Jug Of News (05.23.12)

Welcome to our humble abode. Pull up a seat and grab a glass for a sip from today’s Jug of News. Hit the jump for some off-season football news, Bat Cats being honored by the Big 12, Wildcat tennis star Niedermayerova in the NCAAs, and KSU civil engineers doing good work.

With Realignmentpalooza 2012 in full-swing, fall football seems a distant mirage as of today. Yet, we’re less than 3 months away from pads cracking in fall practices for the Wildcats. In that spirit, here is ESPN’s Big 12 blogger David Ubben’s top 10 players in Big 12 football for next season. Hint: KSU has 2 of the 10, and I’ll bet you can guess who they are. In keeping with the football theme, Terrance Newman’s cousin, Zachry Newman (Missouri City, TX) is interested in potentially following in his older-cousin’s footsteps, as a K-State cornerback. Brian Gates over at GoPowerCat.com has the details.

Switching gears, the Wildcat baseball team saw three of its players receive All-Big 12 honors. For as difficult of a season as the Bat Cats had, they now sit four wins away from a trip to the NCAA tournament. Of course, they have a rather large obstacle standing in their way, in the form of the highly-ranked Baylor Bears. As the tournament is double elimination, a loss doesn’t technically doom the Cats, but the pitching depth (specifically, the lack of it) on this team makes it almost impossible to fathom how they could possibly come through the grueling grind of a loser’s bracket to win the tournament. A win tomorrow against Baylor is imperative.

Wildcat tennis star Petra Niedermayerova (ranked #29 in the nation)will attempt to advance into the round of 32 in the NCAA women’s single’s championship today. She faces a foe with whom she is familiar: Wichita State’s 81st-ranked Lutfiana Budiharto. Good luck to Petra in her match!

Finally, a research team led by KSU civil engineering professor Natalie Mladenov is doing good work. They’re studying the effects of dust deposits on soil formation and water quality in the Rocky Mountains. While that may not sound all that interesting, it’s important, as this research may end up greatly affecting the quality of our drinking water, since the Rocky Mountains are where the streams which provide our drinking water originate.