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UMass hires coach Steve Lappas was hired yesterday as basketball coach at Massachusetts two days after he unexpectedly resigned at Villanova.
The University Daily Kansan
Sports
Bowlers advance
The Kansas bowling team captured the crown of the Intercollegiate Bowling Conference sectional qualifier on Sunday. The Jayhawks, ranked No. 17 in the nation, will take part in nationals next month.
TUESDAY, MARCH 27, 2001 For comments, contact Shawn Hutchinson or Shawn Linenberger at 864-4858 or sports@kansan.com
KANSAN.COM/SPORTS
Alumni rally for swim team
By Brandon Stinnett sports@kansan.com Kansan swordwriter
Alumni support is growing in the swimming and diving team's quest to save its program.
Three weeks after Athletic Director Bob Frederick announced the Athletic Department's decision to eliminate both the men's swimming and diving team and the men's tennis team, a group of 10 former Kansas swimmers have pledged to pool their resources in a fight to keep the swimming and diving team afloat.
In a rush to raise money to keep the program running next season, the group is searching the nation for former Kansas swimmers and other sympathizers willing to donate money to save the team.
The group met with Frederick March
19 and asked for the opportunity to raise money to keep the program running next season, while working to form an endowment fund that would funnel
money into the program indefinitely, eliminating the possibility of future budgetary concerns.
eliminating the possibility of future budgetary concerns. Kansas alumnus Mike Calwell said Frederick pledged to meet with Chancellor Robert Hemenway to get the OK to proceed with the fund-raising search.
Frederick: met with alumni who want to raise money for team
The group is trying to generate enough
money to cover the $400,000 men's swimming and diving budget for next season. After that, the group will seek to raise as much as $7 million for the endowment fund.
"We felt a little bit slighted because we weren't really given a heads-up by the Athletics Department that this was coming down." Calwell said.
Calwell said the department's failure to provide notice of the team's pending cut had complicated the process.
"We love and value our sport of swimming," he said. "It is one of the few lifetime sports that we can continue until long beyond college. I, at age 60, still swim regularly, as do many of my former teammates."
"This is going to take some real hard work, but it can be done." Calwell said. Calwell said the group's commitment to the team stemmed from its affection for the sport.
Kansas swimmer Mitch Loper appreciated alumni support, but said raising enough money to save the program would be tough because people were reluctant to donate money to a program that didn't exist.
But he did think Frederick had a genuine interest in preserving the program. "I think his heart is in it," Colwell said.
"I if they could give us a conditional reinstatement, then we could raise the money, as long as the number is realistic." Loper said.
Calwell said Frederick still hadn't presented the group with a deadline or an exact dollar amount needed to keep the team next season. A response from Frederick is expected sometime this week.
— Edited by Leita Schultes
Early tournament exit
Sophomores leave disappointed
By Chris Wristen
sports@kansan.com
Kansan sportswriter
The Kansas sophomores' sizzling season was extinguished Friday in San Antonio.
And they aren't happy about it. Kansas' season-ending 80-64 loss to top-seeded Illinois in the Sweet 16 left a sour taste in the sophomores' mouths and seemed to detract their attention from the seasons that all three had.
They don't care about their numbers now, though, because they wanted a bigger slice of the pie. They wanted a championship — nothing less.
"I've still got a lot left that I want to accomplish."
"I haven't won a championship in my life," forward Drew Gooden said. "Except for a league championship in high school. I never won a state championship. I haven't won a Big 12 Conference championship, a Big 12 Tournament championship or an NCAA Tournament championship.
Gooden also is eying success in the NBA and is expected to announce his decision within the next two weeks.
The progress he displayed immediately following his return from a wrist injury indicated that his game may be ready for the professional level. He averaged more than 18 points and seven boards in his first three games back.
But the Big 12 Tournament loss to Oklahoma was a step back. He hit just two of nine shots and scored seven points. In the loss to Illinois, he battled foul trouble and had four turnovers in a 13-point effort, giving a bitter end to what may have been his final college season.
Despite the slight decline in two of his last four games, the Jayhawks hope to see Gooden and his team-leading 15.8 points and 8.4 rebounds return for another year.
They also anticipate the return of point guard Kirk Hinrich and forward Nick Collison. Both had tremendous seasons but faltered in key moments during the postseason. Neither were satisfied with the team's poor showing against the
Illini.
Hinrich shook his head following the game, in which he had five turnovers, all in the first half, and fouled out after playing just 28 minutes. He said he let his teammates down with his two assists, five below his season average, but vowed to bounce back.
"We made a lot of strides this year," Hinrick said. "We still didn't win the big one, and we didn't beat anybody that we weren't supposed to beat. We had an all right year. We just have to dedicate ourselves to come to play every night. There are nights, for whatever reason, we didn't."
Hinrich's biggest addition to the team was in assists. His 229 dishes this year gave him the third-best single season mark in Kansas history. He doubled his scoring average to 11.5 points per game and hit 50.5 percent of his three-pointers.
Despite Hinrich's rough game, Collison may take Friday's loss the hardest, which is surprising because he helped give the Jayhawks an opportunity to win after trailing by 12 points at halftime.
He pounded the glass for seven rebounds and was sharp from the field, hitting eight-of-11 shots for a team-high 23 points. But he also missed free throws — lots of them. He sank just six of 14 from the line and missed five straight at one point.
Not that the rest of the team was much help. As a whole, the Jayhawks missed 17 of their 35 attempts at the free throw line. Coach Roy Williams said he was stunned by the mark, especially considering Collison was usually one of Kansas' most reliable free-throw shooters.
"Nick Collison is a good free-throw shooter," Williams said. "He's never been great, but he's been a good free-throw shooter his entire life. Maybe the ball didn't feel good to him."
Neither does the feeling in the Jayhawks' hearts as, once again, they'll have to sit at home with the rest of the country and watch four other teams duke it out for a national championship.
— Edited by Melinda Weaver
Sophomore guard Kirk Hinrich attempts to dribble out of a trap by Illinois defenders Sergio McClain and Cory Bradford during the Jayhawks' 80-64 Sweet 16 loss. Hinrich had five turnovers and only two assists Friday in a disappointing end to a strong season. Photo by Matt Daugherty/KANSAN
Kansas aims to bounce back from losses
By Ryan Malashock
By Ryan Malasnoc
Kansan sportswriter
After a weekend in which the Kansas baseball team was outscored 30-6 in three losses to No. 16 Baylor, the Jayhawks (14-14) will try to get back on track today when they travel to Fayetteville, Ark.; to take on the Arkansas Razorbacks at 5:30 p.m. at George Cole Field.
"This game is so important for our confidence," said Kansas catcher Brent Del Chiaro. "Winning at their place would bring our confidence back and help us set going for a conference run."
Tenight's battle against the Razorbacks is Kansas' only action until next weekend's pivotal Big 12 Conference series against No. 20 Texas.
Arkansas' record might imply that the Razorbacks are suffering a
down year, but the Razorbacks (14-15) have scored some quality wins this season. Two weekends ago, the Razorbacks took two out of three games from No. 17 Georgia in Fayetteville. Arkansas has been swept by No. 5 South Carolina and Florida in its two other conference series, but the Razorbacks held the lead in five of those six losses.
Kansas lost to Arkansas 10-3 in Lawrence last season, and Kansas coach Bobby Randall is once again expecting a tough match-up.
"Our pitchers need to work on
"Arkansas is a great program with a lot of tradition." Randall said. "We're not thinking of this game as a must-win game, but you're going to see two teams that really want to win."
Randall said the Jayhawks need to focus more on improving the aspects of their game that have been failing them lately.
throwing more strikes, and our batters need to cut down on their strikeouts," Randall said. "When we get in trouble on the mound, it's usually because of our control. We need to improve on that."
Del Chiaro said that to get back on track, more than one Kansas batter needs to produce big numbers.
Sunday's 7-4 loss to Baylor was a prime example of Del Chiaro's point. Kansas junior Ryan Klocksien led Kansas with four hits and four RBI, but only three other Kansas players recorded a hit.
"We need to put together a team effort with our hitting," Del Chiaro said.
Junior Jake Wright (2.3, 5.51 ERA) makes the start for Kansas today and will face off with Razorback freshman Matt Dotson (2.0, 5.79 ERA). In his last start, Wright allowed three runs on nine
Senior outfielder Josse Gremminger takes a swing at Baylor during one of three losses to the Bears. The Jayhawks hope to rebound against the Arkansas Razorbacks today in Fayetteville. Photo by Laurie Sisk/KANSAN
hits in seven innings of work, earn-
hing a no-decision in Kansas' 6-5 vic-
— Edited by Megan Phleps
Softball player's positivity, talent help keep team in high spirits
By Brandon Stinnett sports@kansan.com Kansan sportswriter
Kara Pierce meets all of life's challenges in the same way — with a smile. The freshman pitcher from Mesa, Ariz., is a dreamer, and she has big plans for her time with the Kansas softball team.
Pierce, a four-year letter winner for Xavier College Prep in Phoenix, spent most of her time during high school as a backup for ultra-competitive summer teams. This season Pierce is thrust into the spotlight for the first time with a 9-7 record and a 2.05 ERA for the 'Hawks'
It's a role she accepts with open arms and a big grin.
"I feel like I'm needed more in the big situations," said Pierce, whose Kansas team will take on Missouri-Kansas City at 2 p.m. today at Jayhawk Field. "And it's more fun knowing that you're going to play and you're going to start." After just a few games with the Jayhawks and a slew of ups and downs, Pierce is settling into her role as a starting pitcher.
After last season's starters Sarah Clopton and Melanie DeWinter graduated, coach Tracy Bunge had to revamp her pitching staff. So Pierce, along with Kirsten Milhoan, now represent the 'Hawks on the mound.
It hasn't been easy, and all three pitchers had problems early on, but Bunge has seen marked improvement.
"The thing that I'm real excited about is that I've seen progress every weekend," Bunge said. "Kara, in particular, has gotten better every weekend, and, as a coach, that's all you ask for."
Instead of using a menacing fastball, Pierce fools hitters with breaking balls and pitches that move so much even her teammates get scared.
"They hate to hit off her sometimes in the cages because she has such good ball movement," Bunge said. "It's the thing that I saw in her when I recruited her."
Pierce's happy-go-lucky attitude also caught Bunge's eye.
Not long ago, University sports psychologist Mark Thompson gave the team index cards and crayons and had the players draw a face on each side. The first face, they were told, was to resemble their facial expression after winning the College World Series. The other face was to show their expression during an intense game situation.
Unlike the rest of her teammates, Pierce drew two happy faces with smiles brimming from ear-to-ear.
"Kara's was the same on both sides, and that's how she is." Bunge said.
"She's not a kid who looks at life ever real seriously. She's a happy person. She's a lot of fun to be around. Her teammates love her to death, and she's just a very positive individual."
That positive attitude has been useful during the difficult transition from high school to college, a change that hasn't always been smooth sailing. Pierce was shaky and appeared rattled in her first appearance of the season during the Diamond Invitational in Albuquerque, N.M., on Feb. 2. She couldn't find a rhythm and surrendered four runs on nine hits in four and one-third innings.
"It was my first college tournament ever so I was a little nervous," Pierce said. "Seeing everybody in the stands, I was really nervous. But I seem to calm down with every tournament, and we're doing better as a team."
For Bunge, watching Pierce improve has been exciting.
"I really think she has learned from each day that she's been out on the mound, and as a coach, you love that," Bunge said. "I think she's going to be getting better and better as she gets more comfortable in pressure situations."
Pierce thinks so, too.
"Three more years plus this season. I'm ready," she said, with a smile, of course.
- Edited by Jennifer Valadez
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