NBA
After just three games, Michael Jordan is settling in with the Bulls. Page 3B
KANSAS KU BASKETBALL
MONDAY, MARCH 27.1995
Earl Richardson/
THE LAWRENCE
JOURNAL-WORLD
Kansas guard
Billy Thomas, forward Raef
LaFrentz and guard Jacque
Vaughn watch Virginia forward
Ja mal Robinson attempt to shoot over Kansas center
Greg Oystertag
Virginia beat
Kansas 67-58 Friday night in Kemper Arena.
Swimmers honored at NCAAs
By Tom Erickson
Kansan sportswriter
The swimming and diving season may be over, but the Kansas men's and women's teams have plenty to celebrate.
SECTION B
Perhaps the biggest thrill is having senior Marc Bontrager named the first four-time All-American in men's swimming history.
At the men's NCAA championships last week in Indianapolis, Bontrager placed 12th in the 50-yard freestyle to earn All-America honors for the fourth straight season in his career as a Jayhawk.
"It felt great," Bontrager said. "Glenn Trammel, a former All-American and assistant coach was there, so it was in the presence of some good people."
The Jayhawks also sent sophomore Eric Burton and junior Kris Hoffman to the men's meet, but both failed to place high enough to become All-Americans. As a team, Kansas tied for 36th with five points.
Bontrager said both Burton and Hoffman did well at their first NCAA meet.
"They have a lot to be proud of," he said. "It was a great learning experience for Hoffman, and Burton did great. I'm sure he was a little disappointed, but there was tough competition there."
Kansas coach Gary Kempf said the adjustment from regular-season competition to high-level swimming was tough.
"For Kris and Eric it was the first time ever at a meet of that caliber," he said.
The finish was Kansas' best since 1992 when the women's team placed 15th. Stanford won this year's championship with 497.5 points.
Kansas produced three individual All-America swimmers and three All-America relay teams at the women's NCAA championships March 16-18 in Austin, Texas. As a team, the Jayhawks collected 25.5 points and finished in 25th place.
"I thought they did a real good job," Kempf said of the women's team. "They competed well and had a real strong effort."
Juniors Donna Christensen and Jennifer Davis led Kansas with four All-America awards each. In addition to being on the 200, 400- and 800-yard freestyle teams, Christensen finished 10th in the 100-yard butterfly, and Davis placed 15th in the 200-yard freestyle.
Sophomore Rebecca Andrew earned three All-America honors as a member of all three relay teams and freshman Kristin Nilsen was also rewarded for being a member of the 800-yard freestyle relay team.
Senior Ronda Lusty earned two All-America awards, finishing her career as a Jahawk with four. Lusty was a member of the 200- and 400-yard freestyle relay teams at the meet.
Kempf said sending seven swimmers and return ing with six All-Americans felt good.
Kansas junior diver Michelle Rojohn also earned All-America honors by placing 13th in three-meter diving with a score of 451.100. Rojohn became the first diver in school history to become an All-American.
Paul Kotz/ KANSAN
"We hoped to get higher, but still did well against some tough competition," he said.
Kansas forward Scot Pollard slams the ball home during Kansas' game against Western Kentucky in Dayton, Ohio. Kansas won the game 75-70, which advanced the Jahvows to the Sweet Sixteen round of the NCAA tournament.
ACCident in KC; Virginia bests Jayhawks 67-58
Kansas' home away from home provides no solace in loss
By Christoph Fuhrmans
Kansan sportswriter
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Although the postgame press conference was short, Kansas coach Roy Williams' voice was filled with an entire season's worth of emotions.
Williams had to stop several times to control his emotions during his remarks after Friday's 67-58 loss to the Virginia Cavaliers.
"This is a tough feeling," he said. "It's a feeling, to be honest with you, that I hope never gets easy, because the day that it gets easy will be the day I walk away from this game. I'm at a total loss of words to explain the feeling that I had during the game. And I guess that's appropriate because I just kept thinking that something was going to change."
The only thing that did change were the post-season plans for the top-seeded Jayhawks, courtesy of the fourth-seeded Cavaliers.
Defending champion Arkansas defeated Virginia yesterday, earning a return trip to the Final Four.
Neither Kansas nor Virginia would have been accused of putting on an offensive clinic on Friday. Both teams played aggressive defense, forcing the other to shoot poorly. The Jayhawks shot 34 percent, while the Cavaliers were only a little better at 37 percent.
Kansas sophomore guard Jerod Haase said the Jayhawks' shooting woes could be attributed to a combination of Virginia's defense and an off night by Kansas.
"We missed some open shots, but they were doing a heck of a job getting out and challenging every shot we had," he said.
The difference in the game was Kansas' three-point shooting. The Jayhawks were 2-for-21 from behind the three-point line.
Kansas didn't make its first three-pointer until the 14:23 mark of the second half when sophomore guard Jacque Vaughn cut Virginia's lead to 36-34.
"I think we had excellent looks at the basket," Vaughn said. "It just didn't go in for us, and I don't know why."
Despite Kansas' poor shooting, Williams said that he thought the Jayhawks eventually would begin to make their shots.
"That's what we settled for, and that's not what we wanted to do."
"I guess I'm the eternal optimist," he said. "I just kept thinking we were going to make one, and that may be the one to get us started. Yet, I still thought that the way the game was going, if we could just hang in there, hang in there and hang in there, that the last couple of minutes we'd have a chance to win the game."
"I challenged our younger guys in the locker room," Williams said. "A lot of the game was won over the last couple of summers in the weight room because they were physically so much stronger than we were. We wanted a certain position and they didn't want us to have it, and they pushed us to a spot where they wanted us to be.
Kansas center Greg Ostertag agreed with Williams' assessment. Ostertag, along with senior guards Greg Gurley and Scott Novosel, played their last collegiate game as Jayhawks.
"Even though we weren't playing well, we felt we were still in it," Ostertag said. "I don't think at any point we felt it slipping away."
Virginia widened its lead to 44-38 after a 6-0 run that ended with 10 minutes left in the game. Kansas would get no closer than four points the rest of the way.
Williams said even though Kansas had a deeper bench than Virginia, the Cavaliers wore out the Jayhawks. He said he hoped the game would be a lesson for the younger players on the team.
BOX: Box score from the Kansas-Virginia game. Page 2B
Men's tennis jumps to No.12
Winning streak gives Jayhawks highest-ever national ranking
By Robert Moczydlowsky Kansan sportswriter
The Kansas men's tennis team brought home an impressive souvenir from its spring break trip to the West Coast.
Kansas earned their new ranking at the US West Tennis Classic in Boise, Id., where they dominated their early opponents and advanced to the tournament final. The Jayhawks' two tournament wins against Yale and Michigan State extended the team's win streak to four.
The 10-5 Jayhawks returned to Lawrence with the No. 12 spot in the national Roles Intercollegiate Tennis Association Rankings, the highest ranking for the men's team in school history.
The Jayhawk's road trip continued into California, where Kansas squared off with No. 4 Pepperdine. The highly-touted Pepperdine singles lineup overwhelmed the Jayhawks, whose only points came when they won two of three doubles matches. Pepperdine won the match 6-1.
In the individual rankings, Juniors Slattery and Mike Isoff moved to the No. 12 doubles
Kansas' next opponent is No. 14 New Mexico. The match will be held tomorrow at noon in Allen Field House.
spot, and the tandem of freshman Enrique Abaroa and junior J.P. Vissepo debuted at No. 31.
"At the start of the break our confidence was really low," Kansas coach Chuck Menzbacher said. "We had a good win over Utah, and the San Diego win was probably our best win of the year. We played really well, and we're a lot more confident now."
The Kansas women's tennis team also enjoyed success over spring break, battling nationally ranked teams then returning to Lawrence with a 2-2 record and boosted team confidence.
The week-long trip began March 18 against Brigham Young University, a match that saw the Cougars dominate in singles play and win 6-2. Kansas bounced back against Utah, winning 6-3 behind a three-match doubles sweep.
Kansas also won their next match, a 6-3 victory against No. 24 San Diego. The Jayhawks' road trip ended on Thursday with a 7-2 loss to San Diego State.
Big Eight play opens for the women's team this weekend, when it will face Oklahoma and Oklahoma State at Allen Field House.
Richard Devinki / KANSAN
Take a swing
Kansas shortstop Dan Rude swings at a pitch during a game in the Kansas-lowa three-game series March 10-12. The Jayhawks also played nine games over Spring Break, including a doubleheader with defending national champion Oklahoma. The Jayhawks split the series, and now stand at 1-2 in the Big Eight conference.