THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
FRIDAY, MARCH 14, 2008
SPORTS
3B
SOFTBALL
Jayhawks keep busy throughout spring break
BY KELLY BRECKUNITCH kbreckunitch@kansan.com
Spring break may be coming up for The University of Kansas' student body, but the softball team will stay busy playing a total of nine games over the break.
The Jayhawks host Buffalo and Louisiana Tech in the Kansas Invitational this weekend. They also play a doubleheader against Bradley Tuesday and start off the conference season on the road against Oklahoma the following weekend.
The Jayhawks are without starting junior catcher Elle Pottorf this weekend. She was injured in the second game of last weekend's tournament.
The team finished with three victories and one loss in that tournament. Coach Tracy Bunge said the one thing the Jayhawks could have done better over those games was short-game execution.
"That obviously was something that came back to bite us pretty hard on Monday," Bunge said.
Bunge said the team was focusing
on being aggressive at the plate and taking advantage of opposing pitchers' mistakes. While Bunge was not completely happy with the offense, she was glad to see some players come out of slight slumps. Bunge said she was pleased with the performances of senior first baseman Addy Lucero, sophomore right fielder Ally Stanton and junior shortstop Stevie Crisosto. Bunge said they seemed to be starting to get hot with the bat on offense.
Junior pitcher Valerie George was also a big factor over the weekend, pitching a 10-inning complete game against Pittsburgh.
"Val was definitely running out of gas in that game and did a great job of digging down deep to finish that Pitt game and throw 10 innings," Bunge said.
George said that this Jayhawk pitching staff was very much a collaborative act. She said one pitcher may throw three innings and then another would come in and throw four innings.
"I think that as a pitching staff, as
a whole, we've just worked really well together. It's just really exciting to see that we're doing better than a lot of people expected us to," George said.
George said that having games over spring break would make it easier for the team to focus on softball. George said that focus would be needed, too, as the Jayhawks play one of the best teams in the Big 12 Conference in Oklahoma.
"It's going to be a busy week. The good news is they don't have any school next week," Bunge said.
George said the team continued to grow as a team throughout the season.
"People have done a great job of just stepping up in different roles." George said.
Bunge said the Jayhawks needed to work as a team to execute in the short-game aspect and sophomore pitcher Sarah Vertelka needed to continue to get back up to full strength for the team to have success in the games over spring break.
Edited by Jared Duncan
schedule
today; vs. Buffalo*
3 p.m.
vs. Buffalo*
5 p.m.
Games during spring break
Saturday: vs. Louisiana
Tech* 2 p.m.
vs. Buffalo*
1 p.m.
Sunday: vs. Louisiana
Torch* 12:20 a.m.
Sunday: Vs. Louisiana Tech* 12:30 p.m.
Monday: vs. Bradley
3 p.m.
vs. Bradley
5 p.m.
Friday: @ No. 8 Oklahoma
7 p.m.
3/22: @ No. 8 Oklahoma 1 p.m.
*Kansas Invitational game Rankings from ESPN.com/ USA softball poll
Weston White/KANSAN
Junior third baseman Val Chapple steps into her throw to first base after fielding a ground bat. Chapple threw her out at first and was 1-2 at the plate contributing one run during the Jayhawks' 9-1 routing of the Sycamores Saturday afternoon.
MEN'S GOLF
Team places 10th in Cajun Classic
BY BRYAN WHEELER
bwheeler@kansan.com
The men's golf team competed in its third spring tournament this week and finished in 10th place at the Oakbourne Country Club (par 72, 7,141 yards) in Lafayette, La., with a team score of 862, 28 strokes behind tournament champion Colorado. This marked Kansas' 12th consecutive appearance in the Cajun Classic.
improve."
After the first round on Monday, Kansas led the tournament with a team total of 289. Junior Walt Koelbel tied his career-best round with a score of 69.
"Getting to practice over the past week helped us have an awesome first round." Koelbel said. "With better weather this season, we hope to
Freshman Brad Hopfinger and junior Zach Pederson finished the first round on par.
"We had our best first round of the season," coach Kit Grove said. "It's a step in the right direction."
Though the Jayhawks led after round one, the team failed to match its success and finished the second round with a score of 306, which left them tied for eighth place on Monday. Halfway through the second round, downpours delayed the tournament for about an hour.
Hopfinger finished the second round tied for 12th place with a total score of 146. Koelbel followed up his under-par first round with a score of 78, which left him tied for 19th place.
the jahawks were 12 strokes behind first-place Colorado.
In his second appearance for Kansas, junior transfer Brandon Hermreck shot 71, his best round as a Jayhawk. Freshman Nate Barbee had his best performance of the tournament on Tuesday with a 73. Hermreck finished tied for 53rd place with a score of 227 and Barbee finished tied for 45th place with a score of 226.
Starting the final round Tuesday,
Koelbel finished the tournament tied for 28th place with a score of 223. Hopfinger finished the tournament with a score of 221 and tied for 17th place.
"I had a couple triple bogeys but other than that, I felt I played solid," Hopfinger said.
Edited by Katherine Loeck
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Eight athletes compete at nationals
》 TRACK & FIELD
BY DANNY NORDSTROM
dnordstrom@kansan.com
Junior sprinter Nickesha Anderson has two things to be happy about this weekend. Not only will she compete in the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships, but she is turning 23 on Saturday.
"My expectation is to give myself a present this weekend because it's my birthday," Anderson said.
The Hanover Parish, Jamaica native will compete in her first NCAA championships this weekend in Fayetteville, Ark. Anderson will run both the 60- and 200-meter dash for the Jayhawks. Earlier this week she was named Midwest Region Women's Indoor Track Athlete of the Year.
Joining Anderson will be five other women and two men from the sixth ranked women's team and 22nd ranked men's team.
"The athletes that did make the NCAA championships are very competitive," head coach Stanley Redwine said. "They are what we want Kansas to be. On the women's side we have more than we've ever had at the indoor championships."
Sophomore pole-vaulter Jordan Scott and senior weight-thrower Egor Agafonov represent the men, while seniors Crystal Manning and Kate Sultanova and junior Stephanie Horton, Sha'Ray Butler Nickesha Anderson, and Charity Stowers represent the women.
"I'm nervous, but also really excited," Scott said. "Practice has been going really well and I'm excited to see how high I can jump."
Scott is excited about competing in his first indoor national championships.
This season, Scott took home his second Big 12 Title in the pole vault and is ranked third in the nation. This weekend, he plans on using a thicker and stronger pole to set a personal record.
On the women's side of the pole vault, Sultanova will compete in her second national indoor meet. Last season, she placed third in the event at nationals. This season, Sultanova took home her second Big 12 Title and is looking for another victory.
Manning will compete in the 1.600-meter relay and women's triple jump. She has been to outdoor
nationals twice, but never indoors.
"My expectation is just to compete really aggressive," she said. Manning is ranked sixth in the triple jump and has the school record for the event at 13.54 meters.
In addition to Manning, the women's 1,600 relay will consist of Stowers, Butler and Anderson. The four women recently broke the school record at the Iowa State Invitational on March 8. They shattered their old record, set earlier in the season, by almost 4 seconds.
Agafonov will defend his national title. He is the No.1 weight thrower in the nation.
Horton's second place finish at the Big 12 Championships gave her a women's weight throw school record at 16.80 meters. She is ranked ninth in the event.
The NCAA National Indoor Track & Field Championships begin tomorrow at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Ark.
Edited by Patrick De Oliveira
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