4B THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
JEEP
TUESDAY. SEPTEMBER 7,2004
SPORTS
Cross country teams start strong
Andrew Vaupel/KANSAM
Laura Major, sophomore, falls short on a surge to the finish against Kansas State University freshman Stephanie Lavin. Major captured seventh place for the Jayhawks on Saturday. The Kansas State women's team placed first at the Bob Timmons Invitational, while the Kansas women took second. The Kansas men's team took first.
BY FRANK TANKARD
ftankard@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTSWATER
The Bob Timmons Invitational was all about underclassmen for Kansas on Saturday. The men won easily, while the women were edged out at the finish by Kansas State to take second place out of eight teams.
Sophomore Tyler Kelly had a breakout performance in the men's eight-kilometer race, placing second with a time of 26:12.96 and beating his time at last year's meet by more than a minute.
"I drank too much coffee before the race, so I was a little jittery," said Kelly, "but I knew I'd have a big improvement, because I had a really good offseason."
Two runners competing for the first time as Jayhawks finished closely behind Kelly: Freshman Colby Wissel came in third, in 26:21.14, followed by junior Matt French in fourth, in 26:23.02.
Kansas senior Chris Jones won the race in a time of 25:58.53, but cautiously entered unattached to save his eligibility. He wore a gray Michael Jordan jersey instead of his Kansas uniform. Jones distanced himself from the pack early in the race and hung on to the end.
"I felt amazing at the beginning," he said. "It hurt at the end, but it's supposed to."
Coach Stanley Redwine said he was happy with how the men performed.
"You always expect the best, and they always expect to do the best," he said. "So rather than be overwhelmed about it, I want them to start expecting it. I think this is the future of KU."
Benson Chesang, the Jayhawks' lone NCAA qualifier last season, was notably absent from the race.
Chesang said he was resting his hamstring, which had been giving him pain since last year. He said he was not sure whether he would run in the Kansas State Wildcat Invitational this
Saturday, but that the problem is not serious.
In the women's race, four of Kansas' top seven finishers were freshmen. Connie Abbott led the way for the newcomers with a time of 20:03.75, finishing third on the team and 10th overall in her first college race. But she wasn't satisfied.
"I died at the end, but that's okay," said Abbott. "I'm getting there."
After Abbott, a pack of Kansas runners finished 13th through 16th, including freshmen Alicia McGregor in 20:14.32, Lisa Morrisey in 20:15.20 and Hayley Harbert in 20:16.47.
The three had just climbed the
final hill together with 300 meters to go when a deer darted across the path and almost collided with them.
"That was funny," said Morrise. "I thought it was a dog at first. Then I realized, that's not a dog, that's a deer with great big antlers."
Redwine said he saw the deer run out of the woods and start toward the course. "What did it have, four points on it?" he said. "I should've had my shotgun."
Senior Megan Manthe finished first on the team and third overall, in 19:13.91, despite an ailing foot. Sophomore Laura Major, 19:51.37, placed second on the team and seventh overall.
aged by the performance of the freshmen.
"I'm really pumped about that," she said. "I hope that they're excited and ready to work hard and see that they can make a difference."
Manthe said she was encour-
Distance coach Doug Clark had judged that Kansas was winning the race with 100 meters to go, but said the team was hurt by a weak finish.
"That's one thing we need to work on," he said. "But I'm happy with it. I don't want to make too much out of a meet on Sept. 4th."
Saturday the teams will compete in Kansas State's Wildcat Invitational in Topeka.
VOLLEYBALL Jayhawks dominate Tulsa tournament
By Bill Cross
bcross@kansan.com
KANSAN, SPORTSWITTER
— Edited by Janette Crawford
The Kansas volleyball team won the Oral Roberts Classic, taking three matches in Tulsa, Okla., during the weekend. Josi Lima, junior middle blocker, was named the tournament's most valuable player, while teammates Jana Correa and Andi Rozum made the all-tournament team.
On Friday, the Jayhawks faced the Ramblers of Loyola-Chicago. Kansas won the match 3-1, dropping the first game but winning the rest. Coach Ray Bechard said his team's serving was below par in the first game, which ended with the Jayhawks behind. 26-30.
"Our pass and serve game put us out of rhvthm," he said.
The Jayhawks did not drop another set all weekend, but the Ramblers did not go easily. Loyola's Nichol Amberg scored a match-high 17 kills, but Kansas' offensive harmony was overwhelming — five players scored eight or more kills in the match. Lima led the Jayhawks with 13.
While the offense was solid, the team's defense was key in the final three sets of Friday's match. The Jayhawks allowed a dismal .080 attack percentage for the Ramblers. Attack percentage is calculated by subtracting attack errors from kills, then dividing by total attack attempts. The Jayhawks posted a percentage of .266, including a perfect 7-for-7 from junior setter Rozum. She added 40 assists during the match.
Senior libero Jill Dorsey — whose only responsibility is on defense, as the libero is allowed to hit the ball over the net only when the ball is below the top of the net — denied the Ramblers the most with 18 digs. She had 40 digs during the weekend,
teading Kansas in every match.
The final three games in the first match ended in victories for Kansas, 30-16, 31-29 and 30-22.
In the first of two Saturday matches, Kansas swept North Texas. 30-19, 30-18 and 30-21.
Serving was a strong point for the Jayhawks, who scored 13 aces during the match against North Texas' Mean Green.
The Mean Green posted a .049 attack percentage while the Jayhawks attacked at an impressive .393 clip. Lima again led the team, landing nine kills in limited action.
All 14 players on the Kansas roster played in the match as Bechard conserved his team's energy for the nightcap against the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles.
The host team provided a slightly stiffer challenge, but the Kansas defense came through again, allowing only a .025 attack percentage.
The team's blocking was again dominant as the Jayhawks outblocked their weekend opponents 35-12. Bechard said blocking was one of the main reasons his team was 4-0 early in the season.
Sophomore outside hitter Correa led the Jayhawks with 12 kills. She also added nine digs in the final match. Freshman opposite hitter Emily Brown contributed nine kills and 10 digs as the Jayhawks completed another sweep: 30-21, 32-20 and 30-18.
The undefeated Jayhawks will play for the first time on their home court in Horejsi Family Athletics Center this Friday.
The Jayhawk Classic will begin with a double-header against Rhode Island at noon and Wisconsin at 7 p.m. The tournament will conclude with a match against Denver on Saturday at 2 p.m.
"We hope things go as well for us next weekend," Bechard said.
kansan.com
- Edited by Paige Worthy
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