2B
SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 18,2007
WOMEN'S GOLF Senior leads tournament after second round
Senior Amanda Costner continues to lead the Big 12 Championship Women's Golf Tournament in Waco, Texas.
She fired a 73 in the second round and sits at even par for the tournament. Costner holds a seven stroke lead over two golfers tied for second place.
-Kansan staff report
As a team, Kansas is in fifth place, trailing leader Oklahoma State by 15 strokes.
NCAA BASKETBALL Wichita State recruit collapses, dies Monday
NEW HAMPTON, N.H. — A Wichita State recruit died Monday night after collapsing on a basketball court at New Hampton School, a school spokesman said.
Guy Alang-Ntang, a senior, was playing in a pick-up game at the Smith Gymnasium on the prep school campus. He was on the court, away from the action, when he apparently lost consciousness and fell backward about 7 p.m., spokesman Peter Miller said.
He was taken by ambulance to Speare Memorial Hospital in Plymouth, where he was later pronounced dead.
Alang-Ntang is survived by his parents, who live in Cameroon, Africa.
In a written statement late Monday, the Wichita State athletic department said it was saddened by Alang-Ntang's death.
Associated Press
>> LPGA
Sorenstam sits out Golfer aims to return by end of May
ASSOCIATED PRESS
REUNION, Fla. — Annika Sorenstam was on her feet for nearly two hours, hosting a golf clinic for children, speaking to sponsors and dignitaries from behind a podium, cutting the ribbon to officially open the Annika Academy and giving her guests a tour.
Then it was time to slip into something more comfortable.
So she put on her neck brace
Sorentam sat in a conference room, resting her right arm on a table, unable to lift it over her shoulder. She gently rubbed an area at the base of her index finger that she said was numb. Her goal is to return to the LPGA Tour by May 31 for her new tournament, the Ginn Tribute Hosted by Annika, but even that is in doubt because no one knows the extent of her injury.
She has a ruptured disk in her neck and a bulging disk in her back, which explains why she is off to her worst start since 1999.
But that might not be the only thing affecting her game.
Not even an MRI can detect desire. Nor can a neck brace keep the 36-year-old Swede from looking more content than ever.
Sorenstam once found her fulfillment on the golf course, whether that meant shooting a 59, teeing it up against the men at the Colonial, winning the career Grand Slam, pursuing the calendar Grand Slam and otherwise establishing herself as the
greatest of her generation
"I do want to make clear that the competition still means a lot," said Sorenstam, who is third on the LPGA career list with 69 victories and fourth with 10 majors. "There's nothing like going down the 18th fairway with your adrenaline pumping, and when I get that chance, I don't think about other things."
"But when you've got the tournament weeks, the practice ... until you get to Sunday, it's tough to get the match lit."
What motivates her more these days is building a brand. She opened the 5,400-square-foot academy Monday and has plans to design a golf course. Sorenstam is so involved with details that she even picked out the carpeting in the academy.
"Right now, this is what excites me. That's really the truth," she said. "I've tried to motivate myself at times. I know I can play. If I really have to gear up for an event, I can do it. But it's almost like, I've done that so many times! This is thrilling to me. This is more about giving back. I'm very complete right now."
Sorentstam has dropped casual hints during the last several years that she wants more out of life than a collection of trophies, even as they were piling up at a ridiculous rate. She won 43 times in a five-year span starting in 2001. After each season, it seemed inevitable that she eventually would challenge the record 88 victories by Kathy Whitworth. That record now looks out of reach.
Still Best Cash for Books Jayhawk Bookstore ...at the top of Naismith Hill
The Kansas tennis teams head to Oklahoma today to face the Sooners. The Jayhawks have dropped their last six matches.
Struggling Kansas to face Oklahoma
KANSAN FILE PHOTO
TENNIS
BY RUSTIN DODD
The Kansas tennis team takes its season-high six-match losing streak into today's final road match of the season at Oklahoma.
The match begins at 1 p.m.
The jayhawks had their last victory on March 10 — a 5-2 victory against the Nebraska Cornhuskers
Kansas (4-14, 2-7 Big 12 Conference) takes on the Oklahoma Sooners (7-11, 4-5), who are coming off consecutive losses to Nebraska and Oklahoma State.
After a 14-11 record a year ago, Kansas is in danger of equalizing its 2005 record of 4-17. After the its midweek match with Oklahoma, the team will close out the regular season at home against Texas A&M on Sunday.
Edited by Ryan Schneider
and coach Amy Hall-Holt admitted the season has had its sour moments.
Kansan sportswriter Rustin Dodd can be contacted at rdodd@kansan.com.
Three players continue to be plagued with injuries. Junior Stephanie Smith has been hobbled by an ankle injury, sophomore Edina Horvath has a sore back and junior Lauren Hommell is suffering from
"Some girls are getting frustrated",
Hall-Holt said after their sixth consecutive loss against Colorado on Sunday.
"We talk about keeping a positive attitude on and off the court."
On the individual side, sophomore Yuliana Svistun's seven victories are tied for second for most wins at No. 5 singles in the Big 12. Junior Elizaveta Avdeeva and Horvath — who were once 6-1 in the conference — have dropped two straight and sit tied for second in wins at No. 1 doubles.
"I admire the girls that step up and continue to play; Hall-Holl said. "But in the long run, I'd rather have healthy players. I don't want any major damage done to the girls."
With its 2-7 conference record, Kansas is tied with Texas Tech for 10th in the conference. Kansas should finish no worse than 11th with perennial conference doormar Iowa State firmly implanted in the cellar at 0-9 in the Big 12.
an undisclosed injury. Smith was forced to retire during her singles match against Colorado in the second set.
Athletics calendar
TODAY
Women's golf. Bia 12
Women's golf, big 12
Championship, all day, Waco,
Texas
Track at Kansas Relays, all day, Memorial Stadium
Tennis at Oklahoma, 1 p.m. Norman, Okla.
Softball vs. Missouri, 3 p.m.
**Ballou vs. Missouri**, 3 p.m.
5 p.m. Arrocha Ballpark
■ Baseball at Wichita State, 7 p.m. Wichita
FRIDAY
THURSDAY
Track at Kansas Relays, all day, Memorial Stadium
Track at Kansas Relays, all day, Memorial Stadium Baseball at Texas Tech, 6:30 p.m. Lubbock, Texas
SATURDAY
Track at Kansas Relays, all day. Memorial Stadium
Softball at Texas Tech, 2 p.m.
Baseball at Texas Tech, 2 p.m.
Lubbock, Tex.
Volleyball vs. North
Volleyball vs. North Carolina, TBA, Horejsi Family
Athletics Center
Volleyball vs. Saint Louis,
TBA, Horesei Family Athletics
Center
Rowing at Minnesota, TBA,
St. Paul, Minn.
SUNDAY
Tennis vs. Texas &M, 11 a.m.
Robinson Center courts
- Softball at Texas Tech, noon,
- lubbock Texas
Baseball at Texas Tech, 1:05 p.m. Lubbock, Texas
Soccer vs. Nebraska-Omaha,