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Originally posted on Kansan.com, January 19th, 2014

As the temperature plummeted in Kansas, the swimming and diving team headed south, with meets at the University of Georgia, located in Athens and Rollins College, located in a suburb of Orlando.

At the Georgia Diving Invitational, in the one-meter dive, sophomore Meredith Brownell and freshman Graylyn Jones placed 22nd and 25th respectively. Brownell scored 234.5 while Jones, not far behind scored 228.05.  Three other divers competed in the event as well. Freshman Amanda Maser was 39th, scoring 201.25. Alyssa Golden, senior, was right behind her at 40th, scoring 198.70. Rounding out the Jayhawk divers was Madeline Martin, sophomore, who placed 45th with a score of 183.80.

The other event, which partook the following day was the three-meter dive. Brownell lead the Kansas squad in this event as well, taking 29th place and scoring 229.85. Golden followed, placing 36th, scoring 214.85. Martin took 42nd place (202.30), Maser took 47th place (188.75) and Jones finished in 52nd (157.65).

“The whole meet was to get more experience and gauge where we are,” said diving coach Brian Pritt. “Meredith and Graylyn did well [in the one-meter dive] and as a whole, we are just trying to see what things we need to work on. During winter training we are going to pick up the intensity and focus level so the nerves don’t take over.”

At the triangular meet hosted by Rollins College, the Jayhawks won by landslides against the host (202-55) and Tampa (195.5-61.5).

Leading the way for the swimmers, were the members of the relays. The Kansas 200 medley relay teams finished first, second, and third. The young team consisted of Freshman Yulduz “Yulya” Kuchkarova, sophomore Bryce Hinde, Freshman Pia Pavlic, and freshman Leah Pfitzer swam the top time of 1:45.74 in the medley relay. The other relays performed at a top tier level as well. Their 500-yard freestyle relays clocked in at 5:22.50 and 5:28.99, finishing first and second. Kansas’ 200-yard freestyle relay also finished first (1:38.42), finishing a solid three seconds before the second place Tampa squad.

In the individual events, coach Clark Campbell was excited about how well Deanna Marks, junior, and Sofiia Filatova, senior, performed.

“The swimmers of the meet for us were Filatova and Marks… Those two had a good meet along with several others,” Campbell elaborated.

Both Jayhawks had strong performances in the 50-yard and 100-yard butterfly events. In the shorter of the two, Marks finished first, swimming a time of 26.17. The race wasn’t easily won, due to Filatova being right on her heels, finishing just .02 seconds behind her younger teammate. In the 100-yard race Filatova finished first with a time of 57.26. Marks finished just behind her, clocking in at 58.04.

Some of the “several others” consisted of Morgan Sharp, Kuchkarova, and Hinde. Sharp, the senior freestyler, came home with a pair of wins in the 100 and 200-meter freestyles. Kuchkarova swept the backstroke events, while Hinde dominated in the breaststroke races, placing first in both as well.

“We still have some work to do, but we can tell a difference in how they are racing, their stroke techniques and how well they are doing with starts and turns,” said Campbell. “I’m starting to see them compete in championship form.”

After their dominating performances on the boards and in the pool, the Jayhawks made their way further south to Puerto Rico, where their training camp was located. They are due to return January 19. Turn around time for the ladies is short, considering they host a duel with the University of Arkansas-Little Rock in the Robinson Natatorium on January 25.

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Originally Posted on Rock Chalk Blog: September 3rd, 2013.

The last time these two teams met was 113 years ago in the year 1900.  Only back then, the game was played up in Vermillion, South Dakota, on the Coyotes home turf. Head coach Charlie Weis brought copies of the post-game article to the media presser on Tuesday. Could the past predict the future? It’s possible. The Jayhawks beat the Coyotes 36-0.

Fast-forward 113 years. Setting: Lawrence, Kansas. It’s week two of college football. The visiting South Dakota Coyotes (Missouri Valley Conference) has a record of 1-0, beating UC Davis 10-7. The Jayhawks had a bye the first week of the season, making this game their season opener.

“What was it like to sit and watch football games on Saturday? Saturday was just awful. Sitting there watching these games. Put a capital L on your forehead sitting here watching these games,” Weis joked.

Weis had nothing but positive things to say about the Coyotes at the media presser.

“They do a very good job at taking care of the football.”

He also commented on the strengths of their team, one those being the offensive line. “If you’re looking for a small offensive line, you can forget it,” he added. For example: South Dakota’s starting left tackle, Matt Huffer, is 6’7”, 300 pounds. Their starting left guard, Marc Murtha, is 6’6”, 310 pounds. Cody O’Neill, their center, is 6’3”, 305 pounds. Their right guard, Andrew Schofield, is 6’5”. 290 pounds. Starting at right tackle, Derek Chancellor, is 6’5”, and is 295 pounds.

Kansas doesn’t have a small offensive line either. On the depth chart released September 3rd,  Aslam Sterling has the starting left tackle position, standing 6’5”, 315 pounds. Ngalu Fusimalohi is starting at left guard, standing 6’2”, weighing 310 pounds. Pat Lewandowski is starting at center, standing at 6’5.5”, weighing 295 pounds. At right guard, Mike Smithburg, stands at 6’3” and weighs 300 pounds. Zach Fondal has the starting position at right tackle, standing at 6’5” and weighs 295 pounds.

“Fondal is the best pass blocker we have,” said Weis. “He can pass block on both sides.”

Weis forewarned to watch out for South Dakota’s halfbacks. “[Trevor] Bouma and [Jordan] Roberts (both redshirt freshmen) are like clones.” Both Bouma and Roberts stand at 5’11”. Roberts weighs just five more pounds than Bouma, weighing in at 215 to Bouma’s 210. In their game last week, the two combined for 27 carries for 162 yards.

James Sims and Taylor Cox are the go to halfbacks for Kansas. Sims stands at 6’0” and weighs 200 pounds. Cox is 5’11” and weighs 212 pounds.

One major change on the opposite side of the ball on the depth chart is Cassius Sendish going back to free safety, instead of leading the charge at nickel. “Cassius is capable of playing two positions,” said defensive coach Dave Campo. “He has the skills to play both the nickel and safety position.” Weis talked about how the coaching staff was concerned about the depth at safety more than the depth at nickel. “[Victor] Simmons and [Courtney] Arnick developed at nickel,” he added. “Cassius is unique. He can play a number of different positions. Victor’s a different guy. He went from safety to a linebacker. Now he’s kind of a hybrid,” added Campo.

For team goals, Weis went off on a tangent. “Let’s look at this realistically. Every time we go into a game, we better be counting on winning. If you go into a game and look at the record or schedule and think “we could win five”, if you look at that, you should be fired or you should quit.”

Weis also added, “From 1-11 last year, we’re 0-0 right now. We’re psychologically working in that direction. There’s only one way to change it. Winning,” “…it’s been a while since Kansas has won,” added Campo. Weis explained, “They need to get a taste of something good.”