WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 1, 2004
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SPORTS
For Brown, Big 12 buzz adds pressure but not stress
By Bill Cross
bcross@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTSWATER
Emily Brown is nervous.
She's nervous about playing her first college volleyball game tonight, maintaining her academic standards amid regular travel and living up to her Big 12 title: preseason Freshman of the Year.
"It helps me get ready," she said. "If I'm not nervous, I'm not serious enough about it."
More than anything, she's nervous about her team fulfilling its potential this year.
"We have a chance to do a lot of things," she said of the Jayhawks. "We have a lot of returners and we had some success last year. This team gets better every year."
In her hometown of Baldwin City, about 15 miles south of Lawrence, Brown dominated class 4A, earning all-league honors three times. As a senior, she earned all-state and all-American Fab 50 honors and
Gatorade named her Kansas Player of the Year.
Brown's mother, Jill, coached her in high school. She follows the legacy of her mother and aunt, Jo Huntsinger, who both played for the University in the late '70s.
With her family's influence and Baldwin City's proximity to campus, Kansas was a natural choice for the youngest Brown. But coach Ray Bechard faced some heavy competition to get her on the team.
She strongly considered offers from Minnesota, Missouri and Nebraska, the top team in the conference preseason poll.
But after practicing with the team for three weeks, she said she couldn't imagine playing anywhere else.
"I know I wouldn't be this ready if it wasn't for this group of teammates." she said.
She said she had especially bonded with middle blocker Josi Lima, a junior.
"Even when I was visiting here in high school, Josi always
talked to me and was very nice,' Brown said.
That chemistry was evident during Saturday's exhibition match against former Jayhawks. Brown and Lima dominated the net in game one, en route to a 30-7 romp. Each player had four kills in the set.
Though Brown was the only freshman to start the match on the floor, she begins the season tonight with no personal goals.
"You just want to help the team any way you can," she said.
But as Freshman of the Year, the pressure is a little greater than before.
"It's a great honor that people who haven't even seen my play in a college setting would have so much faith in me," she said. "Yeah, there's some added pressure, but I can't think about that."
Although she doesn't let gameday stress get to her, Brown said it had always been a factor in her sports career.
"I'm always nervous," she
said. "We could be playing the worst team on my high school schedule and I'd still be anxious before the match."
In addition to volleyball, Brown played basketball in high school, using her 6-foot-2 frame to her advantage. But she also found time to excel in the classroom. She made the national Dean's list and received the Knights of Columbus Leadership Award.
She said she hoped to continue this academic success in college and that it would be a new challenge when combined with the team's travel schedule.
Bechard said Brown had lived up to expectations in practices and that he was excited to see her in action tonight when his team opened the regular season at Arkansas.
"Arkansas plays a very fast game," he said. "It's going to be different than anything our new players have seen."
— Edited by Paige Worthy
Freshmen Emily Brown beams after a play during last weekend's alumni game. The Baldwin City native looks to make an impact for the Jayhawks.
Steven Bartkoski/Kansan
CHESANG: Kenvan runner plans to return to National Championships, this time with teammates
CONTINUED FROM 1A
qualified for the NCAA cross country championships, where he placed 48th out of 254 runners. He also led the cross country team to fourth place at the Big 12 championship, its highest conference finish since 1994. After placing 15th in the 5,000-meter at his first NCAA track and field championship last June, Chesang said he wants to
make a trip back this year. But this time he hopes to bring the team along.
"We're competing against lots of schools," he said. "Like I always tell people, you never know what they've got cooking. But we'll probably make it to the NCAAs. We have a good team."
As the team concocts a strategy to qualify for the championship. Chesang has plans to cook Kenyan food for
"R running is funny. When
you're in good form you don't feel pain." Benson Chesang KU Cross Country Runner
his teammates as he did last year. His favorite dishes are chapati, which he likened to
tacos, and ugali, which he described as corn flour pounded like mashed potatoes.
"Kenyan food is really good and really strong," he said. "I cooked for guys on the team a lot last year. I'm not a perfect cook, I just like to do it."
Chesang also plans to experiment with his racing style in early season meets. He said he would try different things in small early season races, like starting near the
front of the pack.
In practice, Chesang said he would take it easy most of the time, like he always had.
"I don't really train hard," he said. "I just train smart and easy."
On workout days, however, he said he pushed himself and his teammates.
"In workouts, I run really hard, fast, seriously," he said. "I try to get guys to run with me. Some of them respond,
some can't. I try to push the other guys."
Chesang can't explain how he is able to turn on speed when others simply can't.
"Running is funny," he said. "When you're in good form you don't feel pain. After a certain point, you do feel pain. You just have to go through it because everyone else feels it too."
— Edited by Paige Worthy