Sports
KC
R
Royala
Back in the game The Royals ended their on-the- road slump yesterday with a solid victory against the Indians. PAGE 4B
1B
The University Daily Kansan
Wednesday, April 21, 2004
'Hawks to face Shockers
Courtney Kuhlen/Kansan
Sophomore shortstop Ritchie Price threw a ball to a teammate during the Saturday, April 10 game against Texas A&M.
By Shane Kucera
skucera@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
In the 13-6 upset, the Jayhawks
If Kansas wins again tonight, it will be the first time since 2000 that Kansas has swept its in-state rival. A victory over Wichita State would also give Kansas more than just bragging rights: The results of this in-state match could be a point of persuasion for future recruits.
Tonight in Wichita, the men's baseball team (24-19-1 overall, 2-10 Big 12) will try to sweep Wichita State (23-7) on the season.
the season. Two weeks ago, the match between the Jayhawks and the Shockers then-ranked No. 10 — resulted in a 13-6 upset.
Despite a minor injury, sophomore Matt Baty continues to lead the offense with his .376 batting average. And sophomore infielder Jared Schweitzer has come on late in the season at the plate.
came out swinging to win the game. Kansas comes into tonight's game with a .322 batting average, which leads the Big 12.
The Jayhawks' sophomore support has contributed to the stats at the plate.
With an impressive series against Oklahoma State, Schweitzer may have secured the second-base position while raising his average to .336 with four home runs.
The team will depend on the offense again in this game.
44 of the team's games, Price has a .329 average at the plate.
On the defensive side, junior right-hander Ken Livesey will have the start for the layhawks.
Livesey has been a crutch for the pitching staff this season. In his 18 appearances, Livesey went a span of 14.2 innings without giving up an extra-base hit, and 9.2 innings without allowing a run.
The game is set to start at 7 p.m. at Eck Stadium in Wichita.
Baseball notes:
Travis Metcalf is just two home runs away from the single-season record. The team has 51 home runs, which is only 12 from the team's home run record of 63.
— Edited by Stephanie Lovett
DANCE THE NIGHT AWAY
Franko said some men hesitated to join the club because they were afraid others would think they were not masculine enough.
Hannah Franko Club president and Gilbert, Pa., sophomore
The KU Ballroom Dance Club meets weekly to practice. The dance group uses the Hashinger Hall basement to practice its steps.
Club eases fears of dance
By Laura Francoviglia
lfrancoviglia@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
It took him a while to enjoy salsa, but Jorge Ortiz has earned a new title.
"He's a salsa king," said Theresa Bird, Albuquerque, N.M. freshman, about Ortiz, a member of KU Ballroom Dance Club.
"My neighbors would play it loud," said Ortiz, Lima, Peru graduate student.
Ortiz used to hate salsa.
Lana, Peru grabbate su
Ortiz continued his emphatic hatred for salsa before he joined the KU Ballroom Dance Club.
Sine Club.
"For decades, centuries, since the dawn of time — maybe not." Ortiz said of his former hatred for the music. "Now I love it with a passion."
Now, dancing relaxes him. When he dances, Ortiz said, he can let go of stress from school-work and problems.
As a regular attendee of the Ballroom Dance Club's meetings, Ortiz now dances three times a week at the club's meetings.
a week at the club's meeting The club practices a variety of ballroom dance styles, such as Latin, swing and smooth.
It practices from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday in the Kansas Union Ballroom.
Though the dancers usually can untangle themselves easily without any harm, sometimes they aren't so lucky.
More experienced members of the club meet on Fridays and Mondays in the Hashinger Hall dance room.
As many as 40 to 60 people come to the club meetings.
Bogdan Pathak, Albuquerque, N.M. graduate student, was the unlucky recipient of an accidental blow to the jaw in a competition last semester.
But like a true professional dancer, Pathak kept dancing and smiled through the pain. Pathak said he had danced for about six years, long enough to know that a stupid mistake or slight misstep was liable to result in a sore jaw, arm or worse.
"It's a very dangerous sport; you can trip over your feet," Bird said.
arm or worse.
"I started keeping track of how many times I would narrowly avoid getting hit," Pathak said.
semester. "He was bleeding on the dance floor in competition," Bird said.
Pathak said every time he got out of a tight situation and avoided injury, he would say.
Next semester, Pathak will be among four men who will not return to the club because of graduation. That leaves the club with three experienced male dancers, said Hannah Franko, club president and Gilbert, Pa. sopho-
he would say. Score one for Pathak said so far, the score stands at 25 for him and 15 for the world.
"Score one for me," but whenever he was hit, he would say, "Score one for the world."
Franko said some men hesitated to join the club because they were afraid others would think they were not masculine enough.
"They figure out by the time they're about 24 or that it's not gay to dance, and girls really like it," Franko said. "You don't have to be drunk to be able to dance."
drunk to be able to dance.
Ortiz said he joined the ballroom dance club about one year ago after he saw an advertisement on campus.
"Before, I couldn't dance," Ortiz said. "I was not going to allow that."
not going to show that. Ortiz said he felt comfortable on the dance floor and began to have fun after only three months of practice.
months of practice. Ortiz said he danced six or seven hours per week.
SEE SALSA ON PAGE 108
sports commentary
Kellis Robinett krobinett@kansan.com
Don't get me wrong. Williams did a good job recruiting.
good for recreation.
But he was too much of a hit or miss of a guy.
Recruiting goes better without Williams
miss of a guy For every great recruit he brought to Kansas, he offered a scholarship to a mediocre player.
Then there was only Bryant Nash in 2000. In 2001, he got back in his groove and recruited Aaron Miles, Keith Langford, Wayne Simien, Jeff Hawkins and Michael Lee.
a mediocre player. Take, for example, his last five recruiting classes. There was the All-American group of Drew Gooden, Nick Collison and Kirk Hinrich in 1999.
TALK TO SPORTS: Contact Henry C. Jackson or Maggie Newcomer at SPORTS@KANSAN.COM
Then, in predictable Roy fashion, he followed that stellar recruiting class with Moulaye Niang in 2002.
The reason Self recruits better talent on a more consistent basis than his predecessor is simple.
By the time Davis decided to attend the University of California, Los Angeles, Kalid El-Amin, another top prospect who was interested in Kansas, had signed with the University of Connecticut, which he led to a National Championship.
This year's recruiting class was again back up to par with J.R. Giddens, Jeremy Case and the recently departed David Padgett and Omar Wilkes.
He doesn't put all his eggs in one basket.
The point guard who Williams ended up settling for that year was little-known junior college transfer Jelanni Janisse, who totaled 25 points and nine assists in his two seasons at the University.
There is no telling who might be joining the squad next year if Williams were still around. But with Self at the helm, one of the nation's best recruiting classes — including Darnell Jackson, Russell Robinson, Alexander Kaun and possibly another top prospect — will soon be at Mt. Oread.
Often, by the time some of those players turned him down there were no more blue chip athletes left to pursue. This explains the sub-par recruiting classes.
Self's philosophy appears to be to offer a scholarship to a number of good recruits for a position and give the scholarship away to the first player who accepts it, as in the case of Robinson and Jackson.
This can limit the number of top 10 recruits Self might bring in, but it will almost always ensure that every player coming to Kansas will be in the 20-60 range.
Williams, on the other hand, would focus only on one player — such as current NBA All Star Baron Davis — and not recruit anyone else until that player made up his mind.
And the way the top recruits are leaving early for the NBA, that range of players is almost more desirable.
Instead of focusing on specialistic skill players he recruits strong, athletic players who have the body to go along with the game the second they step on campus.
With Self you also get a wellrounded combination players who can do it all.
.
SEE ROBINETTE ON PAGE 10B
V
力