SPORTS UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Tuesday, November 16, 1993
11
Three players advance to national tournament
By Anne Felstet
Kansan sportswriter
The Kansas women's tennis team has reason to smile as it moves into its season. It won both the singles and doubles titles last weekend at the Central Regional Rolex Championships in Salt Lake City.
Seniors Mindy Weiner, Kim Rogers and Abbey Woods will represent Kansas at the national tournament in February.
Weiner defeated Rogers to win the singles title. Woods won the singles consolation round by defeating Kelly Press of Oklahoma State 6-4, 6-1. Rogers advanced because the top two players qualify for the national tournament.
Rogers and Woods pulled away from a 4-0 deficit in the third set to win the doubles title. They defeated Karina Kuregan and Masha Meidell of Kansas State 6-1, 3-6, 6-4.
Weiner said she was happy the seniors would get a chance at the national tournament.
She has won the regional tournament both of her two years at Clemson but fell out of the national rankings last year when she transferred to Kansas. She was recovering from shoulder surgery at the time.
WOMEN'S TENNIS
"I am kind of relieved," she said. "This is the spot I was in two years ago. Last year was a big disappointment."
"It was a pleasure to be there," he said.
Coach Chuck Merzbacher said all eight players who competed in the tournament played hard and well.
Other Kansas players competing were juniors Rebecca Jensen and Nora Koves and freshmen Bianca Kirchhof, Chessa Bieri and Amy Trytek.
Woods said the team seemed to improve each day of the tournament. She had to defeat five opponents to win the consolation round.
Merzbacher said the players would take time off until after Thanksgiving to recuperate from the tournament and to get caught up on school work.
He said the team had some small injuries such as bruises, blisters and shin splints, but nothing that would interfere with the spring season.
After Thanksgiving, the team will begin its winter conditioning workouts in preparation for the spring season.
Four cities still in running for NFL expansion team
NEW YORK—St. Louis; Baltimore; Jacksonville, Fla.; and Memphis, Tenn. renewed their applications for an NFL expansion franchise yesterday, with the Baltimore group adding a third ownership group to the mix.
The new Baltimore bid has the hacking of Maryland Gov. William Donald Schaefer and gives the league six applications from four cities for the new franchise.
The Associated Press
The latest entry is headed by Alfred Lerner, part owner of the Cleveland Browns. The group must provide a $20 million letter of credit and a financing plan for the $140 million franchise fee.
One Baltimore group is headed by Leonard "Boogie" Weinglass and includes movie director Barry Levinson. The other is headed by Malcolm Glazer, a Florida corporate investor. However, only Lerner has the backing of the city's expansion committee.
franchise to Charlotte, N.C., three weeks ago. The second team will be announced outside Chicago on Nov. 30.
The league awarded an expansion
The new team, the Carolina Panthers, will begin play in 1995 and will be run by a group led by former Baltimore Colts receiver Jerry Richardson, owner of a franchise food consortium that runs Denny's and Hardees.
The owners held off awarding the second franchise partly because of a change in the ownership of the St. Louis group, which brought in shopping mall developer Stan Kroenke the day before the owners met.
Kroenke's group added John Wallace, chairman of an investment firm, and Marilyn Schnuck, a member of a St. Louis grocery chain, as limited investors over the weekend.
Fran Murray, a part owner of the New England Patriots, did not submit the material. Murray had been trying over the weekend to arrange for the $20 million letter of credit that was necessary to continue his application.
Kansas lands lauded recruit
Basketball squad gains one of three prospects
Some say, "Two out of three ain't bad." But for the Kansas men's basketball program, one out of three will work.
By Mark Button
Kansan sportswriter
Yesterday afternoon, Raef LaFrentz signed a national letter of intent to attend Kansas. The 6-foot-10 center from Monona, Iowa, is considered by some to be one of the top high school prospects in the nation. He announced on a radio program that he had chosen Kansas instead of Iowa. LaFrentz had kept everyone in suspense, not telling anyone his decision until the final moment.
Williams is unable to comment on recruits until he has received the letter from the player. The news about LaFrentz quickly spread to the television medium, and Williams hinted that he knew about the signing at yesterday's news conference.
Under NCAA regulations, Kansas coach Roy
"I did watch TV a moment ago," he said. "I saw what happened there, and that made me feel good."
LaFrentz did not give any interviews yesterday after his announcement and was unavailable for comment last night.
Williams said that he had strenuously recruited three players and was disappointed by the decisions of two. But he was pleased with the news out of Iowa. The two that got away were Ricky Price, a 6-foot-5 guard from Long Beach, Calif., and Jahidi White, a 6-foot-9 power forward from St. Louis. White announced yesterday that he would send a letter to Georgetown, and Price has made no secret about his intentions of attending Duke next
fall.
Many factors play into the recruiting game, and Williams said one possible reason for only one signing was because of the talent in this year's freshman class.
Richard Devinki / KANSAN
"The most difficult thing in recruiting is to back up a really good year with another really good year," Williams said. "Kids still see those people right in front of them. I think very few programs can do that, and some of those can't do it all the time."
Williams said that his first love in basketball was the practices, second was the games, and way down the list, at 99th, was recruiting.
"There's going to be people more interested in recruiting than how the teams are doing," he said. "Recruiting is a little bit of a sickness. It's frustrating. It's demeaning, and it's everything else, but the bottom line is it's whether you stay a good coach or all of sudden you turn into a bad coach."
Freshman forward B.J. Williams, left, and senior center Patrick Richey work on drills during practice. Kansas opens its season tonight in an exhibition game at 7 p.m. in Allen Field House.
First preseason exhibition tonight
By Mark Button Kansan sportswriter
The Kansas men's basketball team, ranked 9.9 in the Associated Press' preseason poll, will play its first game at 7 tonight in Allen Field House as it plays host to Marathon AAU.
The game is an exhibition, but Kansas coach Roy Williams said it would serve as a test for the entire team.
With Kansas playing in the National Invitational Tournament this year, the Jayhawks had only two weeks of practice before it started the season. This shortened practice time especially hurts the four freshmen on this year's team.
"Today will be our 15th practice," Williams said yesterday at a news conference. "Jacque, Scot and B.J. are much better off than Nick because Nick's just missed so much time. But those other three, though, have gotten quality time in practice and have improved."
Marathon AAU boasts a collection of players from across the country. Their roster includes Mark Wade, the 6 foot guard from Nevada-Las Vegas, guard Dave Miller, 6-4 from Drake and center Tom Elliot, 6-8 from Virginia Tech.
Williams said the Marathon game was scheduled for several reasons.
"I think the biggest thing is letting the young kids get in front of the crowd," he said. "To see how they react to playing against someone other than ourselves."
"We had a scrimmage last night with Big Eight officials and 15 or 20 people in the stands," Williams said. "It was amazing how much we slipped compared to just going out there [by] ourselves."
Junior center Greg Ostertag he thought the team has progressed nicely in a short time.
“It’s been great, as a matter of fact,” Osteragt said. “The process for the older guys is just getting reacquainted with everything — it’s pretty much old hat by now. The new guys have come along real well, and I think this exhibition game will help them get prepared for what they’re going to have to face.”
SPORTS BRIEFS
CLUB SPORTS
Winter training starts for crew
Men's captain, junior Michael Amick, said the conditioning practices could now begin since the last regatta of the fall was last weekend in Wichita.
Crew finished rowing on the chilly waters of Clinton Lake. Team members will begin running stairs and stationary rowing to condition for the spring season, which starts as soon as the water warms.
The novice and varsity crews participated in a 1.5 mile race in the Frosthite Regatta on the Little Arkansas River.
The varsity men's lightweight four-person boat won as did the varsity women's open-class four-person boat.
Coach Rob Catloh said the team had progressed nicely during the fall season, and it could qualify for the national regatta, which is held in the spring. "We have some depth to work with," he said.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas State's Andre Coleman, who caught two touchdown passes and returned five punts in a 31-21 come-from-behind victory against Missouri, was the unanimous choice for Big Eight offensive player-of-the-week.
Wildcat. Sooner take awards
Linebacker Mario Freeman of Oklahoma won defensive honors in a split vote yesterday.
Coleman, a senior wide receiver from Hermitage, Pa., had 270 yards against Missouri. He had three pass receptions for 112 yards, two for touchdowns on plays covering 27 and 66 yards, as the Wildcats erased a 12-10 deficit in the fourth quarter.
Coleman had 122 yards on his five punt returns, including one for 52 yards.
Negotiations will decide future for Big Eight at Orange Bowl
Briefs compiled by Kansan sportswriter Anne Felstet and
The Associated Press
v Matt Doyle
ansan sportswriter
The current contract between the Big Eight and the Orange Bowl Committee expires following the Jan. 2, 1995, game.
The Big Eight Conference has sent a football team to the Orange Bowl a total of 40 times. But there is some doubt whether the conference will send any member institutions to the annual New Year's Day contest in New York after 1995.
Orange Bowl Executive Director
Keith Tribble said no timetable had been set to start negotiations with the conference for a contract extension.
"We have not had any discussions with them yet," Tribble said yesterday in a conference call with media members who cover the Big Eight. "We need to set a time with them after this year's game to start negotiations. I hope we'll be able to come to some conclusion."
BIG EIGHT COACHES BRIEFING
Reports said that the Orange Bowl wanted an agreement with the champion of the Atlantic Coast and/or Big East Conference in place of the Big Eight champion. Tribble did not respond to that report.
"We will look at the interest of both parties in the long run in negotiating a new contract," Tribble said.
Another Achievement for Johnson
Johnson, who overcame a difficult childhood and survived a suicide attempt, will receive the Amateur Division award. The ARETE Awards were established in 1989 to honor exceptional athletes who have exhibited great courage in pursuit of their goals.
Colorado senior wide receiver Charles Johnson will be one of four athletes who will be honored at the fourth annual ARETE Awards for Courage in Sport. The ceremony will be Dec. 14 in Chicago, and will be televised by ESPN.
Oklahoma State's offense was nonexistent in its 31-0 loss at Oklahoma. The Cowboys managed only 31 yards of total offense against the Sooners and one first down because of a penalty. The Cowboys never crossed the 50-yard line.
Johnson leads the Big Eight in receptions with 51 and receiving yardage with 959.
Obsolete Offense for Cowboys
"Everything we attempted to do they just stuffed," said Oklahoma State coach Pat Jones. "Basically we just got whipped."
This was the fewest first downs made by a Big Eight team since 1961 when Colorado did not record a first down in its game against Nebraska.
Women's basketball adds two walk-ons to roster
Division I opportunity drives walk-on players
By Gerry Fey
Kansan sportswriter
Rochyle Harrison is a Kansas women's basketball player. She doesn't have a scholarship, and Kansas did not recruit her out of high school. Harrison is a walk-on, and that is just fine with her.
Kansas coach Marian Washington announced yesterday that sophomore guards Harrison and Kristel Thalmann were the newest Jayhawks on a team that has only 10 scholarship players.
"As long as I've been playing, people have told me I can't play Division I." Harrison said. "I was surprised."
Although she played basketball at Salina South High School and Brown Mackie Community College, Harrison, at 5-foot-5 initially did not intend to try out for the team.
"When I first came to Kansas, I told the coach that I wanted to be a part of the women's basketball team," Harrison said. "I wanted to be a manager at first, but I started playing with the team when they needed players. Then, people said I should walk on."
"Any time we have a walk-on, we need to play players who are strong enough to get up and down the floor," Washington said. "We're looking primarily at fundamentals and then physical strength."
Harrison talked to Washington about the possibility, and then she started practicing with the team.
Washington said picking a player to walk on with the team was a good way to get the student body involved in women's basketball.
"Every year we are always hopeful that we can have a walk on," Washington said. "We have two this year, and there might be another one."
Washington said Harrison's counterpart, 5-6 Thalmann, was a knowledgeable player on the court. Thalmann played high school basketball at Linn High School in Barnes.
"She's just like any first-year athlete," Washington said. "She needs to work on her physical strength. They are both hard workers."
Both players said they knew what roles they would play on the team.
"If any of the guards get injured, then I'll fill in," Thalmann said. "I don't want anyone to get injured, I just want to push them to be the best they can be."
Washington told Harrison that she wouldn't play much if she was on the team.
Paul Kotz / KANSAN
Sophomore guard Kristal Thalmann shoots a jump shot dur ing women's basketball practice. Thalmann and another sophomore guard, Rochyle Harrison, are the newest Jayhawks on the team.
"She told me I would be a back-up point guard," Harrison said of her talk with Washington. "She already had two or three point guards, so my playing time would be limited. I'm just happy I'm getting the opportunity."
Thalmann said practicing with high-quality players like preseason All-American Angela Aycock made her a better player, which helped her chances of obtaining a future scholarship.
"They're all really good players," Thalmann said of her teammates. "It's helping me a lot, and I'm improving. I'd hope to be able to get a scholarship next year."