KANSAN.COM / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / FRIDAY, APRIL 2, 2010 / SPORTS
7A
Sticks up
Jerry Wang/KANSAN
Nathan Jones, a junior from Houston, carries the ball past Colin Hayes, a junior from Mission Hills, during a practice drill Thursday at the Shenk Sports Complex. The men's club lacrosse team will host Iowa April 10 at the Lawrence High School football field.
ROWING
Team hosts Wildcats in the Kansas Cup
The rowing team will try to avenge last year's loss to Kansas State, its biggest rival, Saturday. The Jayhawks will host the Wildcats in the Kansas Cup at Wyandotte County Lake in Kansas City, Kan.
"It's our biggest rival because Missouri and other schools don't have rowing teams and some of these girls have been competing with each other since high school
in basketball and other sports; coach Rob Catloth said.
The Jayhawks started this season earlier than usual with the hope that the extra practice will help them peak at the right time for the Big 12 championship. The early start also allows the rowers to have more time to watch tape from their previous races and fix any problems.
"The key to beating K-State will be implementing the changes made by watching video such as getting our blades in the water
faster, getting our legs down quicker, and being more aggressive even without a headwind," Stacy Rachow, a senior from Phillipsburg, said.
A win this weekend for the Jayhawks would be a huge boost for the team after struggling to open the season.
"This race will have a huge impact," Lindsey Lawrence, a senior from Lawrence, said. "I'm counting on this race for morale and to give us the confidence to keep improving and get more wins."
Winning will help boost the team's confidence and give the rowers a feel for how the rest of the season should feel, Rachow said. "With all the work we have put in, there is no reason for us not to be successful."
Ethan Padway
SOFTBALL
Kansas prepares for No.17 Texas
BY ZACH GETZ
zgetz@kansan.com
Kansas is coming off a two-game sweep of UMKC, which coach Megan Smith said she thought she could help give the team some confidence against Texas.
"It's good to get back to playing good defense and for our pitchers to get some success." Smith said. "But we have in our mind that our work is cut out for us".
Texas has a pitcher with a mean riseball, a type of pitch where the ball rises after it's thrown, freshman outfielder Rosie Hull said. Kansas faced a riseball thrower against UMKC and only got three hits in the entire game. Hull said it was good to face the UMKC pitcher right before the match up with Texas to help get some experience with the pitch.
"It helped with the confidence to get things going and focused," Vertelka said. "It felt good to get back into the routine of things, and hopefully it'll well over to this weekend."
The Kansas softball team will have its first home Big 12 Conference series this weekend when it hosts No. 17 Texas. Kansas has a 16-17 (0-2) record while Texas comes in at 29-8 (2-0). Texas is also on a five-game winning streak but is 4-4 on the road.
"Hopefully we got some of the kinks out and now we have a
NO. 17 TEXAS 29-8 (2-0)
VS. KANSAS 16-17 (0-2)
Senior pitcher Sarah Vertelka, who had one of her better outings of the season against UMKC, also said she would use the victories to help against Texas.
"Coming out against Texas A&M last weekend was really rough, but then we came out against a non-conference opponent and were really ready for it." Hull said.
Playing all the top ranked teams also gives Kansas the exciting chance for an upset, Veretelka said.
"We're obviously underdogs and have nothing to lose," Vertelka said. "We might as well go out there and give it our all."
Eight of Kansas' first nine Big 12 games are against ranked teams, but playing all the tough teams will really help the team improve, Hull said.
Kansas will continue the season Wednesday when it travels to Columbia,Mo., for a doubleheader against No.4 Missouri.
WHEN: 4 p.m. today and noon tomorrow
WHERE: Arrocha Ballpark, Lawrence
better mind-set coming in this week," Hull said. "It was really convenient we saw a riseball pitcher yesterday."
UP NEXT:
Kansas 16-17 (0-2) vs. No. 4
Missouri 25-4 (1-1)
WHEN: 4 and 6 p.m. April 7
WHERE: University Field,
Columbia, Mo.
UP NEXT:
Edited by Kelly Gibson
Senior guard Danielle McCray and 13 other premier women's
McCray
McCray invited to April's WNBA draft
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
players were invited Thursday to the WNBADraft. The draft will take place Thursday, April 8, at
the NBA Entertainment studios in Secaucus, N.J.
McCray, an Olathe native, finished her career in the top 10 in Kansas history of 10 different statistical categories.
Known for her versatility as a
guard and forward, McCray was one of the best natural scorers in the NCAA. She was named the Big 12 preseason player of the year this season, but was unable to achieve the honor after tearing the ACL in her left knee in a mid-season practice.
Despite her career being cut short, McCray's 1,934 points ranks fourth amongst Jayhawk greats.
Other members of the Big 12 that were invited to the draft include Oklahoma forward Amanda Thompson, Oklahoma State guard Andrea Riley, Iowa State guard Alison Lacey and Nebraska forward Kelsey Griffin
- Max Rothman