SPORTS
UN I V E R S I T Y D A I L Y K A N S A N
Monday, September 27,1993
9
Retiring Brett keeps swinging away
Memories remain of World Series No.3,000,pine tar
By Craig Horst
Associated Press sportswriter
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — George Brett, his career in its final days, will not go quietly.
One day after announcing his retirement, Brett showed there is still plenty of baseball left in his 40-year body after 20 seasons with the Kansas City Royals.
Yesterday, he doubled in the first inning against the California Angels and hit a three-run homer in the fourth. That took him past two more Hall of Famers — Jimmie Foxx and Ted Williams — with 1,118 extra base hits, 10th on the all-time list.
But for all the extra-base hits, the cham-
But for all the extra-base hits, the championship in 1985, the pine tar game, Brett
ROYALS: George Brett had two homers
and five RBIs in the 9-8 victory against California. Page 10.
said he will miss other things, simpler things, that have nothing to do with a pennant run or a chase for a batting title.
"Just being around the guys," he said. "The camaraderie. The bus rides. Sometimes some of the bus rides can be pretty funny. Not really the plane travel, I'll miss some of the towns. Boston, Seattle."
Boston and Brett have a mutual admiration. Boston fans, sensing this 20th season was his last, gave him six standing ovations during the Royals' last series there.
Jamie Quirk has seen Brett through the years. He was hired as a Royals coach this season when his career at Oakland ended, and he remains one of Brett's closest friends.
"Time and time again, he would come through," Quirk said. "You would just sit there and hope that he would have a chance to come up and do it again. You'd
look at the guy batting and say 'Get a hit so George can have a chance to come up. Let him take one more shot at it.'
"You think of one highlight and then you think of another and we could sit here for hours talking about it. He's just a certain type of ballplayer that I don't think people here realized what they've had. There are a lot of cities that will never experience a player like him."
Brett, who will become vice president of baseball operations for the Royals, was criticized by some for not being a more demonstrative leader on a team for which he played his entire career. Brett simply chose to lead with his bat and glove.
"He's an amazing guy," said John Wathan, who played with and managed Brett and now is a coach with the California Angels. "I guess I'll think of how he played the game. All the big games he's had, it's hard to pick one out. He just played the game hard."
If pressed, both Wathan and Quirk would say Brett's three-run home run off Goose Gossage in Game 3 of the 1980 AL playoffs
was their most memorable moment. It sent the Royals into their first World Series.
That was the year Brett flirted with becoming the first player to hit. 400 since Williams hit. 406 in 1981. It was a sundrenched Sunday afternoon in August when Brett doubled to push his average to 401.
He finished at .300, and got one of his three batting titles. This year he joined Willie Mays, Hank Aaron and Dave Winfield as the only players with 3,000 hits, 300 homers and 200 stolen bases.
Brett, finishing his career as a designated hitter, was as elegant as anyone at the plate. But he also knew a thing or two about playing third base and has a 1985 Gold Glove to show for it.
That was also the year the Royals beat St. Louis and won the World Series. And Brett had a baseball memory like no other. Nothing else is close. Eight years later, the picture is as clear as ever.
"Hugging Bret Saberhagen after the seventh game in 1985," he said.
Source: Kansas City Star. Associated Press John Paul Fogel/KANSAK
Water-skiing team retains Big Eight title
By Mac Engel
Special to the Kansan
The Kansas water-ski team successfully defended its Big Eight title this weekend in the Third Annual Big Eight Waterski Championships at the Mokan Waterski Club.
Led by senior Tim Shellenberger and sophomore Tara Shelinbarger, Kansas won four of the six events and won its third consecutive title at the club, located east of Lawrence.
Kansas State finished second, Iowa State third and Oklahoma State fourth in the four-team tournament.
Shellenberger took first place in the men's jump and men's slalom. He said that despite this weekend's cool temperatures, the tournament was a success.
Shelinbarger won the women's trick, took second in both the women's slalom and the women's jump. She said that she was satisfied with her performance despite the cold weather.
"My trick was the best I have ever done," she said.
Other Kansas winners were sophmore Lisa Dolejs, who won the women's slalom, and freshman Ryan Leff, who placed third in the men's trick.
"Distances were down by 20 feet," he said. "I barely made the ramp."
Skiers were cautious of winds that reached 20 mph during the weekend, said Oklahoma State junior Jason Rozneck. He said that high winds made the jumps more difficult.
he said. Twenty made it. Sophomore Tim Dunn of Iowa State, who finished first in the men's trick and third in the men's slalom, agreed that the weather played a large role at the tournament.
"The weather threw us all off," Dunn said. "I was bounced all over in the tricks."
The winds became so high that the last round of the jump competition was canceled.
The Kansas water-ski team will finish its regular season next week in a tournament in Syracuse, Ind.
Paul Kotz/KANSAN
Poised for the sack
John Jeffries, San Diego sophomore and member of Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity, sets up a pass that Mike Konen, Overland Park junior and member of Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity, attempts to block during a scrimmage game. The game was yesterday at Shenk Complex, the playing fields at 23rd and Iowa streets.
Volleyball victories may result in ranking
By Gerry Fey
Kansan sportswriter
In the course of one weekend, the Kansas volleyball team went from being merely a 6-5 team to a team vying for a regional ranking.
Thanks to a 3-0 record Friday and Saturday at the Pittsburgh Tournament in Pittsburgh and a victory at the University of Akron yesterday, the Jayhawks are now 10-5. Kansas won the tournament against teams that are ranked regionally or that were ranked last year.
"I didn't know how we would do." Coach Frankie Albitz said. "All our matches were tough. That was a high-level tournament. Maybe not a top 20, but probably a top 30 tournament."
Since Baylor defeated Kansas on Sept. 6, the Jayhawks have gone 9-1 and now expect a regional ranking.
Kansas opened the tournament Friday against Virginia Tech and defeated the Hokies 17-15, 11-15, 15-7 and 15-10. Saturday, the Jayhawks defeated the host team, the University of Pittsburgh, 15-12, 7-15, 15-12 and 17-15. The team clinched the tournament title later that day with a victory against Syracuse.
Sophomore setter Lesli Steinert orchestrated the Kansas attack against Pittsburgh with 63 assists, just six short of a Kansas single-match individual assist record.
Kansas outside hitters senior Shelby Lard and sophomore Tracie Walt capitalized on those assists. Walt had 16 kills and a .424 hitting percentage, and Lard added 15 kills with a .200 hitting percentage.
"I felt really good against Pittsburgh," Walt said. "My hitting percentage that match was a career high for me."
Walt said the team knew it had to play its best in the tournament.
"In the past, when we have been behind, we have trouble coming back," she said. "This weekend, I think we came back twice when the other team was at game point."
Steinert said team passing combined with hitting by Walt and senior Cyndee Kanabel at middle blocker had allowed her to accumulate the assists.
"Overall, since the passing was good, I had a lot more options for sets," Steinert said. "The hitters tried for every set. If it wasn't a good set, they did their best to put it away. It made me look good."
Even though the Jayhawks defeated Syracuse 11-15, 15-6, 15-7 and 15-7 in their last match on Saturday, Albiz said she was surprised by Syracuse.
"They didn't look very good in their other matches, but they played us tough." Albitz said.
Kanabel led Kansas to the victory with 25 kills and a career-high 579 hitting percentage. She was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player. Steinert and Kanabel were selected to the all-tournament team.
Walt said the tough matches had taken their toll on the team. After playing three matches in two days, the team was not sure about yesterday's match with Akron, she said.
"Our record of playing Sunday games after a tournament isn't really good," Walt said. "We were a little worried. We didn't know what to expect."
Kansas won the match 15-11, 15-8 and 17-15, but Steinert said the match should not have been that close.
"From last year, we knew that they weren't a really good team," Steinerrd said. "We should have just come out and beaten them. But we were tired, and I think they knew that."
Albitz said that time had prepared Kansas for this tournament, compared to the team's first tournament at Northern Illinois. In the Sept. 3-4 tournament, the Jayhawks lost the three matches against Colorado State, Northern Illinois and Northwestern.
"The first tournament is always tough," she said. "After that first tournament, it was like my team just woke up. They are playing well now."
Top 25 teams
The Associated Press 1993 college foot ball pit. first place votes in parentheses, records through Sept. 25, total points based on 25 points for a first place vote through one point for a 25th vote, and ranking in last week's poll.
| | Record | Pts | Pts | Pts |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 1. Florida St. (58) | 4-0 | 1,154 | 1 | 1 |
| 2. Alabama (4) | 4-0 | 1,482 | 2 | 3 |
| 3. Miami | 4-0 | 1,414 | 3 | 4 |
| 4. Notre Dame | 4-0 | 1,361 | 4 | 5 |
| 5. Florida | 4-0 | 1,297 | 5 | 6 |
| 6. Nebraska | 4-0-0 | 1,180 | 6 | 7 |
| 7. Ohio St. | 3-0 | 1,157 | 7 | 8 |
| 8. Michigan | 2-10 | 1,077 | 8 | 9 |
| 9. Penn St. | 2-10 | 1,058 | 9 | 10 |
| 10. Oklahoma | 3-0-0 | 1,006 | 10 | 11 |
| 11. Tennessee | 3-10 | 903 | 11 | 12 |
| 12. Arizona | 4-0-0 | 782 | 15 | 12 |
| 13. Syracuse | 3-0-1 | 750 | 12 | 14 |
| 14. Texas A&M | 2-10 | 718 | 14 | 16 |
| 15. Washington | 2-10 | 688 | 16 | 18 |
| 16. North Carolina | 4-1-0 | 648 | 18 | 20 |
| 17. California | 4-1-0 | 614 | 18 | 20 |
| 18. Louisville | 2-2-0 | 429 | 24 | 13 |
| 19. Colorado | 2-2-0 | 428 | 24 | 13 |
| 20. Brigham Young | 4-0-0 | 415 | 21 | 22 |
| 21. Virginia | 4-0-0 | 390 | 22 | 23 |
| 22. Wisconsin | 4-0-0 | 338 | 23 | 25 |
| 23. Auburn | 4-0-0 | 188 | 25 | 26 |
| 24. N. Carolina St. | 2-1-0 | 73 | 19 | — |
| 25. St. Louis | 3-0-1 | 71 | — | — |
Others receiving votes: Stanford 39, Mississippi 34, Virginia Tech 25, Southern Cal 17, UCLA 17, Northwestern 13, Bayton 11, Georgia Tech 10, Fresno State 7, Hawaii 7, Kansas State 7, San Diego State 6, Oregon 4, Indiana 2, Clemson 1.
CROSS COUNTRY
Source: The Associated Press
Teams hold their own at Boston College's weekend invitational
The Kansas cross country team traveled across the nation this past weekend to compete in the Boston College Cross Country Invitational at Boston's Franklin Park. The men's team came home with a fifth-place finish out of the 13 teams competing. The women's team brought home a third-place finish out of 12 teams competing.
Freshmen Bryan Schultz was the Jayhawk men's top runner, finishing 16th in the competition. He was followed by senior Bobby Palmer at 17th, senior Rosekrenzkanz at 25th, freshman Criss Cord at 32nd and keven Kovan长于 34th.
Assistant coach Steve Guymon said that he believed this team could have a good year despite losing sophomore starters Chris Ronan and Jeff Peterson to knee injuries.
"Last year we had high expectations on us; this year there is no pressure on us," Guymon said.
Saul was followed by junior Kristi Kloester who placed 11th, freshman Bridget Mann at 13th, junior Melissa Swartz at 16th and senior Daniella Daggy at 24th.
SPORTS in brief
The we men's team saw senior Julia Saul return to last year's top form as she was the top Kansas runner placing fifth overall.
Guymon said that he was pleased with the women's finish and that he had expected his team to compete well against teams like Providence and Dartmouth.
The teams will compete next weekend at the Minnesota Invitational in Minneapolis.
RACQUETBALL
RACQUETBALL Club does well at round robin
The four other schools competing in the tournament were Washington University, Wichita State, Missouri and one player from Southwest Missouri State. Players competed Friday evening and all day Saturday.
Some of the Kansas racquetball players will play this weekend in Kansas City, but the team will not play again until the Missouri tournament during the first weekend in November.
The Kansas racquetball club took first place in the men's and women's combined competition during a racquetball tournament this weekend in Robinson Center. It took second place in both the men's and women's divisions.
Kansas sophomore Brannon Hertel said that most tournaments consist of eight schools, but a round-robin tournament was played since this one only had five.
MEN'S TENNIS
Team survives first round
Every Kansas men's tennis player avoided immediate elimination by winning his first singles match during the Tom Fallon Invitational this weekend in South Bend, Ind.
In the 20 team tournament at Notre Dame, a player was eliminated after his first loss. Five of the eight Jayhawks played three matches. Sophomore Victor Fimbres played six matches in his division, defeating his five opponents
in two sets. He lost his sixth match to Jeff Clark of Vanderbilt 6-1, 6-2.
Top returning player, sophomore Reid Slattery, lost his second match to Steve Flanigan of West Virginia 6-3, 6-4.
The two doubles teams in the first flight, or division, lost their matches to Northwestern and Pennsylvania. The two doubles teams in the second flight won their first match. Sophomore Martin Eriksson and freshman Trent Tucker defeated Northern Illinois 9-8. They lost their second match to Michigan State 8-6. Sophomore J.P. Vissepo and freshman Tim Radogna won four matches before a duo from Notre Dame defeated them 8-4.
WOMEN'S TENNIS Invitational kicks off season
Each member played four singles matches regardless of winning or losing the first match.
All the doubles teams, except for the team of Kirchhof and freshman Amy Trytek, who had a first round bye, won their open matches Fri
The women's tennis team traveled to Williamsburg, Va., this weekend for its season opener in the William and Mary Invitational.
Senior Mindy Weiner and freshman Bianca Kirchhof were the only Jayhawks to win their opening matches. Weiner defeated Jennifer Carlino of South Florida 6-3, 6-4, and Kirchhof defeated Helena Svanstrom of South Florida 1-6, 6-4, 6-4.
The team of Woods and Rogers was the only duo to win again after Friday. It defeated Notre Dame's team of Christy Faustmann and Erin Gowan 6-4, 7-6, 6-2.
day. Seniors Aby Woods and Kim Rogers defeated the Virginia team of Alison Cohen and Ly-Lan Schofield 6-7, 6-2, 6-2. Weiner and freshman Heather Heidel defeated South Florida's team of Svanstrom and Lisa Lodgegust 6-1, 6-2.
WOMEN'S GOLF Jayhawks nabs third in Iowa
After a one-day postponement, the Kansas women's golf team resumed play yesterday in the Hawkeye Invitational at the Finkbine Golf Course in Iowa City, Iowa.
The team finished third in the 10-team tournament, 12 shots behind Illinois and three shots behind Wisconsin. Kansas was the Big Eight's top participant, defeating fourth place Iowa State and sixth place Kansas State.
Senior Holly Reynolds led the team for the second straight tournament. She tied for fourth place with Kansas State's Jacque Wright. "She was followed by junior Ann Holbrook's four-way tie for seventh place and freshman Miss Russell's six-way tie for 11th place. Freshman Lori Lauritsen and junior Tracy Bellisle rounded out the Jayhawk scoring in a five-way tie for 17th
1
Kansas sportswriters Anne Feletter and Kent Holfield contributed to this report.