BB THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
SPORTS
TENNIS
TUESDAY, APRIL 25, 2006
Tournament to begin Thursday
BY ANTONIO MENDOZA
amendoza@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTSWITER
"We're exited to play Colorado again — we had a good match with them a couple of weeks ago so we are exited to play them again," Smith said. "I think if we win that we play Baylor, and that can only be positive for us, so we're only looking at
The Jayhawks finished the regular season with a record of 13-10. They were 4-7 in Big 12 competition. Colorado finished the season with a record of 10-9. It was also 4-7 in Big 12 play.
The Kansas tennis team holds the No. 8 spot going into the Big 12 Tournament.
The Jayhawks will face the No. 9-seeded Colorado Buffaloes in the first round of the tournament on Thursday in Waco, Texas. The match is scheduled for 6 p.m.
Kansas has faced Colorado this season already, in Boulder, Colo. Kansas was down 3-2 in that match with only two single matches left to be played. The Jayhawks overcame the deficit and rallied back to win the match, 4-3.
"We have nothing to lose and we're going to go in there and do the best we can," sophomore Stephanie Smith said.
"It was a tough crowd at Texas A&M, but it was a fun atmosphere to play in," sophomore Lauren Hommell said. "Every position battled, but we just didn't come away with any wins."
Hommell lost her match against Texas by the score of 6-1, 6-1 on Sunday. She lost her singles match against Texas A&M by the score of 6-3, 6-4 on Saturday.
the tournament with a positive attitude right now."
Smith was right. If Kansas were to defeat Colorado in the first-round match, it would advance to the second round and face No. 5 Baylor, which has a first-round bye. The Bears also hold the No. 1 spot in the Big 12 Tournament.
Kansas will come into the tournament losing two consecutive matches, and three out of its last four. Kansas finished the regular season last weekend in Austin and College Station, Texas. Kansas lost to Texas and Texas A&M last weekend, by the score of 6-1 in both matches.
The only Kansas points came from the singles matches. Senior Christine Skoda won her singles match against Texas, and freshman Edina Horvath won her singles match against Texas A&M.
Hit me with your best shot
— Edited by Vanessa Pearson
Megan True/KANSAN
Janna Graham, Olathe senior, plays tennis Monday afternoon at the Robinson tennis courts. Graham was playing against her friend Josie Conley, Olathe senior. "We came out to get some exercise and to start getting in shape for summer." Conley said.
Attorney asks for records to attack victim's credibility
DUKE LACROSSE
BY AARON BEARD THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
DURHAM, N.C. — The attorney for one of two Duke lacrosse players charged with raping a stripper demanded on Monday that prosecutors turn over the accuser's medical, legal and education records for use in attacking her credibility.
Kirk Osborn, who represents player Reade Seligmann, said the material will provide "rich sources of information for impeaching the complaining witnesses."
Osborn also asked a judge to hold a pretrial hearing to "determine if the complaining witness is even credible enough to provide reliable testimony."
This request is based on the fact
The defense motions asked for information about the accuser's mental health, any hospital commitments and drug abuse,and information about her probation and parole
that the complaining witness has a history of criminal activity and behavior, which includes alcohol abuse, drug abuse, and dishonesty, all conduct which indicate mental, emotional and/or physical problems, which affect her credibility as a witness," the defense said in court papers.
District Attorney Mike Nifong,
who has not granted an interview
about the case in weeks, refused to comment.
Last week, Seligmann, of Essex Fells, N.J., was indicted on rape charges along with teammate Collin Finnerty of Garden City, N.Y.
The motions do not cite any specific evidence to support its claims about the accuser, and Osborn declined to answer questions about the court filings.
Authorities believe they were two of the three white men who the 27-year-old black woman said raped her in a bathroom of a house March 13.
Defense attorneys have trumpeted DNA test results they say found no link between the 46 players tested and the accuser. Nifong asked a private lab to perform additional tests on the samples. The results are not expected before May 15, Nifong told a Durham newspaper last weekend.
In Monday's motions, Osborn wrote that no forensic evidence links Seligmann to the alleged crimes, based on the limited information provided to the defense by prosecutors. The case is based only on the accuser's testimony, and she has given conflicting accounts to authorities. Osborn wrote.
The defense motions asked for information about the accuser's mental
health, any hospital commitments and drug abuse, and information about her probation and parole.
Monday's motions were the latest sign the defense plans to attack the credibility of the accuser, a 27-year-old single mother and student at nearby North Carolina Central University.
Baseball
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 18
would not have his players take batting practice before the game due to the amount of class time the extra practice would cause them to miss.
Each of Kansas' games were at 3 p.m., today's early game and Wednesday's second match-up.
Kansas
Last year, the Jayhawks fared well in the independent minor league ballpark, packing 24 runs on the board in just two games against New Mexico State and Sacramento State.
This year's tournament will bring out six teams, including Kansas, Kansas State and Missouri from the Big 12, while Southeast Missouri from the Ohio Valley Conference and Missouri State and Creighton both from the Missouri Valley round out the rest of the teams.
Because of its overall record, Kansas is in sole possession of the fourth spot in the Big 12 for the second consecutive week. At the plate, the Jayhawks are reaching their stride, hitting .291 as a team with 51 round trips to show for it. Senior outfielder Gus Milner had a particularly explosive weekend, notching a .400 average at the plate, scoring three times and driving in a pair.
On the mound, junior right-hander Brendan McNamara (1-1, 3-26) is sited to throw tonight's game after his midweek victory last week against North Dakota State.
Fresh off another Big 12 series victory, Kansas took care of business against K-State with ease before dropping the third on Sunday. The opportunity for its first Big 12 series sweep of the year was plagued with a season-high four errors.
Southeast Missouri (15-22, 6-9 OVC)
The Redhawks hit a worse patch of luck last weekend, falling one game to two against Austin Peay. Southeast Missouri currently ranks ninth out of the 10 Ohio Valley Conference teams.
Junior second baseman Omar Padilla pulled his weight in the series defeat, hitting 6-12 with a pair of runs scored against Austin Peay.
On the mound, the Redhawks will start senior lefty Derek Herbig (2-2, 5.45) this afternoon against the Jayhawks.
Creighton (22-14, 7-8)
This was to be the second meeting between Kansas and Creighton this season before the Mar. 22 game was canceled because of inclement weather and never rescheduled.
The Bluejays, of the Missouri Valley Conference, also just dropped a series one game to two last weekend against to Evansville. Last week, Creighton also fell off the Baseball America poll, even though the team lost to No. 4 Nebraska 4-2 April 18. Senior catcher Zach Degas led the way against Evansville. Even though his efforts came up short, Degas still went 4-10 and scored five times that weekend. He leads the overall offense as well with nine home runs and 37 RBI. Creighton hasn't announced its starting pitcher for Wednesday's game, but a catching connection associated with Creighton will soon benefit Kansas.
Joe Servais, son of Creighton Coach Ed Servais, has already signed to catch for Kansas next year after finishing his eligibility at Garden City Community College in the spring.
- Edited by Vanessa Pearson
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