NBA
Denver guard Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf gets a suspension from the NBA for not observing the national anthem, Page 3.
SPORTS
UN I V E R S I T Y D A I L Y K A N S A N
THURSDAY, MARCH 14, 1996
Kansas prepares for women's first tournament games on its home court
NCAA selected Lawrence as a great location for other teams
By Evan Blackwell
SECTION B
Kansan sportswriter
The four teams who will play aren't the only ones preparing for this weekend's NCAA women's basketball tournament games at Allen Field House.
Several fan and booster clubs are planning road trips and activities for the weekend.
Patrick Mikesic, an employee at the Kansas ticket office, said ticket sales almost had reached 3,000 as of yesterday morning and that number was still growing.
The University of Kansas Alumni Association announced that it would organize a pep rally for 4 p.m. on Saturday. The Jayhawk pep band and spirit squad will perform at 5 p.m. The pep rally will be in Anschutz Sports Pavilion and is open to the public.
Brent Dunn, director of Athletic Development at
Southwest Missouri State, said he had already received more than 2,000 ticket requests, and the Lady Bears were expecting to bring about 3,000 to 4,000 fans to Lawrence.
Breaking women's basketball news
Dunn said the number of traveling fans that followed Southwest Missouri State each year in the NCAA tournaments varied
Kansas junior guard Tamecka Dixon was named an All-American Honorable Mention by The Associated Press. For a listing of all the AP All-Americans, see Page 2.
KANSAS BASEBALL
"We were really excited when the brackets were released," Dunn said. "That was the one place we wanted to play from a fan standpoint."
depending on game locations.
Texas fans are celebrating their team's return to the tournaments after the Longhorns didn't make the NCAAs last season.
The Longhorn Foundation, a Texas alumni group, will charter a plane to travel to Lawrence. Longhorn Foundation development manager, Molly Lamphear, said the group expected to bring about 200 people via the plane.
"Most of our people will be on the plane, but there will also be people driving up," Lamhear said.
"We haven't had time to plan any rallies yet, but hopefully we can when we get there."
After the pairings were released Sunday, many were surprised that Lawrence was chosen as a first round location.
Some observers have since suggested that Texas and Southwest Missouri State, two schools that traditionally send large fan contingents to follow their teams, were placed in Lawrence to guarantee higher attendance.
Janelle Martin, University of Kansas Athletic Corporation compliance auditor, was in charge of preparing the bid to the NCAA for a first round site at Kansas. Martin said the Kansas bid projected only 2,000 local fans for a first round game.
However, Martin said she believed the seeds had been chosen based on geographical considerations.
"Obviously, if a team isn't going to get a home game, they want to put them where as many fans as possible will be able to see them," she said.
Single-session tickets are $3 for students and $7 for adults. Tickets for both sessions are $7 for students and $12 for adults.
Tennis team to face difficult competition
TENNIS BRIEF
The No.16 Kansas men's tennis team begins play today in a tournament showcasing nationally ranked teams.
Kansan staff report
The Jayhawks take on No. 9 Fresno State at 4 p.m.in the opening round of the Big 10 Tires-Blue Gray Collegiate Tennis Classic in Montgomery, Ala.
Fresno State has four players in the top 100 in singles. Among them are No. 10 Fredrik Giers and No. 16 Frederik Bergh.
Kansas has an overall record of 12-4 this season. The Jayhawks have faced 11 teams in the top 35 and defeated seven of them.
Kansas heads into the tournament with four players who have posted 20 win seasons. Among them is sophomore Enrique Abaroa, ranked No.19 nationally, who is 21-10, and senior Victor Fimbres, who is ranked No.78, with a record of 23-11.
The tournament features 17 ranked teams. The top four seeds of the tournament are No. 1 Mississippi, No. 2 Texas Christian, No. 3 Fresno State, and No. 4 Duke. If Kansas wins today, then it will play the winner of the Duke-Texas match tomorrow.
Matt Flickner / KANSAN
Southwest Missouri State's Chris Curry dives safely into first base on a pick-off attempt in the fourth inning of yesterday's game at Hoglund-Maupin Stadium. Curry went two for three with a home run in the Bears' 13-11 victory.
'Hawks comeback falls short
Baseball players rally but loses to SW Missouri State
By Dan Gelston
Kansan sportswriter
For Kansas baseball pitcher Chris Williams, it was a first start he would like to forget.
For the Kansas offense, it was a comeback they would like to remember — although the memory would have been sweeter if the Jayhawks could have finished the comeback.
Although the Jayhawks (9-6) rallied from a nine-run deficit, Southwest Missouri State (4-7) defeated Kansas 13-11 in a wild game yesterday afternoon at Hogland-Maupin Stadium.
Williams, a freshman, was hit hard in his first start, giving up five earned runs in three plus innings. His troubles started in the Bears' second when he allowed three straight singles, which gave them a 2-0 lead.
"We didn't play our best game," Kansas coach Boby Randall said. "We tried, but we just couldn't get it done."
It was 4-0 Bears when Williams gave up a lead-off single in the fourth.
Tim Lyons was then called on to relieve Williams but didn't fare much better — he promptly surrendered a two-run home run to the first batter he faced and gave up four runs in one inning and a third.
Kansas scored its first runs in the fourth. Trailing 9-0, second baseman Josh Kliner opened the inning with a double, followed by a single from first baseman Josh Dimmick.
Designated hitter Ted Meadows then hit a three-run home run, his first of the year, to make it 9-3 Bears.
in next and held the Bears scoreless in
the fourth and fifth innings.
Those shutout innings turned out to be big, as the Jayhawks erupted for six runs in the sixth to tie the game at nine.
Kansas right fielder Justin Headley came to bat with one out and the bases loaded and hit a double to left field to
Meadows finished the day two for four with three RBI. He said Kansas was confident despite the large deficit.
"Everyone thought we were going to win this game," Meadows said. "We all believed in each other. We didn't get down on anybody."
Kansas reliever Josh Wingerd came
score all three runners.
Next, center fielder Isaac Byrd also hit a double, bringing Headley home.
Byrd scored the tying run when Dinnick hit a double off the left-field wall, the seventh Kansas hit of the inning.
so quick that it looked like we were going to score more runs," Randall said.
But all that momentum was quickly wasted in the ton of the seventh.
Nick Frank (0-1) was brought in to pitch for Kansas and yielded a single and back-to-back home runs to the
"We came back with that six-spot
Bears seven and eight hitters, Chris Curry and Chris Hart.
Curry and Hart combined for four-eight hitting with three home runs and six RBI. Bears' third baseman Lance Burkart was four for four with five RBI.
Kansas scored a run each in the seventh and eight to trail 12-11.
Byrd said good team chemistry helped the team believe it could come back.
But Kansas wouldn't rally again, and the Bears scored once in the ninth to finish the scoring.
"This team fights a lot better than last year's team," he said.. "Everyone stayed together and fought."
Williams said he was disappointed with his first start.
"I went out there in the first inning and felt reallyood." he said.
"Then I just sort of lost my focus." Kansas will be back at Hoglund-Maupin Stadium at 3 p.m. tomorrow, playing against Iowa State, the team Randall coached for the past 11 years.
BOX SCORE: A Complete box score from yesterday Kansas-Southwest Missouri State baseball game is listed on Page 2.
Vaughn is All-American
Kansas junior guard makes second team
Kansan staff report
Jacque Vaughn was named to the Associated Press All-America second team on Tuesday.
Vaughn is the only Big Eight Conference player selected on the first two teams, which were dominated by big East Conference players.
Kansas has not had a first team All-American since 1988 when Danny Manning was selected for the second consecutive season. No Jayhawk has been named to the first, second or third teams since then.
Marcus Camby of Massachusetts, who came within one vote of being a unanimous selection, and Tim Duncan of Wake Forest rounded out the team.
The Big East had three members on the All-America first team as Connecticut's Ray Allen, Georgetown's Allen Iverson and Villanova's Kerry Kittles were selected.
Camby, the 6-foot-11 center who drew as much attention this season for collapsing before a game as for what he did on the court, is the first player from Massachusetts selected to the first team.
Camby, an honorable mention All-America last season, collapsed before the St. Bonaventure game in January, missed four games and returned to lead the Minutemen to their fifth straight Atlantic 10 regular-season and tournament c h a m p i o-nships.
"The individual honors are nice, but I would trade them all if it meant we would win the national championship," said
Jacque Vaughn
Camby, who averaged 20.7 points, 8.0 rebounds and 3.8 blocks this season.
"There are some terrific players around the country, but with Marcus I don't have to do any posturing," Massachusetts coach John Calipari said. "Other people say he is the best player in the country. I don't have to. Good players put up numbers. Special players make everyone around them better. Marcus Camby is a special player."
Keith Van Horn of Utah led the voting for the second team. He was joined by Vaughn, Kentucky guard Tony Delk, Cincinnati forward Danny Fortson and Syracuse center John Wallace, yet another player from the Biaf East.
The third team featured Lorenzen Wright of Memphis, Brian Evans of Indiana and Jason Sasser of Texas Tech and two freshmen, Stephon Marbury of Georgia Tech and Shareef Abdur-Rahim of California.
The Associated Press contributed information to this story.
New Jersey by way of Tempe
Brian Hott / KAMBAM
Kansas men's basketball coach Roy Williams prepares to leave for Tempe, Ariz., the site of Kansas' first game in the NCA tournament. About 35 fans sent Kansas off yesterday.
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