Spring Break
Braving freezing temperatures and 20-mile-per-hour wind gusts, the Western Illinois (WIU) Westerwinds silenced the University of Missouri-Kansas City softball team 7-0 Friday afternoon at Cleveland Park. The contest turned out to be the only one of three scheduled for the weekend between the two Mid-Continent Conference schools.
UMKC senior Ashley Toft doesn't look the part of a power hitter. But that hasn't stopped the slugger from clearing the fence more times in a single season than any other Kangaroo, with six round trippers so far in the 2007 season. "I've always hit for power," Toft said.
Logging more study hours than any other student athlete at the University of Missouri-Kansas City in the past two years has been easy for senior Taron Brewer. When she's not scrapping on the softball diamond, Brewer satisfies her work-study job requirements at UMKC as a proctor in the Athletic Department's study hall.
University of Missouri-Kansas City soccer head coach Rick Benben doesn't have much time to rest during this particular off-season. Gearing up for his ninth season as top dog coaching Kangaroo soccer, Benben has been busy recruiting, conducting spring practices, and assisting athletic director Tim Hall in overseeing UMKC basketball operations.
UMKC junior golfer Brittnay Hofer has been hitting the links since she had the strength to hold a club. "My parents loved to play golf and they got me involved at an early age," Hofer said. Her lifetime of experience has paid dividends. Hofer, who grew up in the small town of Lead, S.
Unpredictable springtime weather, particularly in Columbia, Mo., has affected the UMKC outdoor track-and-field team lately. Coach Theo Hamilton pulled his squad from competition during the final day of events at the Missouri Relays because of deteriorating weather conditions the weekend of March 31, and over last weekend, cold temperatures forced the cancellation of the Missouri Relays.
Playing at the Missouri State/Payne Stewart Memorial, the University of Missouri-Kansas City women's golf team limped into the clubhouse with a 14th-place finish in the 16 team field. The tournament, played April 2-3 in Springfield, Mo., proved to be the poorest performance of the spring for the Kangaroos, based on round-by-round averages.
The University of Missouri-Kansas City men's golf team played its way to a fourth-place finish at the Hal Sutton Intercollegiate, April 2-3 at the Golf Club at Stonebridge in Bossier City, La. The Kangaroos were led by freshman Alex Hogben, who finished the event with a three-round total of 215.
