THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY, APRIL 22, 2013
PAGE 9
NSAN ium.
water.pson place of which seconds the
race
mpe-
ledge to
ather
and
run-
wind
lit it a
dur-
vas a
idn't was endedough world one is into
ROWING
CONTRIBUTED BY KANSAS ATHLIFTICS
CONTRIBUTED BY KANSAS ATHLETIC Kansas' 1V4 competes in the Sunflower Showdown against Kansas State at Wyandotte County Lake in Kansas City, Kan. on March 30.
Kansas falls to top-ranked teams
STELLA LIANG
sliang@kansan.com
With a field that included six teams ranked in the top 20, the Kansas rowing team entered the Lake Natoma Invitational knowing it was going to get a challenge. Out of nine teams that competed Saturday and Sunday in Gold River, Calif., the Jayhawks finished in eighth place, finishing ahead of Sacramento State, who co-hosted the regatta. In total, the Jayhawks won two out of nine races, with all of the wins coming Sunday morning.
Before the regatta, coach Rob Catloth said in a news release from Kansas Athletics that the team needed to accept the challenge.
"We can measure ourselves by how close we are to these teams," Catloth said. "We will see where we are on the national scene. These teams are setting the national standard, and we need to give ourselves
an honest measure against teams of this caliber."
Kansas got the challenge it was expecting. The team didn't have a chance to slowly make its way to the toughest competition, as its first
urday morning came against top-ranked University of Southern California and 12th ranked Notre Dame. Kansas had faced Notre Dame once before this year, falling to them at
earning first in each one and Notre Dame coming in a close second. In the varsity eight, USC finished with a time of 6:34.3, Notre Dame's time was 6:38.0 and Kansas finished with a time of 7:10.4.
"These teams are setting the national standard and we need to give ourselves an honest measure against teams of this caliber."
the Oak Ridge Cardinal Invite on March 17.
The teams competed in the varsity eight, second varsity eight and varsity four races, which are NCAA championship events. In each race, Kansas finished third, with USC
ROB CATLOTH Kansas coach
The afternoon set of races against ninth-ranked Stanford and 17th-ranked Washington State saw Kansas once again falling in each race. After Saturday's races, Cattle said in a news release that the team adapted and raced better
in the afternoon.
Stanford won the varsity eight and second varsity eight races. Washington State placed first in the varsity four.
The level of competition taped off Sunday for the Jayhawks. They
faced Tulsa and Sacramento State, which are both unranked. The day started with Kansas dropping the varsity eight race. Tulsa finished first, and Sacramento State finished second.
The Jayhawks finished the regatta strong by winning their last two races, the second varsity eight and varsity four against Tulsa and Sacramento State. Sacramento State finished second and Tulsa finished third in the second varsity eight. Those two standings were reversed in the varsity four race.
The other participants in the invite were second-ranked California, which was the other co-host team, and 15th-ranked Wisconsin.
The teams rowed on Lake Natoma in the Sacramento State Aquatic Center April 20-21. The Jayhawks are preparing for the Big 12 Championship in two weeks in Kansas City, Kan.
Edited by Elise Reuter
KANSAS RELAYS
WOMEN'S TENNIS
TARA BRYANT/KANSAN
Doubles teammates junior Dylan Windom and freshman Maria Jose Cardona high five after a successful return in Sunday's match against Texas Tech at the Jayhawk Tennis Center.
Kansas breaks losing streak, now 2-7 in Big 12
EMILY WITTLER/KANSAN
TYLER CONOVER
tconover@kansan.com
Going into the weekend, the Kansas tennis team was in the midst of a losing streak spanning two seasons. With solid matches on Friday and Sunday, the streak is over, and the lajhawks are now 2-7 in the Big 12.
Before Friday's match against West Virginia, Kansas had a 21-game conference losing streak
and was tied for last place in the Big 12. After Sunday's match against Iowa State, the Jayhawks had climbed out of the conference cellar, but the Mountaineers and the Cyclones were unable to make it
"Inside, I really wanted to beat Iowa State because we lost to them last year and I wanted to battle back."
gles victories on Friday, which is a positive looking forward to the Big 12 tournament and next season.
VICTORIA KHANEVSKAYA Kansas senior
Sunday was senior day for the Jayhawks, and both seniors will leave as winners after seeing ISU dispatched in a close 4-3 victory, to end their regular season careers for Kansas. Monica Pezzoti did not play, but fellow senior Victoria Khanevskaya partnered with freshman Anastasia Trubica te
out too. They finished as the only teams below Kansas in regular season play.
For the Jayhawks to be successful, doubles play is key and they demonstrated how good they can be when the winning starts early. This weekend they took three of the six doubles play matches, with another win coming by way of forfeit, which was good enough for a 1-0 start both days.
After struggling in singles play during the past several opponents, Kansas showed poise in the last two matches by winning seven of the 12 singles matches. Freshmen Anastasija Trubica and Maria Jose Cardona were both able to get sim-
beat Emma Waites and Caroline Andersen (8-1) in doubles play. Khanevskaya was unable to win her last match at Jayhawk Tennis Center, losing in singles play to Emma Waites (3-6, 6-1, 6-4), but the team win
was big for her
"It feels amazing," Khanevskaya said after the match. "When we won the doubles point, I was really impressed with how everyone competed. I was playing my (singles) match, and when I realized we won the whole match, I got so happy because I knew it was my Senior Day. Inside, I really wanted to beat Iowa State because we lost to them last year and I wanted to battle back."
The Jayhawks will look to extend the season as Big 12 tournament play starts Thursday against the Cyclones in Norman, Okla.
Freshman hurdler Nick Uchekher jumps over a hurdle on Friday during the preliminary 400 meter hurdles of the Kansas Relays. Uchekher placed first in this heat.
Edited by Julie Etzler
Teammates take top spots in women's 400-meter hurdles
STELLA LIANG
sliang@kansan.com
Heading in away in the collegiate women's 400-meter hurdles, teammates Michelle Cumberbatch and Yaniake Haye from Lincoln University had separated themselves from the rest of the field
Heading into the final straight.
Cumberbatch
With two hurdles left, Cumberbatch and Haye battled to the finish line, with Cumberbatch beating her teammate by .65 seconds, 59.17 seconds to 59.82 seconds.
Cumberbatch said going into the race, she thought her only competition was her teammate. She said she had a lot of nerves before the race and that she was preparing to have a tight race with Haye. After the race, Cumberbatch said she initially felt excited, but realized her time wasn't where she wanted it to be.
Haye, a senior, was the only athlete who qualified with a time of less than one minute. Cumberbatch, who is also a senior, has now won this event at the Kansas Relays for the second time in a row and the third time overall. Cumberbatch said it felt good to be a three-time champion.
For the collegiate men's 400-meter hurdles, Nebraska junior Iodi-
Rae Blackwood won with a time of
51.50 seconds. Emporia State's
Gannon Mack placed second with
a time of 52.44, and Nebraskas' Ti-
bor Koroknai placed third with a
time of 52.66.
Kansas freshman Nick Ucherek placed fifth with 53.89 seconds. Ucherek had a strong surge at the beginning of the race from lane two to earn fifth place.
- Edited by Allison Hammond
Going into the last hurdle, Blackwood was in position to win. Despite knocking over that hurdle, Blackwood didn't break his stride, and ended up with the win.