KANSAN.COM / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / MONDAY, MARCH 22, 2010 / SPORTS
7B
MEN'S GOLF
Barbee, Waite lead Kansas
BY ANDREW WITUSZYNSKI
awituszynski@kansan.com
That would have been tough to do because the Jayhawks gave away nine strokes over the last four holes on day one. It was an uphill battle from there.
- Spring break wasn't quite as relaxing for the men's golf team as for others. The golfers spent their spring break in Arizona and Louisiana for some tournament play.
- "All in all it was a very successful spring break," head coach Kit Grove said.
In the first tournament, the Jayhaws returned to Louisiana to try and redeem themselves for the 15th place finish out of 16 teams they had two weeks ago. At the Squire Creek Invitational, Kansas improved eight spots and finished 7th.
"I would have liked to have done a little better in this one," Grove said.
"The guys just get a little ahead of themselves and they start to worry too much about a number," Grove said. "They just need to simplify things and stay focused."
All week, Kansas was led by the stellar play of junior Nate Barbee. In the first tournament, Barbee recorded two rounds of under par golf including
3arbee
469 in the final round to pull in
to a tie for second place.
- "Nate just plays his game and gets better every time we go out on the course," Grove said.
Freshly inserted into the Jayhawk's five-man rotation, freshman Dan Waite was the second best scorer for the Jayhawks. Waite, with two rounds of 78 and
a 79, totaled 235 stokes for the tournament.
"He had a little bit of a rough start," Grove said. "But I was able to talk to him during team meetings and he improved from there."
With a promising performance under its belt, Kansas then moved on to the Desert Shootout in Goodyear, Ariz. This was a different course, but for Barbee it was the same story. He shot three
straight rounds of under par with a 68, 67 and 70. Barbee for the second straight tournament came in second place
"The nice thing is that making Regionals is an option again."
The Jayhawks stood in third place going into the
a 67 in the second round and a 71 in the final round to help the Jayhawks pick up the second place finish. His total score for the three rounds was 215.
final round, but came back from six strokes down to pull into a tie for first place at the end of the tournament. The comeback forced a playoff between Kansas and Wichita State.
In the playoff, Wichita State knocked off Kansas' hopes of what would have been their first number-one finish of the year.
"Just getting to that playoff with
Just behind Waite was fellow freshman Alex Gutesha with a 216. Gutesha's top round was a 68 and he also recorded two 74s.
Freshman Chris Gilbert ended up with a final score of 220. For the first time this season, senior Bryan Hackenberg played as an
Wichita State was really cool for the guys," Grove said. "It was a one-hole sudden-death playoff and we just weren't quite able to pull it off."
KIT GROVE Kansas coach
For the sec.
ond straight tournament since earning a spot in the rotation. Waite put together solid rounds and was once again the second best scorer for Kansas. Waite shot
Waite
individual and also scored a total of 220 strokes.
Freshman Jeff Ball totaled 227 strokes. Bell will return home the next time the Jayhawks tee-off for the Diet Pepsi Classic
in Wichita on April 5-6.
Kansas is making a push toward Regionals. This is something that seemed out of reach after finishing in 15th place two weeks ago, but with their performance during the past week, Kansas is back in the hunt.
"The nice thing is that making Regionals is an option again," Grove said. "We are still a long ways away, but we may move up 20-25 spots with this second place finish."
According to Grove, the Jayhawks need to finish in the top three in the next two events, but with three top three finishes already this season that type of performance is not out of the question.
"I'm just really proud of the way the guys played this week, especially after the last few tournaments," Grove said.
Edited by Drew Anderson
The Jayhawks return to action Friday at the Jayhawk Tennis Facility hosting Iowa State at 2 p.m.
TENNIS
Jayhawks winless in conference matches
and Cleveland State, winning 6-1. Freshman Vika Khanevskaya, junior Maria Martinez and Wilbert won both their singles matches. Against Cleveland State, the Jayhawks struggled in doubles giving up the doubles point, but won all their singles matches.
With four matches during spring break, the Kansas tennis team won its first two and lost the second two, which were their first conference games. The team record is now 8-6.
as they defeated the Jayhawks in every match, and won with straight sets in singles.
Against the No. 32 Texas Longhorns, the Jayhawks dropped to 0-2 in conference play recording only one win in doubles from the team of sophomore Kate Morozova and junior Erin Wilbert. Despite the victory, Texas won the other two doubles matchups to complete a 7-0 defeat.
In their first conference matchup the Jayhawks faced the Texas A&M Aggies in College Station. The Aggies were led by three nationally ranked players
Kansas found early success against Saint Louis, winning 5-2.
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Da'Sean Butler handled Missouri's pressure defense just fine and led West Virginia into the NCAA tournament's round of 16.
— Kathleen Gier
and were just as bad from the free-throw line,where they went 12 of 20.
Butler accounted for 19 of his team's 30 points in the first half, then finished with 28 to lead the
COLLEGE BASKETBALL West Virginia ends Missouri's season
West Virginia (29-6) advanced to face No. 11 seed Washington in the East Regional semifinals at Syracuse on Thursday. It marks the fifth time the Mountaineers reached the final 16, and first since 2008.
Kevin Jones had 13 points and nine rebounds for the Big East Conference champions.
Associated Press
Purdue wins in closing seconds of OT
Michael Dixon scored 15 points for Missouri (23-11), which was undone by an overall poor shooting performance. The Tigers went 20 of 61 from the field
second-seeded Mountaineers to a 68-59 victory over 10th-seeded Missouri.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
BY GREGG BELL Associated Press
Associated Press
SPOKANE, Wash. Determined and undaunted, 6-foot-3 Chris Kramer bulled past one defender 4 inches taller than him. He flipped a layup over another 6 inches taller. Seconds later, he was getting pounded by his own teammates.
A fitting way for Purdue's most rugged player, its soul now that do-it-all leader Robbie Hummel is out for the season, to send the Boilermakers to the regional semi-finals of the NCAA tournament.
Kramer's daring drive and layup over Texas A&M big man Bryan Davis with 4.2 seconds remaining in overtime sent fourth-seeded Purdue to a 63-61 victory over the fifth-seeded Aggies on Sunday in a bruising, second-round game that just about left dents in the
thought the Boilermakers, a former top-seed candidate and pick from the Final Four in their home state, wouldn't even get out of the first round. Their players openly spoke of their anger at people slighting them.
There was nothing slight about the square-jawed, bullish Kramer. He led the Boilermakers with 17 points, seven rebounds — and countless dives to the floor for loose balls.
arena's floor.
The 6-foot-9 Davis had 17 points and 15 rebounds to lead the Aggies (24-10), who were denied their second regional semifinal in four years.
"I had the ball and went right and crossed over to the left, and it parted like the Red Sea," Kramer said of the A&M defense. "Then it came down to finishing, as Davis came over and tried to block my shot."
Texas A&M's B.J. Holmes got a final, frantic chance to win the game with a rushed 3-point try from in front of his bench at the buzzer, but it hit short on the rim to ensure a sixth regional appearance in 12 NCAA tournaments dating to 1994 for Purdue (29-5).
The Boilermakers, who rallied from 11 points down in the second half, will face top-seeded Duke in Houston on Friday.
The fourth overtime game of this tournament had three ties, with the relentless Aggies taking two-point leads and the unyielding Boilermakers answering each time.
This all seemed like a pipe dream a month ago, when the Big Ten regular season co-champions lost Hummel to a knee injury. Even President Barack Obama
Just for kicks!
Kickball
TOURNAMENT
Noon-6 p.m.
April 18
Lyons Park, Lawrence
$10 (includes T-shirt and snacks)
This kickball tournament is designed to bring KU students and alumni together in the spirit of good healthy competition! Proceeds from the event will go toward Student Programs at the KU Alumni Association.
Sign your team up by April 7 at www.kualumni.org/students