UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Monday, March 11. 1996
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KANSAS TENNIS
Women's tennis gets on the winning side
Kansas ends losing streak with 6-1 victories against Maryland and Minnesota
By Spencer Duncan Kansan sportswriter
The No. 22 Kansas women's tennis team halted a three-meet losing streak this weekend with victories against Maryland and Minnesota.
Kansas won both of its meets and passed the 500 mark, improving its record to 6-5.
"We are starting to get good play in all areas," Kansas women's tennis coach Chuck Merzbacher said. "But we still have some work to do."
Kansas faced Maryland on Friday at Alvamar Racquet Club in Lawrence. The Jayhawks beat the Terrapins 6-1.
In the competition, teams were awarded one point for winning the doubles competition and one point for each singles-match win. Kansas won five of six singles matches and two of three doubles matches.
The Jayhawks began the match by capturing the doubles point. The No. 8 team of senior Jenny Atterson and junior Kyle Hunt broke a four-match losing streak by defeating Maryland's Bresha Byrd and Sarah Salem, 9-7.
Kansas dominated in singles, only dropping one match.
"We are happy with the way we have played," junior Bianca Kirchof said. "We are trying to play better."
No. 1 Hunt, Atkerson, junior Maria Abatjoglou, sophomore Christie Sim and freshman Kris Sell were all winners.
Kansas faced Minnesota and defeated the Gophers 6-1 yesterday at Wood Valley Racquet Club in Topeka.
The Jayhawks jumped to a 1-0 lead after winning two of the three doubles matches.
"We are starting to get the doubles point." Merzbacher said. "That is what we wanted."
In singles, Kansas won five of six matches.
Brian Hott / KANSAN
Hunt won her match against Minnesota's Dana Peterson, 6-3, 6-2.
Sim won her match in a forfeit after her opponent, Alice Rangsithienchi, hurt her ankle and was forced to quit during the first set.
The Jayhawks were pleased to pick up two home wins.
Other winners in singles for Kansas were Atkerson, Kirchof, and Abatjoulou.
"This is one of the most complete matches we have played," Merzbacher said. "Not the best, but the most complete."
Kansas sophomore Christie Sim fires a shot back during her doubles match against Maryland. Kansas is now ranked No. 22 in the nation.
Men's tennis drop one match too many in tournament
Against tough competition, tennis team falls in the finals
In a tournament full of nationally-ranked teams, the No.16 Kansas men's tennis team came one point away from being No.1.
By Spencer Duncan Kansan sportswriter
The Jayhawks lost to No. 17 South Alabama 4-3 in the tournament finals yesterday at the H.E.B. College Team Championships in Corpus Christi, Texas.
"It was a good tournament for us," Kansas men's tennis coach Michael Center said. "I think we've really gotten better every match."
Kansas defeated South Alabama two weeks ago but
could not do it again yesterday. The Jayhawks lost two of the three doubles matches and lost the doubles point for the first time in 15 matches. Kansas split the singles points 3-3. The result was a 4-3 loss.
Teams were awarded one point for the entire doubles competition and one point for each singles match.
In singles, Kansas lost in their top 3 spots. Sophomore Enrique Abaroa, ranked 19th nationally, and seniors Victor Fimbres, ranked 78, and Michael Isroff each lost for Kansas.
To get to the finals, Kansas had to defeat No. 36 Texas Tech, No. 28 Boise State and No. 35 Texas A&M.
had to win the last few singles matches.
The victories set up a match with Texas A&M in the semifinals.
Kansas defeated Texas Tech on Friday by a score of 4-3 and then Boise State by the same score in the quarterfinals. In both matches, Kansas struggled early and
"I thought we played well against a very good Texas A&M team," Center said. "They always do well in this tournament. This is like their 28th straight year here, and it's like a home court for them."
Kansas defeated the Aggies 4-2 and did it early, winning four of the six singles matches.
Because the match was finished in singles competition, the doubles were not played.
Kansas, 12-4, has won five of its last six matches. The team was pleased that it had played so well against national competition.
"We are playing some of the top teams in the country," Fimbres said. "We are playing well against them, and that makes us a better team."
Runner wins national title
By Adam Herschman
Kansan sportswriter
Suitcases were heavier, and dreams were fulfilled after the NCAA Indoor National Championship in Indianapolis, where the Kansas track and field team captured seven All-American awards, and one member captured a national championship.
Kansas senior Kristi Kloster broke her own school record on the way to an NCAA title in the women's 800-meter run on Saturday. Kloter was only the second woman to win a national championship in a track and field event for Kansas.
Kloster recorded the fastest preliminary time in the 800-meter on Friday with a time of 2:07.36. Twenty-eight hours later, she competed in the last 800-meter indoor event of her collegiate career.
In the finals, Kloster and Arkansas-Little Rock junior Dawn Williams distanced themselves from the rest of the runners. They were side by side for the last 225 meters. Both runners crossed the finish line in 2:04.91.
After the race, the runners were held in a separate area for several minutes, waiting for the final results.
"They hit the wire at the same time, I mean it was unbelievable," Kansas assistant coach Steve Guymon said. "It took ten minutes for the officials to go through the results."
The officials finally ruled that Kloster won by four one-thousandths of a second.
"She won on a shoulder lean," Guymon said. "Our whole area just went nuts. People were jumping and screaming. I knew she was sitting back somewhere, probably crying because she accomplished something she wanted to do for so long."
By finishing in the top eight, Kloster earned All-American honors
Senior Melissa Swartz was named an All-American in the mile. She set a personal best and the second fastest time in Kansas indoor history in the preliminaries, finishing in 4:44.28. In the finals, Swartz was fifth with a time of 4:45.02.
The Kansas women's distance medley relay team also earned All-America honors by finishing seventh with a time of 11:34.
Kloster and Swartz earned their second titles as part of the relay team. Senior Kerri Woolheater and junior Latanya Holloway were also on the team.
The women's team finished 15th in the NCAA Indoor Championships. It was the best women's finish since placing third at the 1979 NCAA Indoor Championships. The men did not place.
Kansas track and field coach Gary Schwartz said he was proud of Kansas' athletes and coaches.
"They came with confidence, and they competed with confidence," Schwartz said.
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