Inside Sports
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Wednesday October 27,1999
Sports
Section:
The Kansas rowing team is waiting on an appeal that could give it an automatic berth in next year's Head of the Charles regatta in Boston.
Big lead
The New York Yankees took a 3-0 World Series lead last night with a 6-5 victory against Atlanta.
SEE PAGE 3B
B
Title hopes
SEE PAGE 2R
Page 1
The Big 12 has a chance to field another national champion, as three of its teams are in the top 10 of the Bowl Championship Series rankings
SEE PAGE 3B
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Volleyball win would be a record
Bv Shawn Hutchinson
Kansan sportswriter
The Kansas volleyball team will begin the second half of the Big 12 Conference season at 7 tonight against Missouri at the Horejsi Family Athletics Center.
Family Funny.
The Jayhawks are 14-7 overall and finished the first half of the Big 12 season 5-5. Tonight the Jayhawks hope to improve their record against a Missouri squad that they beat 3-2 on Sept. 25 in Columbia, Mo.
"We didn't play particularly well over there, and they had a chance to put us away and didn't," said Kansas coach Ray Bechard. "So they'd obviously like to return the favor over here.
"We've played the first half, and everybody wants to start the second half of the conference on a positive note," he said.
5 on a positive note. Kansas is coming off a 3-0 thrashing of Iowa State on Saturday night at the Horejsi Center, which snapped a three-match losing streak.
With a win tonight, the Jayhawks would set a team record for most Big 12 wins in school history. In the Big 12's inaugural season in 1996, Kansas went 4-16 in conference play, followed by a 2-18 1997 season and a 5-1 record last year.
"We've got goals to finish in the upper-middle half of the conference, and we know that it's going to take more than six [wins]." Bechard said. "But I guess if you make a comparison [to last year], that means progress."
In terms of progress, the Tigers are going in the wrong direction. Missouri is coming off three-tight losses, which has dropped its record to 8-13 overall and 2-8 in the Big 12.
The Tigers are led by sophomore outside hitter Naaron Branson, who has 218 kills on the year. Junior setter Heather Gerber has 741 assists at the season's midway point.
"We definitely expect"
"We definitely expect them to be competitive," said Kansas senior middle blocker Amanda Reves. "But we believe that we have stepped up our game and will be able to control the match on our side." Volleyball notes:
Sophomore setter Molly LaMere's 32 assists against Iowa State pushed her past
assists against Iowa State pushed her past the 1,000 career assist mark. LaMere now has 1,099 assists, seventh in Kansas history.
Reves, who belted 10 kills against Iowa State, now has 1,107 kills for her career, leaving her just 16 kills shy of passing former Jayhawk Cyndee Kanabel for second place. Kanabel played from 1990 to 1993. Judy Desch, who played for Kansas from 1984 to 1987, ranks first in school history with 1,146 kills.
Senior outside hitter Mary Beth Albrecht is following close behind Reves on the kills chart. Albrecht has 1,064 kills and needs 18 more for fourth place in the history books.
Edited by Jamie Knodel
kansas millennium athletes lynette woodard This All-American athlete made contributions both on and off the hardwood
story by sam mellinger
A wide-eyed camper at one of Marian Washington's summer basketball camps was lost.
It was June 1983, and she had just arrived with her
dad and already had
lost him in the crowd. Her excitement about learning basketball from Washington for a week quickly was interrupted by the fear of being in a strange place without a familiar face.
In substitution of a familiar one, she found a friendly face and asked for directions.
The tall, smiling woman talked with 8-year-old Amanda for a few minutes, calming her and showing her where the check-in line started.
By this time, Amanda's father spotted her, waited, and greeted his then-secure daughter.
Woodard."
"Honey, that was Lynette
"You know who that was?"
"No, but she said we need to go over there to get my room key," Amanda said.
The girl's heart started racing as she thought about all the times she had watched Woodard dominate Kansas games at Allen Fieldhouse from 1978-81, how she did things no woman had ever done on the basketball court, and to this day, still haven't done. She remembered the spin moves, the behind-the-back passes, the fancy dribbling.
Amanda turned to her dad and said, "She sure didn't act like Lynette Woodard."
Tell the story to Woodard and she plays it off with an "aw-shucks" grin.
"I like to help people," she said. "Probably she was just wandering around, looking lost and needed some help that day. It's a joy for me, helping people, especially like that at a camp. That could have been her first time away from Mom and Dad."
Woodard is who some consider the greatest female basketball player. Unassuming, approachable and down to earth, with a personality that contradicts her fame.
"That's the best thing about her," said Washington, who now sees
see WOODARD page 8B
As the millennium draws to a close, the Kansan will feature the lives and achievements of the10 greatest athletes at the University of Kansas, as selected by former and current players, coaches, administrators and fans.
10. Lynnette Woodard
Scoring 1st 3,649
Rebounds 1st 1,734
Field Goals 1st 1,572
FG Attempted 1st 2,992
Free Throws 1st 505
FT Attempted 1st 742
Steals 1st 522
Assists 1st 502
Blocks 2nd 126
Minutes 3rd 3,651
Games 1st 139
Transfer, volleyball player offered walk-on spots
By Melinda Weaver
Kansan sportswriter
sports@kansan.com
Every season, the Kansas women's basketball team offers students an opportunity to try out for the team and experience life as a student-athlete.
Robin Shield, a two-year standout on the Haskell Indian Nations University basketball team, made Kansas' team Monday after trying out last week, and Amanda Reves, a starting middle blocker for the Kansas volleyball team, will consider playing basketball for the Jayhawks after volleyball season ends.
live as a student.
The two women who were offered the
spots this semester face extra challenges
that other walk-ons do not face.
"I really need to develop myself and find
Because Shield, a 5-9 guard from Lodge Grass, Mont., did not have enough money
At Haskell last season, she averaged 16 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.5 steals per game and helped lead the team to a school record 28 wins and only 2 losses.
Shield spent the summer practicing with team members, preparing herself for the shift from Division II to Division I basketball. Shield has two years of eligibility left at Kansas.
to attend a state university and still raise her daughter Jolona, she attended Haskell for four years.
Coach Marian Washington said that Shield would do well because she had more experience than any of the other walk-on's, although she would face a tough transition.
my role on the team," Shield said. "I need to work on everything, but most importantly, I need to be aggressive and aware of what is going on on the court. I need to be able to step up my game and take control of myself."
although she is not aware.
"From what I have seen, her shooting ability is her strength," Washington said. "I think she will gain a lot from our conditioning program, and she will have a chance to have an experience that is rare for most people in her situation. This will be a very positive experience for her, and, hopefully, give her some great memories."
The challenge that Reves faces is far different from Shield's.
Reves has to decide if she is prepared to put in the hard work required to be a two
sport athlete.
sport athlete. In high school, Reves and her twin sister Brooke, who also plays for the Kansas basketball team, performed well in both volleyball and basketball. Amanda decided to concentrate on volleyball and came to Kansas on a volleyball scholarship.
In her senior year, Amanda Reves is contemplating playing both sports but said she would not comment until the end of the volleyball season.
Washington said she was excited about the prospect of working with Reves.
the prospect of working basketball, but she "I haven't seen her play basketball, but she is a great athlete, and she was a very strong basketball player in high school," Washington said. "She has been away from the game, so her skills aren't as sharp. If she decides to join us, we will take it very slowly."
— EMOU BY AMAN VAYA
Healthy living a strict policy for runners
The waitress stops by and tells us about the drink specials. "We've got 25-ounce draws of Bud and Bud Light for $1.75," she says.
I conform. "Water," I say.
My company won't bite on the specials.
"Water," says one. "Water," the other chimes in. I don't want to be difficult, so
much. "Water." I lear
I'm sorry, I'm being impolite. University of Kansas, I'd like you to meet Andy Tate and Anthony Syler. They are both seniors on the cross country team. Andy can run 5 miles in a little more than 25 minutes, and Anthony can run the same amount in the 27-minute range.
You probably wouldn't recognize either walking down the street. Being a
Jones sports columnist
sports@kansan.com
cross country runner doesn't come along with the celebrity status that being a basketball player does. And they're not walking mountains of muscle like the football players. They're about 6 feet and 160 pounds each.
But the condition these guys are in is uncanny.
cleanly.
They dodged the beers because, well, sorry to inform you of this, but beers aren't good for you. If the bar we're in gets too smoky, we're going to have to cut out because the smoke will mess up their running. They won't order anything off the menu because, get this--no calories after 9 p.m.
Andy says he has his eating schedule down to the minute.
"So how many miles did you guys run today?" I ask while eating my french fries covered in cheese sauce. I feel just a little unhealthy hanging out with these two.
Andy looks at me and with a straight face answers, "Eight miles today. We're tapering down."
If I miss a meal by 30 minutes, I get
"Andy says. 'I turn into a bear.'
cranky. Andy says. I've known people who worry about their weight, but Andy puts them all to shame. Andy and Anthony need to maintain their running weight to stay competitive. After last season, Andy picked up 18 pounds in nine days. Of course, he lost 15 in a week — the week practice started back up.
On average, they run 50 to 60 miles a week. This season has been a lighter mileage workload, they tell me. Last year, their teammate Brian Jensen was running 120 miles a week.
Between the two of them, they can go through 20 gallons of water in a week. That equals four of those giant water containers.
Don't go to their place expecting for either to offer you a can of pop. Andy hasn't drank a carbonated beverage during the season since he was in the seventh grade.
"When you drink as much water as we do, it's well worth the money," says Anthony.
But cross country runners aren't all running and no play. They get in their fun during the two weeks in between cross country and track season. The two weeks festivities end with a runner's party where they all get drunk enough to go to Lawrence High School's track and race around wearing only their running shoes. They're not worried about getting in trouble.
What you will find is a water cooler at their apartment — like the one in the office that bubbles when you fill up your cone-shaped cup. These guys are on a first-nahe basis with the guy who delivers Lindyspring water in Lawrence. They drop $40 a month to have the water unit in their place.
in trouble. "We're not going to get caught. What cop can catch us?" Andy asks.
1
And the guys do have dreams.
And the guys to have it
"One day, we'd like to sit at the Crossing on a nice Friday afternoon and have a beer, just like other students," Andy says. "Instead of always having to run past it and hear the people there yelling at us."
Jones is a Mulvane senior in journalism