wednesday, march 14, 2012
Two-minute drill Corbin McGuire staff writer Golf Tiger Woods announced on his Twitter Monday that he only had a mild strain of his left Achilles tendon and can resume play late this week. Woods, who injured his Achilles after hitting his second shot in the water on the 10th hole at the TPC Blue Monster at Doral, is booked to play the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill. Woods, however, is hopefully optimistic that he will be healthy enough to compete when the tournament starts on March 22. Two holes after the initial aggravation of the Achilles, Woods called on course officials, pulled himself out of the tournament and was taken off the course on a golf cart. The Arnold Palmer Invitational is usually a tune-up tournament for Woods right before the Masters. NFL Linebacker D.J. Williams and defensive tackle Ryan McBean for the Denver Broncos have, according to ESPN.com story, filed a lawsuit against the NFL about their suspensions for breaching the NFL’s performance-enhancing substances policy. Williams and McBean, who received six-game suspensions without pay from the NFL on Friday, were not the only Broncos suspended. Virgil Green, the Broncos tight end, received a four game suspension but is not a part of the lawsuit. The NFL Players association said in a statement released Tuesday that they strongly disagreed with the suspensions and even asked for independent arbitrators as part of any future drug testing policy. MLB The St. Louis Cardinals, reigning World Series champions, may have to find an alternative to their usual ace on the mound, Chris Carpenter, if he is unable to recover from a bulging disk in his neck. Carpenter, 37, was scheduled to throw in one of the Cardinals’ games Monday, but Jaime Garcia was sent to toe the rubber against the Atlanta Braves instead, and rookie Shelby Miller pitched against the Washington Nationals. Carpenter is still yet to start a game for spring ball and Lance Lynn, a bullpen member at the beginning of camp, could be moved to the starting rotation.
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BASEBALL
Hinkle’s grand slam leads Wildcats to a 9-5 win Spencer Low staff writer The K-State baseball team started off their five-game road trip with a win Tuesday, as they defeated the Minnesota Gophers with the help of senior first baseman Wade Hinkle’s five RBIs. The Wildcats didn’t wait long to get on the scoreboard, putting up a quick two runs in the top of the first inning. Sophomore second baseman Ross Kivett walked to lead off the game, and junior left fielder Tanner Witt followed him with another walk to put runners on first and second. After a double-steal to put both runners in scoring position, sophomore designated hitter
Blair DeBord doubled them both home for a quick 2-0 lead. After a single from Hinkle scored sophomore center fielder Jared King in the third, K-State pushed across six more runs in the fourth inning to take a 9-3 lead. A two-run double by Witt scored Kivett and senior shortstop Jake Brown, and the next two batters reached base as King walked and DeBord was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Hinkle. Hinkle stepped up to the plate and sent a ball over the right field fence for his team-leading third homer on the year and his fifth RBI of the night. On the mound, sophomore Shane Conlon struggled making the start, as he was pulled after 2.1
innings, allowing three runs off four hits with four walks and two strikeouts. Sophomore Gerardo Esquivel entered the game in the third, pitching 5.2 innings of relief to earn his first win of the season, evening his record at 1-1. Esquivel allowed two runs off five hits, walking none and striking out two. Freshman Robert Youngdahl finished out the game for the Wildcats, entering in the ninth inning after the first two batters recorded singles off Esquivel, one of which came around to score. Minnesota’s Troy Larson led the team with three hits from the leadoff spot, two of which were doubles, and Dan Olinger helped the offense with two hits and an RBI. The Gopher’s starter, DJ Snelten only made
it one more inning than Conlon, pitching 3.1 innings and allowing five runs off six hits with three walks and failing to record a strikeout. The Wildcats had 11 hits on the evening, including three from Witt, and two from both Kivett and Hinkle. Game two will start at 3:05 p.m. Wednesday in Minneapolis and will be the last game of the series. The Wildcats will travel College Station, Texas to play No. 8 Texas A&M on Saturday and Sunday to start off their Big 12 Conference season. Saturday’s game is scheduled to begin at 2:05 p.m. and Sunday’s game is scheduled to begin at 1:05 p.m.
WOMEN’S TENNIS
Athlete faces struggles, finds success at K-State Jenay Unruh contributing writer Editor’s Note: This article was completed as an assignment for a class in the A.Q. Miller School of Journalism and Mass Communications. K-State junior Karla Bonacic overcame two career-threatening injuries and is now ranked 65th in the nation for singles tennis. During her high school years, Bonacic planned to go into professional tennis instead of college. Bonacic’s future plans came to an end in 2006 when the cartilage in her left wrist tore, which resulted in surgery in 2008. Bonacic was playing on a clay court after it had rained, which left large indentions in the court. One indention was large enough to trip Bonacic while in play. Bonacic fell on her wrist, and for the next two years, she played without knowing her cartilage was torn. After surgery, Bonacic had a six month recovery period. This injury
reoccurred during her sophomore year at K-State after she was recruited by head coach Steve Bietau. The cause of the second injury was the constant strain on Bonacic’s wrist by lifting and swinging her racquet. This time, Bonacic only took two months off. “My wrist has never been the same,” she said. “Now instead of returning low balls with a harder swing, I save my strength by slicing,” Bonacic said. Bonacic’s passion for tennis started when she was 12 years old. “I lived right next to the courts, and I always wondered how someone could hit the ball that fast,” Bonacic said. “I started playing out of curiosity.” Bonacic was born in Split, Croatia. She joined a small tennis club when she was 9 years old and began training with a personal coach at the age of 12. She made one of her favorite tennis memories at the age of 15. “I made it into finals of the Croatia Junior Championships while being
three years younger than everybody else who I played against,” Bonacic said. She played singles in Croatia and continues her singles career here at KState. Bonacic also competes in doubles matches with her roommate, junior Carmen Borau Ramos, and sophomore Petra Niedermayerova, the No. 1 singles player. Conflict could result between doubles partners, especially when the women compete for their spots on the team. Niedermayerova, who is younger than Bonacic and ranked 19th in the nation for singles tennis said there isn’t tension between herself and Bonacic. “Numbers don’t matter here,” Niedermayerova said. “Karla is an open person so it’s really easy to talk to her on and off the court.” Bonacic said she feels the same about numbers. “I’m happy that she is a good player and we are all on the same team. I’m not the jealous type,” Bonacic said. “I think it’s good for the team.”
Both women play foremost for the Wildcats, not for their own personal records. Borau Ramos and Bonacic’s friendship off the court connects them better on the court. “We know how to support each other during matches because we know each other so well,” Borau Ramos said. She said Bonacic’s greatest strength in the game is her passion for tennis which pushes her to fight for each point. Borau Ramos also said she sees Bonacic’s greatest weakness - her tendency of being easily frustrated during matches. “Karla understands what she has to do on a day-to-day basis to be a good player,” Bietau said. In the fall, Bonacic’s training includes conditioning five days a week and playing tennis for two hours every day. In the spring, Bonacic conditions on Tuesday and practices all week, with tournaments almost every weekend. Bonacic is now 49-30 in her career.