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SPORTS
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, MAY 2. 1996
Women's tennis has advantage
Bid for nationals to begin at home
By Spencer Duncan Kansan sportswriter
This is the time of year when Chuck Menzbach is eager.
He will step onto the Allen Field House tennis courts tomorrow hoping that the Jayhawks can begin a championship run.
As coach of the No. 16 Kansas women's tennis team, that is his only goal.
"We will be playing among an elite group from around the nation," Merzbacher said. "We're ready and anxious to play. We just want to get things going."
Kansas is playing host to the NCAA
Central Region Women's Tennis Championships, which begin tomorrow.
There are eight teams in the regional and the winner gets an automatic bid to the NCAA Women's Tennis Championship, May 16-18 in Tallahassee, Fla.
SECTION B
Kylie Hunt has been waiting for the regions all season long
The Jayhawks enter the tournament as the top seed in the region and the 16th seed nationally.
"My goal and the team's goal is to win the NCAA tournament," Hunt said. "We want to play well and I would really like to win the NCAA's."
Kansas will meet Boise State, the Big Sky Conference champions, in the quarterfinals round at 10 a.m. tomorrow at the Allen Field House tennis courts.
having finished the Big Eight Conference season undefeated at 7-0. They also captured the regular season and conference tournament titles for the fifth consecutive time.
Kansas heads into the tournament
Although players say that is a great accomplishment, the team goal is to make some heads turn in the post-season.
"Winning the Big Eight is a goal, but we want to play well in the NCAA tournament," said Bianca Kirchhof. "Playing well in the NCAA is more important than anything else."
Kansas will receive home court advantage because earlier in the year Kansas put in a bid to play host to a tournament. The NCAA committee approved of the bid and chose Kansas.
The Jayhawks hope that playing at home will give them an advantage.
"I think we have earned it."
Merzbacher said of playing at home.
"We are No. 1 in the region. It's also nice because we know the courts and finals are beginning so we do not have to worry about travel."
In the other quarterfinals matchups tomorrow, No. 2 seed Oklahoma will face Colorado at 2 p.m. at Allen Field House.
At the Robinson Center tennis courts, No. 4 seed Kansas State will face Utah at 10 a.m. and No. 3 seed Oklahoma State will play New Mexico at 2 p.m.
Tickets for single day admission are $5 for adults and $3 for students. Weekend passes are $12 for adults and $7 for students.
The semifinals are set to be played at the field house courts on Saturday at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. The finals will be played at 10 a.m. on Sunday at the field house courts.
In case of inclement weather, play
The Jayhawks hope that on Sunday afternoon they will be the only team left on the court.
will be moved to Woodvalley Racquet Club in Topeka.
Andy Rohrback/KAMAR
"We have been working all year to make it to the regionals," said Christie Sim. "We just hope that we can play well and win no matter what the situation is."
Pitching shuts out Cameron
Opipari takes the mound to help Jayhawks end five-game losing streak
By Dan Gelston
Kansan sportswriter
The search may be over.
After spending all season looking for another consistent starting pitcher behind Josh Belovsky, the Jay hawks seem to
hawks seem to have found their man.
Mario Opipari continued to impress as he and three other pitchers combined on a six-hitter in a 10-3
victory against the Cameron Aggies (14-35) yesterday afternoon at Hoglund-Maupin Stadium.
The win snapped a five-game losing streak for the Jayhawks (22-26), who were just a day removed from their worst loss of the year.
"We needed the confidence we're getting from this game," Kansas second baseman Josh Kliner said. "This is how we need to play."
Opipari (1-2) pitched six solid innings, allowing just three hits while striking out four batters. He allowed just one home run in the fourth inning.
"I was real happy with the way I threw," Oipari said. "I feel improvement each time I throw. Today, I was able to keep the ball low and not make any big mistakes, except for that one guy (the home run)."
Kansas jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning on an RBI double by center fielder Isaac Byrd and an RBI single by Kliner.
Kliner now has 69 RBI, putting him within two of the single-season record.
Right fielder Stephen Matthews began the inning with his second home run of the year.
The Jayhawks added two more in the second.
After starting more than half of the games in the first half of the season, Matthews has started just three of the last 12.
Matt Flickner / KANSAN
But the rust didn't show as he also added a double, finishing the day two for five with two RBI.
"I just have to keep working hard every day,"
Kansas junior Mario Oppiari delivers a pitch in yesterday's 10-3 win against Cameron at Hogund-Maupii.
Stadium. Oplipari pitched six innings and gave up just one run.
"We all threw good. All four of us. That's good to see going into the tournament."
Mario Opiparl
Kansas pitcher
Matthews said. "I have to keep doing the things that got me there. For me as a player, I want what's best for the team. If (the coaches) see something in me and feel I don't need to be in there, that's OK if they think that's what's best for the team."
Josh Winged relieved Opipari in the seventh and gave up two runs, cutting the Jayhawks' lead to 6-3.
Clay Baird, making his first relief appearance this year after 12 starts, and Casey Barrett each pitched a shutout inning for Kansas.
"It was a good outing for Mario," he said. "He threw low, hard strikes. He's getting better at that."
But Kansas scored one more run in the seventh inning and four in the eighth inning, including a pinch-hit, three RBI triple by Josh Dinnick.
Kansas baseball coach Bobby Randall was pleased with Oipiarl's performance.
"We all threw good," Oiparii said. "All four of us. That's good to see going into the tournament."
"He probably has the best combination of the fastball with the curve of anybody on the team. I'm sure he has a high confidence level and that comes with success."
He said it would be between Opipari and Belovsky.
Opipari's battery mate Ted Meadows, also noted that ability with confidence is what separates Opipari from the other pitchers.
"Mario's starting to understand what he has to do in terms of adjustments on the mound," Meadows said. "He's keeping the ball down and becoming more consistent with his velocity. A lot of it has to do with ability, but it's also confidence. He has a lot of confidence, not just on the mound, but with life in general."
Randall said Opipair would get a start in the Big Eight tournament but wasn't sure when.
Kansas will be play again on May 4 when it starts a two-game series with Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Okla.
Iverson exits Georgetown to enter draft
Sophomore star cites family as reason for leaving college
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — All-America sophomore Allen Iverson yesterday became the first player under coach John Thompson to leave Georgetown early for the NBA.
"After carefully weighing my options with coach Thompson and my family, I've decided to enter the NBA draft," Iverson said at a news conference yesterday. "I definitely plan to further my education, but my family needs to be addressed right now."
cause for his younger sister, whom he said was suffering from seizures.
Iverson, who announced for the first time that he is a father of a 1-year-old girl, said he wanted to get a specialist for his younger sister, whom
he said was suffering from seizures. By making the jump, Iverson countered the Georgetown tradition embodied by former Hoyas stars such as Patrick Ewing and Alonzo Mourning, who resisted the temptation to leave school early.
In 24 years under Thompson,72 of 74 players who have stayed four years have received their degrees.
Yesterday, Thompson blamed Iverson's departure on NCAA rules that prohibit the university from giving the sophomore's sister the medical help she needs. "We have the most antiquated set of rules," Thompson said. "There are almost archaic."
Allen Iverson
Widespread speculation had surrounded Iverson's future since Georgetown's season ended with a loss to Massachusetts in the East Regional finals in March.
Since early April, Iverson has been driving a $130,000 Mercedes on loan from a dealer, an apparent violation of NCAA rules that would have come under scrutiny if he had decided to return.
Iverson displayed a mastery of the up-tempo game last season, though he struggled occasionally in the half-court offense. Perhaps the nation's quickest player, he averaged 24.7 points, 3.8 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 3.5 steals. He was named the Big East defensive player of the year for the second time.
Iverson, a football and basketball standout in high school, almost lost on on a college career.
In 1993, he and two friends were convicted in connection with a bowling alley brawl in Virginia. Iverson was given a five-year sentence, of which he served four months before then-Gov. L. Douglas Wilder freed him on the condition he complete his high school education. Last July, a state appeals court overturned the convictions, saving that there was insufficient evidence.
On Monday, Massachusetts junior Marcus Camby and high school player Kobe Bryant became the eighth and ninth early entrants for the June 26 draft.
Men's basketball to sign autographs at field house today
For anyone who has ever wanted the Jayhawks' John Hancocks, today is the day.
The Kansas men's basketball team will sign autographs from 5 to 7 on p.m. at Allen Field House.
The autograph session is free and open to the public.
Autograph seekers will be limited to one item, and it is requested that the item is flat.
Softball team splits with Wichita State
Loss in 10 innings closes Big 12 regular season; tournament starts May 10
Kansan staff report
The Kansas softball team was originally scheduled to have almost two weeks off between its final regular-season game and the Big 12 Conference tournament, a long layoff that worried coach Gayle Luedke.
But bad weather during spring break prompted the rescheduled of a doubleheader at Wichita State yesterday.
warmup for the postseason and a little bit more. After a 5-4 victory in the first game, Kansas lost the second game 2-1 in 10 innings, the Jayhawks' third 10-inning game this season and the second in less than a week.
The Jayhawks got their two-game
The doubleheader split was also the Jayhawks' 11th in their last 13 twin bills.
Wichita State matched Kansas' every move early in the first game at the WSU Softball Diamond. After the Jayhawks scored runs in the top of the first and third innings, the Shockers responded with a run of their own in the bottom of the inning.
With the score knotted 2-2, Kansas scored two runs in the fifth inning and one in the sixth, opening up a 5-2 lead.
The Jayhawks got two RBI out of right fielder Sara Holland, who went three for four. That included a triple and a home run, the sophomore's team-leading sixth this season.
Freshman pitcher Sarah Workman came out of the bullpen, picked up her second save of the season and preserved Robinson's 16th victory.
Wichita State mounted a comeback in the seventh inning, scoring two runs and knocking Kansas starting pitcher Beth Robinson from the game.
In the second game, the teams battled through four scoreless innings before the Jayhawks got on the scoreboard in the fifth inning. Holland recorded the RBI as she went three for five in the second
G
game.
But just as in the first game, the Shockers responded to the Jayhawks' run by scoring a run of their own. Wichita State center fielder Bobbie Paull drove in a run on Workman, who started the second game for Kansas.
After the fifth inning, the teams again hit a stretch of four scoreless innings, sending the game into the 10th inning. Paul drove in her second run of the game and dropped Workman's record to 15-12.
The Jayhawks' record fell to 31-25 overall while Wichita State stands at 27-26. Kansas closed out its regular season yesterday and will be in action again at the conference tournament May 10 in Oklahoma City.
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