4B
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SPORTS
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2004
Eliminated racers stay positive THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Don't feel sorry for the drivers who won't make it into NASCAR's new 10-man, 10-race championship shootout. They don't.
Going into Saturday night's Nextel Cup race at Richmond, the drivers 11th through 15th in the points standings still have at least a mathematical chance to be among those who compete for the season title - and the big payoffs - beginning the following week at Loudon, N.H.
Sandy Smith, Kassie Humphreys, Dani May and Nic Washburn met on the mound during the game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Arrocha Ballpark last year.
But that doesn't mean the rest of the field lacks incentive.
the same situation. Burton is 18th in points, mathematically eliminated from the top 10 but trying hard to build momentum with his new team before the end of the season.
Matt Kenseth's runaway championship last year was the last straw for NASCAR, which has seen a number of ho-hum title battles in recent years. That has hurt both attendance and TV ratings late in the season, particularly when it came time to go up against pro football.
Veteran racer Jeff Burton, who recently switched teams — moving to Richard Childress Racing from Roush Racing — is in much the same situation as Riggs.
mess:
"Then there are teams like ours, who can go out, be aggressive and drive as hard as we need to in order to improve and learn from that week and try to build momentum for next year."
of the field教科书.
"Those of us who aren't in it are really going to be able to take advantage of the situation" said Scott Riggs, 29th in the standings after a seventh-place finish last Sunday night at California Speedway. "A lot of the teams in the top 10 are going to have to tiptoe around out there. They want to stay out of trouble and not get caught in someone else's mess.
ACE: Humphey's baptism-by-fire experience prepared her well
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1R
Assistant coach Christi Musser was pleasantly surprised with the way Humphreys performed.
formed.
"We were all pleased," Musser said. "We knew she had the potential, and it was just a matter of her getting out there and doing it."
and doing so. Humphreys did not expect to experience the baptism-by-fire that resulted from Settlemier's injury, but she is grateful for the experience it afforded her.
"When Serena couldn't pitch, I had to be in there," Humphreys said. "I couldn't sit back and learn in the way I thought I would. I gained a lot of experience, especially for a freshman."
freshman Because Humphreys had the opportunity to learn from experienced pitchers Pierce and
Christina said, "I look up to Serena in the same way I did Kara, because she has more experience than I do," Humphreys said. "I know that Christina looks up to us because we have experience that she can learn from."
With the kind of season Humphreys had in 2004, expectations for 2005 are high. Musser said Humphreys can live up to those standards.
Settlemier last season, she wants to be a role model for others in the same situation, such as freshman left-hander Christina Ross.
live up to those We"think Kassie will make a huge step forward," Musser said. "We expect her to do even greater things this year. She, along with Serena, will be a leader for the pitching staff."
Humphreys said she doesn't necessarily feel any added pressure.
"I think you just need to relax and trust yourself," Humphreys said. "If Serena wasn't going to be back I think I would feel more pressure, but I don't feel like I need to carry the team on my own."
my own.
Humphreys is proud of what she accomplished last season, which she finished with a 14-12 record. But she has bigger personal goals in mind.
soma good idea.
"I would like to improve by learning from the mistakes that I made last year," Humphreys said. "I feel smarter and more mature with a year of experience past me."
As for her team, she expects great things this coming spring.
"I think we finished strong, and we need to carry that over to this season," she said. "We just need to keep going forward. We have great team chemistry, we're working hard, and with
Kansan File Photo
Coach Tracy Bunge talks to sophomore pitcher Kassie Humphreys and junior catcher Melaney Torres during last year's game against Wichita State.
Serena coming back, we have very high expectations of ourselves."
- Edited by Janette Crawford
LESSONS:
Ideas taken from the north
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1RD
9. Alex Galindo does more than shoot. More promising than seeing Galindo hit four consecutive threes were the intangibles the 6-foot-7 guard brought to the floor. Galindo has great leaping ability and showed he was a force on the boards with 10 rebounds against Langara. He also brought intelligent play, screening off a defender on a fast break so Miles could have an easy two points, and extensive hustle, once banging his head on the ground after diving out-of-bounds against Fraser Valley.
10. Jackson is the best post defender with the Jayhawks. The 6-foot-9 forward always seems to be in the right place at the right time and have good position on defense.
11. Green traffic lights in Canada blink. I'm not sure why, but they do.
12. Kansas fan support knows no boundaries (literally). UBC coach Kevin Hanson said he had received ticket inquiries from 30 different states for the first game in Canada. The Jayhawk following, especially for an exhibition trip in a foreign country, was tremendous, with about 500 Kansas fans at each game.
13. If, hypothetically speaking, you have a connecting flight, you do not need to pick up your luggage. This is very important. If you do this, it will cause you to curse under your breath while running through the airport like Macaulay Culkin in Home Alone 2 to get to a flight taking off in seven minutes. Not that it happened to me or anything.
Newell is an Emporia junior in journalism.
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