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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY. NOVEMBER 30, 2006
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Rowing finishes fall season strong
》 FALL SEASON WRAP-UP
Kansas left Kansas State in its wake and now is looking forward to racing Texas
BY JEFF DETER
The Kansas Rowing team opened its 2006-2007 season with a splash in the dark in late September, competing in the first sanctioned night race ever held in the U.S.
At the Head of Oklahoma event in Oklahoma City, Kansas raced under stadium lights against the Women's U.S. National team and Louisville.
Although Kansas narrowly finished in last, senior coxswain Samira Naji said racing under the lights was something she wouldn't
"It was really fun," she said. "It was a new experience that we've never done before."
forget.
But Kansas didn't just come away with a moral victory. The Kansas Novice team, composed of more inexperienced rowers, finished first and second in Novice Four division and second in Novice Eight division.
A month later the Jayhawks traveled to Iowa City, Iowa, where they competed for the first time with their full team. More than 70 KU rowers rowed in the event.
Carly Pearson/KANSAN
Ardis Johnson, senior coxswain directs the Varsity 4 boat at the Big 12 Invitational Tournament Sunday morning at Wyandotte County Park. In Johnson's boat were Elishiva Patterson, Olathe sophomore, Brooke Castrop, Olathe freshman, Jessie Prince, Shawnee sophomore, and Ashley Brookerd, Lee's Summit, Mo. Junior.
The Jayhawks concluded their fall season with two early November races, the Head of Hooch, in Chattanooga, Tenn., and the Sunflower Showdown, at Tuttle Creek in Manhattan.
Coach Rob Catloth said competing well and winning the Open Eight at the Head of Hooch, instilled confidence in his team.
"I think that was a really good booster for morale and motivation for us," he said. "I think there were like, 3,500 competitors there."
In Kansas' next race, it carried that motivation to Manhattan and defeated K-State to complete its fall schedule on a high note.
Kansas' next race is scheduled for March 24 against Texas. Unlike its other races, Kansas will stay in Lawrence and race at the Kaw. Catloth said taking all the rowing equipment from city to city was not easy.
"We just did our job and performed well every race," Catloth said.
"You've got to take your 60-foot boat from here to there," he said. "It's not like shoulder pads or bats. It's a lot of work. We have to trailer everything. It's kind of like organized madness every year."
Spotlight Player
As a senior and coxswain of the rowing team, Naji is responsible for guiding the team through some
potentially rough waters. "The girls in the boat can't see where they're going," she said. "So my job is to steer them through a course." Seated at the front of the boat during each race, Najl must be aware of maneuvers made by other teams and call out moves to her teammates to counter them. "The girls trust me to take them to the shortest place," she said. "And no crashing."
— Edited by Travis Robinett
Kansan sportswriter Jeff Deters can be contacted at jdeters@kansan.com.
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》 FALL SEASON WRAP-UP
Volleyball season ends NCAA bid-less
Jayhawks come from strong start to 3-17 record
BY DREW DAVISON
The team started strong, coming off three NCAA tournaments and with a 7-2 non-conference record,
The Kansas volleyball team had a disappointing season.
Spotlight Player
Correa
Senior
outside
hitter Jana
Correa
became the fastest
KU player
to reach
the 1000
an milestone, doing so in 76 matches. Two of her four seasons at Kansas were cut short by season-ending knee surgeries — she missed 30 matches. The 6-foot Brazil native finished ninth in the Big 12 this season, averaging 3.78 kills a game. Correa, majoring in journalism, will work for the Athletics Department next semester and is unsure whether she will pursue a volleyball career in the future.
Injuries and a trend of first-game losses resulted in a dismal record for the volleyball team.
KANSAN FILE PHOTO
Losing the first game was a trend throughout the season. Kansas won the first game in just two of the 20 conference matches. For matches that started with a lost game, the Jayhawks were 3-18. But when they won the first game, they went 7-1.
Coach Ray Bechard looks at the Oct. 21 match at Texas A&M as a turning point. He said the team was in position to win the first game, but wasn't able to. Bechard said that if the first game had gone in the Jayhawks' favor, the outcome might have been different.
including a victory against then-No. 16 Brigham Young. Once conference season rolled around, though, the Jayhawks struggled, finishing in last place with a 3-17 record.
They lost a five-game match to Texas Tech on Oct. 28. Kansas was still in the NCAA tournament picture then and had a 2-1 lead, but couldn't clinch the victory.
"We got a year of experience," Bechard said. "But, we really need to make sure we got a year of volleyball IQ."
Brittany Williams, freshman middle blocker, filled in for Uhart and showed flashes of brilliance. She averaged 2.30 kills per game.
Injuries hampered the team early on. Natalie Uhart, Big 12 Preseason Newcomer of the Year, was sidelined during the KU Alumni scrimmage.
Emerging/Returning Players:
However, Williams and fellow
Next year, the Jayhawks lose five players, most notably Jana Correa, senior outside hitter.
freshman Katie Martinicich, setter, solidified their roles. Martinicich led in assists and had a season-high 69 against Texas A&M on Sept. 20. Savannah Noyes, sophomore middle blocker, emerged as an offensive threat late. The team also will return captain Emily Brown, junior right side hitter, who was second in kills behind Correa.
Storylines for next year:
Storylines for next year.
Bechard is just three victories shy of becoming the winningest volleyball coach in KU history. He has a 148-127 record in nine seasons at
Kansan sportswriter Drew Davison can be contacted at ddavison@ kansan.com.
Kansas and an 864-187 overall record in his 22 years of coaching.
Bechard signed two players, outside hitters Karina Garlington and Jenna Kaiser.
Uhar comes back after a season-
ending knee injury. Uhart had the
hype before going down, so how she
bounces back may determine how
next year goes.
Edited by Natalie Johnson
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