University Daily Kansan / Friday, March 9. 1990
Sports
7
Tourney creates grudge matches
Round 1: Kansas vs. Iowa State
By Molly Reid
Kansan sportswriter
Kansas coach Roy Williams is concentrating on tonight's game against Iowa State, but if he were to choose his road in the Big Eight Conference Tournament this weekend, he said he would like to avenge his previous three losses
"I if were to pick a fantasy trip, I'd pick Oklahoma and Missouri." Williams said. "If you were going to tell me we were going to win this, boy I'd like to beat them for sure because both of them have beaten us. But I also think as soon as I start picking, then somebody else will upset them and then they'll upset us. So I'm not picking anybody."
Kansas plays Iowa State tonight in the first round of the Phillips 66 Big Eight tournament at Kemper Arena
in Kansas City, Mo. It will be the third meeting of the season and the second this week between the teams
Men's basketball
williams said he is not worried about playing a team for the third time in a season.
"We're going to go out there tonight and pretend we've never played them before," he said. "I've been on teams that have lost to people three times in one year and I've been on a lot of teams that have beaten people three times in one year. Hopefully, we can play well enough to do it again Friday night."
The Jayhawks ended the regimen season Saturday, crushing the Cyclones 96-63, finishing with a
Williams attributed his coaching success to his 10 years at North Carolina under basketball coach Dean Smith and the opportunity and confidence given to him by Kansas athletic director Bob Frederick.
"I do feel comfortable with my abilities. I do feel comfortable with that. That I've always been able to get kid's in a extremely hard play unselfishly."
team," he said. "I would enjoy this team just as much without the award.
Williams received 10 $ \frac{1}{2} $ votes from a panel of sportswriters and sports broadcasters.
Coach
Continued from p. 1
Missouri coach Norm Stewart, who was in a hospital bed being
treated for cancer last year at this time, recovered to lead Missouri to the 1989 Big Eight Conference Championship. He received 3 $ \frac{1}{2} $ votes.
The Tigers have topped the basketball national polls and finished with the best record in the Big Eight this year. They ended the season 28-4 overall and 12-2 in the conference.
Oklahoma's Billy Tubbs also made a bid for the award. The Sooners started the season with an unpolished team and finished No. 1 in the nation. Oklahoma is seeded second in the conference with a 23-4 record overall and an 11-3 conference record. Tubbs received three votes.
record of 28-3 overall and 11-3 in the Big Eight Conference. Kansas was also the victor Feb. 10 in Ames, 88-83. Iowa State enters the tournament at 10-17 overall and 4-10 in the conference.
Korean graphic
Williams said that even though the Jayhawks were looking forward to the chance to average their losses to No. 1 seed Missouri and No. 2 seed Oklahoma, they plan to concentrate on winning the first game.
"If you're going to face teams down the line that may do something different from your first round opponent, you're going to also try to work on that strategy," he said. "But I told our team, the only thing we're talking about is Iowa State."
Spring break road trip will be test for 'Hawks
Senior Rick Callaway said that if they made it past tonight, defeating the Tigers and Sooners in the Big Eight tournament would be crucial to the Jayhawks' seeding for the NCAA Tournament.
"I hate to put a jinx on him, but he has a nice little string going," Bing-ham said. "He beat Arkansas and he beat Minnesota. I'd like him to knock off one more ranked team before we get too far along in the season, and he has the ability to do so."
Bingham said that Steve Renko would start the first game against the Tigers.
Louisiana State will be the third ranked team that Kansas has played this year. The Jayhawks split a two-game series with sevent-ranked Arkansas and won one of three games against Minnesota, which was ranked 24th entering the series.
"I like playing every day," he said.
"You can really get a feel for your team and who can do what. I've always felt that this is the stretch when our team comes together."
"They have a fine program and are very well coached," Bingham said. "But I don't think they have the pitching depth that they had last year."
Kansas will try to improve its 1.3 road record during its longest and probably longest road trip of the season.
Kansas baseball
Kansas, 5-5, begins the stretch with a three game series that begins today at Louisiana State. The Tigers have a record of 8-5 and are ranked 19th in the Collegiate Baseball/ESPN baseball poll.
Kansan sportswriter
The Jayhawks were supposed to play 23rd-ranked Creighton on Wednesday, but the game was rained out. It was the second game of the week that was canceled because of rain.
Bingham said the rainouts actually helped the team, especially the position players.
During the next nine days, the Jayhawks will play eight games against four different teams. However, this tough schedule doesn't bother baseball coach Dave Bingham.
By Brent Maycock
"We need a little rest this week," he said. "The Minnesota series was intense and the three games the week before made it a busy week. You could see by Monday their legs didn't have the same spark."
However, Bingham said the pitching might have been affected by the cancellations.
"We really needed Mike Massey and John Wuycheck to start those games," he said. "I wanted to see those guys pitch against some good teams and know what they could do."
"It gave us the rest we needed, but the best practice is playing in games," Wuycheck said.
John Wuycheck, pitcher and outfielder, also said that the break was needed but that he would have rather played the games.
"We need a fourth starter and a middle believer, and these clubs are all good enough to force us to have to pitch those guys." Bingham said.
After the Jayhawks conclude the LSU series on Sunday, Kansas will travel to Houston to play two games against Rice. Bingham said the Owls were traditionally a fifth or sixth place team in the Southwest Conference.
Bingham said that Kansas would discover how strong its pitching was during the road trip.
"I think it's very important because we lost three games this season, but we only lost to two teams and those two teams are ranked No. 1 and No. 6 in the country," he said. "I think we could have won both Missouri games with a break here and a break there. I look forward to trivial."
Because of their overall record, the Jayhawks are assured a spot in the NCAA tournament. Kansas' finish in the Big Eight tournament will determine where the team will play its final round game. NITES
Kevin Pritchard was selected to the players All-Big Eight first team and was a conference's top defensive player. Rick Ricketts was named to the players' second team.
The Jayhawks will play Lamar on Thursday in Beaumont, Texas, and then return to Houston on Friday for a two-game series with Colorado State.
"If Iowa State doesn't win the conference tournament, their season is over." Calloway said. "But if we don't win, we still get to go on and play."
Forward Kirk Baker, a 6-foot-a
junior who averaged 10.5 points and
5.6 rebounds a game, did not make
the trip. Orr said he suspended Baker
from the team, but he refused to
comment on the situation.
"We try to save some things and give them some new looks; try to challenge them a little bit later in the year to get them ready for tournament time," he said. "I think we're a heck of a lot better than we were in November by a big margin. I think we're better now than we were in December, January, February, the whole thing."
"We're going to take the attitude that we want to win it. We want to get the best possible record and best possible seed. We're going to go out trying to win as we always do."
Forward Paul Doerriff, who was expected to start tonight, will not play because of an ankle injury he suffered in practice.
"We're just going to play." Orn said. "We're not telling the (players) anything. They just know that they have to go out and play."
with playing experience. Orr said
The Cyclones shoulder a lot of pressure entering tonight's game.
If the top three seeds, Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas, win their first round games, Missouri will either No. 5 Oklahoma State or No. 4 Kansas State tomorrow. The other second-round game would pit Oklahoma against Kansas, Oklahoma and Kansas are ranked No.1 and No.2 in the national basketball polls and second and third in the tournament.
$5 fee pleases coaches
Calloway said Kansas would enter that game with a vengeance. The Sooners blew Kansas out of the Lloyd Noble center in Norman, 100-78.
If the game against Iowa State has a happy ending for Williams and the Jayhawks, Kansas will head into
Williams said the nationally No.2 ranked Jayhawks are prepared for the tournament.
The players' poll was conducted by the Kansas City Star in cooperation with the Big Eight sports information directors.
Iowa State coach Johnny Orr said the Cyclones would not have a full cast for tonight's game. Eight players traveled to Kansas City, only six
In addition to the coaches, about 75 student-athletes showed up for the meeting. Kempi said their presence might have helped get the bill passed.
"I think it showed that there are a lot of students caring about the revenue and women's sports," he said. "I won't say the change was long overdue, but I'm glad it came up now."
"I think it was needed," he said. "I try to support all the sports. Last year, I attended every sport we have. I just want to support those kids because they work so hard."
other sequel.
Here is what could happen:
Kempf said he did not think the fee increase was unfair to the students.
another sequel.
"This is a tremendous plus for our program," Kansas swimming coach Gary Kemp said. "I think it gives us a little more breathing room."
Although the change does not affect the men's program, Williams said he supported the bill.
Student Senate has made some coaches at Kansas very happy.
Women's basketball coach Marian Washington and men's basketball coach Roy Williams also attended the
By Brent Maycock
Senate voted 32-15 Wednesday night to increase the women's and non-revenue sports fee $5 a semester. The bill, requested by the University of Kansas Athletic Corporation, was last dated last month 23-20.
The fee, paid by KU students, goes toward supplementing the operating budgets of the women's and non-revenue sports. Non-revenue sports do not include men's basketball and football.
meeting.
Kansan sportswriter
Jayhawks road trip to Florida
By Brent Maycock
Kansan sportswriter
Kansan sportswriter
The Kansas golf teams will have little time for relaxation during their spring break trip to Florida.
Both teams will compete in tournaments with fields that will include some of the top collegiate golf teams in the country.
Kansas golf
The men's team will compete in the Central Florida Classic from March 12 to 13 in Orlando, Fla. The tournament will feature eight of the nation's top 20 teams.
"It's one of the best fields of any tournament all year," Kansas coach Ross Randall said.
Competing in the tournament will be defending NCAA champion Oklahoma and the tournament's defending champion, Arizona. Some of the other top teams to compete include North Carolina, Duke, Florida State, Kentucky and Arizona State.
Kansas placed 13th out of 18 teams last year, but Randall said he would be happy if the Jayhawks could improve on that finish.
"It's our very first tournament and you need to play in a few before you can get into the right mind set," he said. "If you finish in eighth or tenth, that's pretty good. I hope we can do that well."
'it's our very first tournament and you need to play in a few before you can get into the right mind set. If you finish in eighth or tenth, that's pretty good. I hope we can do that well.'
Ross Randall,
Kansas golf coach
Randall said the warm weather this winter had helped the team. However, he said it didn't make them equal to the teams in the South who have experienced warm weather almost the entire year.
"We're still a little behind, but I don't think we could have asked for better weather in Kansas," he said. "We'll just try to put the first few tournaments behind us and build on
them so that we peak later on in the season."
The women's team will play less than 25 miles away in the Peggy Kirk Bell Invitational from March 11 to 13 in Winter Park, Fla. Like the men's tournament, this tournament will feature some of the top collegiate teams. Kansas coach Brad Demo said 21 teams would compete, including teams from North Carolina and Duke.
Demo said he thought the Jayhawks could finish in the top five or six at the coming tournament. Kansas finished in third place behind Indiana and Missouri two years ago and did not compete in the tournament last year.
"It will be a very good tournament," Demo said. "I think we're prepared but having the first tournament out of the way helps."
Kansas finished fourth in the Utah Dixie Classic in St. George, Utah, on Monday.
"It was a very good team performance," he said. "I wasn't happy with our second round, but our final round was the second lowest score by any team. It was a very competitive tournament."
Team goes to Texas
By Paul Augeri
Kansan sportswriter
The Kansas softball team toon begins a grueling stretch of 20 games in 10 days against yet another slew of nationally ranked opponents.
Kansas softball
The Jayhawks, 2-5, play three games at the Texas A&M Invitational, before going to Houston on Monday for the remainder of their schedule.
Haack said pitchers Roanna Brazier, Jill Bailley and Shelly Sack would get ample time on the mound during the trip.
"We need to come out with at least 15 wins," Kansas coach Kalum Haack said. "It's a goal we set for ourselves when we thought about what our chances were at the tournament."
Kansas plays Southwest Texas, Sam Houston State and Oklahoma City today. The squad that finishes the tournament with the best record is declared champion.
"These 20 games will help us figure out more things that we're doing wrong," Kim Sacco, second baseman, said. "We didn't win in Arizona, but we were playing real good competition. I think we'll do really well. We are excited to get back out."
The Jayhawks haven't played since the Arizona Softball Classic at Tucson three weeks ago. Kansas doubleheader against Washburn on March 7 was postponed and rescheduled for 3 p.m. April 26.
However, Sacco said the 19-day layoff, which began Feb. 18, would not hurt the team's performance. Sacco said the team could handle the physically demanding schedule.
"There aren't any disadvantages to not playing lately," Sacco said. "We took two days off when we got home from Arizona and practiced right after that. We've been doing so much physically that we'll be ready to play two games every day."
On the other hand, Haack said there was a downside to not having played in three weeks.
"We worked real hard up to the Arizona tournament, played hard and then had three weeks off," Haack said. "You tend to get a little bit stale when you have several days off. So there are pluses and minutes."
In the middle of the week, Kansas will play some of the top 25 teams, including No. 13 South Carolina, No. 14 Colorado State, No. 19 Illinois State and No. 20 Texas &M.
"We should do all right, barring any injuries," Haack said. "But it doesn't matter how well we do. The season comes down to the Big Eight."
Kansas will play Ohio State, Texas A&M and Colorado State at the Houston Invitational, which begins Thursday. The Jayhawks play Temple and Northern Illinois on Friday and finish with Southeast Louisiana on Saturday.
The Jayhawks start their big Eight Conference season in Lawrence with a doubleheader at 2 p.m. April 7 against Nebraska.
Doubles match secures Jayhawk victory
By Paul AugerI
Kansan sportswriter
Nightfall came quickly as the Kansas men's tennis team was a victory shy from defeating Southwest Missouri State yesterday on the courts adjacent to Anschutz Sports Pavilion.
Instead of beating the Bears on those courts, Kansas coach Scott Perealman had to move the Jayhawks to the lighted courts behind
Men's tennis
Robinson Gymnasium. That's where the Jayhawks defeated the Bears 5-2 in a regional match.
"I thought we played pretty well for our first outdoor match." Perelman said. "With the darkness setting in and with us moving, I thought our guys handled themselves real well."
John Falbo and Chris Walker sealed Kansas' fifth victory of the season with a 6-2, 6-2 doubles victory against Chris Gillis and Amine Boustani.
The Jayhawks were boosted by four singles victories that preceded the Falbo-Walker doubles match against the Bears. Perelman said the Jayhawks, 5-6, won Monday at ninth-ranked Calif.
"I think it's a good boost for us and I think everybody feels good getting in the plane tomorrow and heading out there," he said.
--day and New Mexico State on Saturday.
Wan J., Jeff Gross, Carlos Fleming and Ian Goodman breezed to straight-set singles victories.
Fleming said he was used to winning with a powerful serve that helped him overpower Shawn Walburn 6-1, 6-1.
“In tennis, I’m bigger than a lot of guys,” said the 6-foot-2 Fleming. “I’m able to get on the net and put a lot of pressure on the guy, and that helps me out a lot.
"Sometimes it's not so much overpowering. It's just hard to get the ball by me."
Gross crushed to 6-2, 6-2 vctur,
at No. 1 singles against Gillis.
Great expanded Falbo, who is
recovering from a pulled abdominal
muscle.
"The baseline was my strongest point," Gross said. "I was a lo more consistent than he was. He came in a lot and I was able to pass him. My passing shots were good today."
Perelman said Falbo should return to the lineup for the fourmatch tour in California.
Gross said gaining experience would be more important next week than worrying about match results.
"As long as everyone plays hard and gets their experience, we'll come out winning," he said.
Kansas plays ninth-ranked California-Irvine on Tuesday and No. 5 Pepperdine on Wednesday. The Jayhawks will play on Fri
The women's tennis team leaves tomorrow for four matches against two of NCAA Division I top 25 teams.
Fleming said that Kansas getting added exposure to top-tanked competition would improve its chances of winning those matches.
Kansas plays fourth-ranked Georgia on Sunday and Georgia Tech on Monday. The Jayhawks on Thursday and No. 19 South Carolina on Friday.
"There is nothing like putting ourselves in a competitive situation," Kansas coach Michael Center said. "We play 11 of the top 25 teams this season.
Jeff Gross prepares a return in his match against Chris Gillie.
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Keith Thorne/KANRA