/ SPORTS / WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2010 / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / KANSAN.COM
SOFTBALL
Weston White/KANSAN
Junior second baseman Sara Ramirez fields a ground ball Saturday afternoon against Baylor after being charged with an error prior to the play.
Kansas deflected Baylor 7-3 during the first game of a Saturday double-header.
Four weekend tournaments put Jayhawks on the road again
BY ZACH GETZ
zgetz@kansan.com
twitter.com/zgetz
In the first 24 days of the softball season, Kansas will play 19 games in a row away from its home field in four different weekend tournaments. These tournaments allow Kansas to not only travel to warmer states in winter but also to get a crack at some of the nation's top teams.
In total Kansas will play six tournaments in as many weeks. The tournaments are a good way to prepare for tough Big 12 Conference play, in which five of the 10 softball teams are ranked in the top 25.
Coach Megan Smith said it was difficult to prepare for five games, play them and then get ready to play five more in the next
weekend. She said it was best to break down the games into parts to try and stay focused.
"We take it game by game and inning by inning," Smith said. "We have very small goals to accomplish so we don't get overwhelmed with the big picture of five games."
Smith also keeps the team in routines, such as eating similar pregame meals and practicing similar on-field activities, to keep the players comfortable.
"We kind of keep it consistent so mentally they stay locked in every weekend and know exactly what's coming." Smith said.
Senior shortstop Sara Ramirez said that because most of the team members played in traveling leagues before coming to Kansas, they could easily adjust to the schedule.
"Sometimes we'd play five games
in one day," Ramirez said. "To play a whole tournament of five games in three days isn't that hard."
Ramirez said it was harder to remain mentally focused on the game at hand, especially if a team had a bad game.
"We can't focus on five games," Ramirez said. "We have to focus on one game as it happens."
When saddled with weekend tournaments, Kansas leaves Thursday during the day and gets back on Sunday. Ramirez said that the team made up time doing homework whenever it had a chance, including on bus rides and while waiting at the airport.
"We really don't get much of a personal life," Ramirez said. "This is our family. This is who we are going to be around."
- Edited by Sarah Bluvas
WOMEN'S (CONTINUED FROM 10A)
Henrickson often mixes nine to 11 players in her lineup every game.
"The whole rotation has gotten a little different just because of Angel and Danielle going down," Henrickson said. "We've had Nic play the three, Annette play the three; Marisha has played both the three and the four. We have had to ask some kids play multiple positions because of match ups and
what defenses we've faced."
"If I see Sade or Monica pick up their second foul, I'm kind of moving to the edge of my seat a little bit more." Kohn said. "I'm looking towards Bonnie a little bit more."
Yet as perplexing as Henrickson's lineups may seem to the casual observer, others have picked up on the minor tendencies.
With nine to 11 players
consistently called upon, the jayhawks shouldn't get too comfortable in their seats on the sideline.
"Our bench has to be ready)"
Henrickson said. "Foul trouble or not, our bench has to be ready"
Additional reporting by Andrew Taylor.
Junior Brittany Potter competes in the 200-yard butterfly. Potter finished first with a time of 2.05 81
Mike Gunnoe/KANS/R
Jayhawks travel south for Big 12 Championship
SWIMMING AND DIVING
BY ANDREW HAMMOND
ahammond@kansan.com
Senior Meghan Prohli flips through the air in the one meter diving competition. Prohli competed in and finished first in both the one and three meter diving events.
Kansas' swimmers will travel to College Station, Texas for the Big 12 championships at Texas A&M after finishing a 10-4 season. The meet begins today and will continue through the weekend.
Mike Gunnoe/KANSNN
Kansas will strive to capitalize off its regular season, a season in which the Jayhawks set multiple school records and season best times. Their fourth place finish in the Big 12 punched the Jayhawks' ticket to the conference championships.
"We are very excited for the upcoming Big 12 Championships," coach Clark Campbell said. "This is what the team has been pointing to all year and it's time to achieve our goals. The athletes are ready to swim fast and dive well."
Kansas must fight for the Big 12 title against ranked Big 12 bees Missouri, Texas and Texas A&M. If the swimmers succeed it will be the team's first Big 12 Swimming title.
What to watch for
SWIMMERS TO KEEP AN EYE ON
- Senior diver Meghan Proehl has broken two of her own career records on the one-meter and three-meter boards. Proehl has also been named Big 12 Diver of the week twice (Oct. 28 and Jan. 27).
- Junior Iulia Kuzhil broke two records at Robinson Natatorium — the home of Kansas swimmer
Monica Johannessen is a breakout freshman who has had success this season with a win in the 50-meter freestyle event at Iowa State. She has also been successful on the junior national scene. She won 10 medals in 10 events at the Norwegian Junior Championships in November.
the home of Kansas swimming
this season. She set new pool
records in the 100- and 200-yard
backstrokes. She also competed
in the NCAA Championship in
her first year at Kansas.
SWIMMING STORYLINES TO FOLLOW
Last season, Kansas scored 69
personal best times in 81 swims at
the year-end championships. This
year, the Jayhawks are hoping to reproduce that positive end to the conference season. Kansas is also looking for revenge after losing to Missouri and Texas A&M this season, but the Jayhawks did defeat Nebraska and Iowa State. Kansas' contest against Texas will be the first meeting between the two schools.
Edited by Drew Anderson
OLYMPICS
Dutch skater disqualified
ASSOCIATED PRESS
VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Bode Miller made the kind of mistake that happens in skiing, especially for a risk-taker
like him.
The gaffe made by Dutch speed skater Sven Kramer? Unbelievable.
THE LANGSTON HUGHES VISITING PROFESSORSHIP COMMITTEE
Kramer went through the grueling 10,000-meter race on a seeming record pace but was
the
OFFICE OF THE PROVOST
invite you to
"REMEMORY, REMIXED: REIMAGINING AFRICAN-AMERICAN RHETORIC FOR A DIGITAL AGE"
Thursday, February 25, 2010
3:30 p.m. in Alderson Auditorium at the Kansas Union
A reception in the Malott Room will immediately follow
A lecture presented by
ADAM J. BANKS, SPRING 2010 LANGSTON HUGHES VISITING PROFESSOR, DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH
disqualified for not switching lanes while coming out of a race nearly two-thirds into the race
Kramer crossed the line with a big smile, believing he had another gold medal and Olympic record for his staggering list of feats: winner of the last three world championships at 5,000 and 10,000 meters; the world record-holder at both distances; and having already won gold and set an Olympic record in the 5,000 at this Olympics. Then Kemkers broke the news.
Just like that, Lee Seung-hoon of South Korea had the gold and Kramer moved into Olympic infantry, like the U.S. shooter who blew a sure gold medal by shooting at the wrong target during the 2004 Athens Olympics.
Kramer went into the turn on the inside and was supposed to move to the outside lane for the next lap. Held already moved over when Dutch coach Gerard Kemkers animatedly motioned for him to shift to the inside lane.
Miller's mistake wasn't nearly a colossal.
All he did was lose control and fail to finish his first run down the giant slalom course, ending his chances for a record fourth Alpine medal at a single Winter Games.
Its kind of fitting for a guy who likes to go against the grain. His Vancouver results could be called a Bode Slam; a gold, a silver, bronze and a DNF (did not finish).