Mangino thought back to Hershall Walker and Bo Jackson to remember running backs who made this kind of splash during their freshmen seasons.
"I think they have done a good job of spelling him with Kejuan Jones, and Kejuan is a really good back, too; he shouldn't be taken lightly," Mangino said. "I think they have done a good job of mixing it up and not over using Peterson. He's a workhorse for them, but I don't think they are over using him."
Jones is averaging more than 60 yards per contest, despite losing his starting job. He has been used primarily to give Peterson rest.
In every game this season Peterson has run for more than 100 yards, including 225 yards against Texas two
weeks ago.
"Our guys have been working hard this week in wrapping up and taking a back like that to the ground," Mangino said. "If you try to throw a shoulder at him or try to dive at his ankles there is no
chance, you have to get a collision and wrap him up."
PETERSON
If Peterson runs for at least 99 yards this week he will break the 1,000 yard plateau and tie Emmitt Smith and Marshall Faulk for the freshman record for reaching 1,000
has six rushing touchdowns on the season.
yards in the fewest games. Peterson has quickly become one of the best running backs in the Big 12 and the nation.
JONES
"This guy's elusive and he's big and his fast, it's a package deal with him," Kansas linebacker Banks Floodman said. "It's going to be tough to tackle him, but we are excited for the opportunity."
With Peterson's success, Oklahoma has become less reliant on the passing attack and has been a much more effective rushing team. Last season the team averaged just less than 146 yards rushing per contest. So far this season, the Sooners are averaging more than 236
"Our guys have been working hard this week
wrapping up and taking a back like that to the ground."
Mark Mangino
University of Kansas football coach
"We are going to have to swarm, because he does not go down with one tackle. He will run you over like he showed in the Kansas State game a few times," Floodman said. "We are going to have to keep our feet and run through tackles, because if you don't move your feet he can run right through you."
vards per game.
Peterson should be a challenge for the Jayhawk defense, which is ranked third in the conference in rushing defense.
With the increased balance of the running attack, Mangino said that Oklahoma quarterback Jason White had less pressure on him. The Sooner passing attack is passing for nearly 75 yards less than it did last season. And even with a decrease in production, the Sooners have managed to be just as successful offensively because they've increased their rushing yards.
"What they are trying to do is trying to get the run game to take a little bit of the pressure off Jason White so he is not back there having to throw for several downs, and they have been successful in running the football," Mangino said.
Edited by Marissa Stephenson
Both QBs may play Saturday
After practice yesterday, coach Mark Mangino cleared up the controversy about who would play quarterback — sophomore Adam Barmann or junior Jason Swanson.
"We're going to start Adam, but it's our intention to play Jason as well," Mangino said.
Mangino said there was no set time period when Swanson should expect to come into the game. He also said that if Barmann was hot, the coaching staff would not pull him for the sole purpose of giving Swanson playing time.
Both will.
"Adam's our starter, he's earned that right," Mangino said. "Adam has managed a hostile environment as well."
The quarterback situation may have calmed, but Mangino has yet to settle on a permanent kicker. In fact, Mangino has elected to take a page from other teams that have been playing lately.
"With the baseball playoffs on, you've got to go with the bullpen," Mangino said.
This is also the first week that Kansas kickers have been able to practice with goal posts at Memorial Stadium. Students removed the goal posts in celebration of the team's victory over Kansas State.
Mangino even predicted who he thought would win yesterday's American League Championship game between Boston and New York
"I'd like to see Boston, just because it's a great story."
Jonathan Kealina
.