If the Rock Bridge girls’ basketball players can keep their momentum, they’ll eclipse last year’s poor performance.

Undefeated, the Bruins extended their winning streak to six by beating California 45-27 Thursday night. It was Rock Bridge’s second home game of the season.

Rock Bridge has posted as many wins as it had last season when they finished 6-20. Coach Kevin Giese said he expects the team to win a few more games before the end of the season.

“Six is a good number for the fans,” Giese said. “It’s a good number for us, but it’s more for the fans than it is for us. We think we can continue this and keep going throughout the season.”

Turnovers proved to be the most important statistic of the game. Rock Bridge turned the ball over four times in the first quarter. At the end of the quarter the Bruins found themselves behind 8-12.

Momentum swung completely in Rock Bridge’s favor in the second half. The Bruins took better care of the ball and played better defense. The Bruins gave the ball away four times and forced 10 turnovers in the second half.

“I think those turnovers come from the score,” Giese said. “Early in the game we were behind and the pressure was on us. The second half they were behind and the pressure kept mounting and mounting for them.”

Inside play was a large part of the Rock Bridge offense. Sophomore forward Ashley Dressler led the Bruins’ scoring with 12 points, most of which were in the paint.

“When it’s open they just pass it in because we call for the ball,” Dressler said. “They’re pretty good at getting it inside and we’re pretty good at finishing.”

Pounding the ball inside to get easy baskets wasn’t the only reason Rock Bridge focused on playing half-court offense. Senior Rachel Jones said controlling the pace of the game helped the Bruins secure the win.

“I think that had been our motto tonight,Valencia shirt,” Jones said. “Slow it down, slow it down. There’s no need to rush. We have 40 minutes in a ball game,Birmingham shirt, no need to make it go any faster than that.”

Giese said he expects the rest of Rock Bridge’s opponents to be just about the same caliber as California.

“They’re a very good team,Benfica shirt,” Giese said. “They have two really standout players. And sometimes when you have standout players like that some of the other players aren’t used to having as much of a load on their shoulders. But they’re as good as any other team on our schedule.”

Greg Swenson and other members of the St. Louis-based Gateway Kite Club met halfway with members of the Kansas City Kite Club for the One Sky-One World festival Sunday at Cosmo-Bethel Park. (STEVE ENGLISH/Missourian)

Colors and creatures transformed a pale blue sky on Sunday into an array of mystery and intrigue.

A pterodactyl striped in black, purple and white flew at the mercy of the wind, appearing as if it were swooping down to snatch its escaping prey.

Across the field, a large white, fluid kite advanced across the sky like an amoeba above a sea of peering eyes.

The One Sky-One World kite flying festival attracted these and other unique kites from across Missouri. With approximately 30 owners controlling the strings, each creature established its territory at Cosmo-Bethel Park to participate in the worldwide kite flying event. In addition to the kiters, about two dozen people from the community stopped by throughout the day to take in the sights.

More than 30 nations took part in this event on Sunday, which began 20 years ago as an attempt to promote global unity. Earlier this year, the Gateway Kite Club of St. Louis and the Kansas City Kite Club decided to join one another for the event at a central location. Columbia seemed like the perfect fit.

Roy White, 73, says he would like to see more young people take up the sport of kiting. (CAROLIN BURRER/Missourian)

��We thought it would be very appropriate for an event that emphasizes unity to meet halfway between Kansas City and St. Louis,�� said Linda Larkey, secretary for the Kansas City Kite Club.

Larkey said that the sport of kiting is growing and gaining popularity worldwide because of its capacity to attract a variety of people. The ages of kite fliers from the Kansas City Kite Club ranged from 6 to 45 on Sunday.

��It doesn��t matter what your style is, there is something that can appeal to you,Manchester City shirt,�� Larkey said.

Kiting has traditionally been more popular in Europe than in the United States,Football shirts, Larkey said. However, kiting clubs are popping up all around the country in recent years. There are currently 113 kite clubs nationwide, with over one-third of those being along the Eastern coast where the winds are much more steady. Though the Midwest winds are fitful,Bayern Munich shirt, more forceful and harder to predict, interest in kiting among people throughout Missouri is also beginning to rise.

Larkey compared kiting to golf.

��People who play golf talk about their friends who play, the outdoors and the fitness they receive,�� she said. ��It��s the same with kiting. Kiting is an extraordinary sport because of the people.��

Jim and Norine Bailey of Columbia were hooked one Saturday afternoon in 1994. After watching two men fly kites in a park, the Baileys decided to purchase a kite of their own. They returned to the park late in the afternoon and flew their kite until dark.

��What is great about it is that you can do it yourself, you can do it with others, or you can do it with family,�� Norine Bailey said.

Now the Baileys have 36 kites of all sizes and weights to compensate for the different wind speeds they encounter.

Jim Bailey, 61, said that it has amazed him how kites have changed since he flew them as a child. He said that the paper kites that he once enjoyed are disappearing in favor of newer ones made of ripstop nylon.

��We flew when we were young,�� he said. ��It just wasn��t as sophisticated as it is now.��

An inability to attract younger generations, however,Ajax shirt, is a concern for 73-year-old and veteran kite flier Roy White.

��It��s a great hobby, but we can��t grab any kids�� he said. ��They love to play with it, but then they get tired of it and put it down.��

After having flown kites as a small child, White picked the hobby back up 20 years ago. He and his partner Leona Murry spend hours designing, making and flying their kites.

��When I see a picture of a kite, I��ve got to have one,�� said White with a smirk on his face.

His fire-engine red mini-van sat parked in the open field, each seat stacked with ripstop, spars and string, the material needed to create a kite.

When asked what intrigues him about flying kites, White said, ��Who cares as long as you are having fun.��

A few minutes later his kite hits the ground defeated. Succumbing to its strings and the wind, it lay motionless, now at the mercy of a child who irreverently snatches it up trying to give it a boost back into the wind��s gusts.

Each kite has a personality, a unique character. On Sunday, each had its moment to show off.

COLUMBIA The Golden Girls and cheerleaders werent the only people wearing sparkling costumes at the Missouri football teams fan day on Sunday at Memorial Stadium.

In the middle of the winding lines leading to the white tents that housed the Tigers’ seniors and starters Genia Vincent and her daughter Lauren Vincent stood out in the late afternoon sunshine. The women wore black Missouri football T-shirts that they had emblazoned with sparkling gold and silver sequins. Shimmering letters covered their backs, prominently displaying the name Vincent.

MoreStory

Related Media

• Lines of eager fans stretched across Faurot Field despite the heat Sunday at the Missouri football team’s fan day. People waited in the hot sun to meet their favorite players and have them autograph memorabilia as a lead-up to the 2010 football season.
• Footballs were a common object brought to be signed to Fan Day at Faurot Field on Sunday. Other popular items brought by fans included T-shirts, posters and jerseys.

Related Articles

• TODAY’S QUESTION: Are you surprised with MU football’s recent success in the NFL draft?
• After spring break Franklin makes case for Missouri starting quarterback job
• Receivers key to helping new Missouri quarterback adapt
• Football TV deal buoys Big 12 Conference
• Missouri football players support former teammates performing at Pro Day
• Blaine Gabbert and Aldon Smith impress scouts at Pro Day
• Gabbert, other former Missouri football players prepare for Pro Day
• Injured linebackers return to Missouri football team
• Former walk-ons reflect on challenges of Missouri football
• Missouri football signs 17 players to 2011 recruiting class

The two women made the shirts to support freshman defensive lineman Lucas Vincent, who is Genia Vincents son and Lauren Vincents brother.

“We just ordered jerseys,” Genia Vincent said. “We dont have them yet, so instead of spending another $30 or $40 on shirts for everyone, we made these.”

The Vincents brought a group of friends with them from Olathe, Kan., to support Lucas Vincent in his first fan day as a Tiger. They planned to get as many autographs as possible, and Genia Vincent hastily snapped pictures of as many players as she could.

The autographed posters and pictures were more than just sentimental memorabilia for the Vincents to take back to Kansas, however. Genia Vincent admitted to having an ulterior motive. She said she plans to take a signed poster back to her sons former high school, Olathe North, to compete with all of the Kansas Jayhawks memorabilia that dominates the town.

“Im going to put it there next to all those KU posters,” she said with a smile.

Unlike the Vincents, brothers Nicholas, age 15, and Michael Godas,Manchester City shirt, 17, live in the heart of Missouri football country. Wearing black and gold Tigers football T-shirts, the two Rock Bridge High School students waited in line to see some of their favorite players, including Blaine Gabbert and Rolandis Woodland.

Nicholas, who plays football for Rock Bridge, hopes that the time he spent on the field Sunday will not be his last.

“Yeah, I want to go here,” he said. “I want to play football for Mizzou.”

Along with aspiring MU students, much of the crowd was proud MU graduates, including David McAllister. After descending the steep steps of Memorial Stadium, McAllister headed straight for the Golden Girls, in order to get what his wife called the “annual picture.”

“Hes only missed one of these fan days, just one,” his wife, Lura McAllister, said.

A Missouri native who now lives in Jefferson City, David McAllister is a lifelong fan.

“Ive been a fan since I went to my first game when I was 10,Glasgow Rangers shirt,” he said. “I especially like watching the defense.”

Between the winding lines, most of the non-starters and younger players mingled, guzzling water and talking. One of the players, junior wide receiver Terry Dennis, stood out as a crowd favorite.

“Id hate to be sitting,” Dennis said. “Im such a people person.”

Standing at midfield,Italy football shirt, Dennis grinned for photo after photo with boys who, standing on tip-toe, were barely taller than his knees. Running back and forth, the boys greeted Dennis with enthusiasm and didnt seem the least bit intimidated by his 6-foot-3, 205-pound frame.

“Theyre my buddies,” he said. “I know them from all the stuff I do around town.”

This “stuff” includes volunteer work at football camps, Big Brothers Big Sisters and the Boys and Girls Clubs.

“Theyll run up to me and say, Hey, I know you from camp,” Dennis said.

One boy, out of breath with flushed cheeks, ran up to Dennis and tossed him a bottle of cool water. With a smile and a pat on the back, Dennis bent down, his bare knee resting on the scorching hot Astroturf,Bayern Munich shirt, for yet another picture. Despite the heat, the fans kept coming and the players kept smiling.

“Its like a second wind,” Dennis said. “Youre tired .. but you get here and see the fans and youre ready to go.”

COLUMBIA — Mary Descenza is, in her words, “weird.” In and out of the water, the U.S. National Team swimmer is a bundle of energy, arms and flailing legs.

“As my coach said, I have a lot of moving parts,” Descenza said. “I’m kind of all over the place.”

MoreStory

Related Media

• Mary Descenza began this weekend leading the Toyota Grand Prix series. This weekend’s event is the third of eight meets that make up the series.

The exuberant butterflyer, though, has a focus befitting a swimmer in her seventh year on the National Team.

“You usually see me around the pool deck laughing and kind of just farting around, doing my thing,” said Descenza, a member of the Athens Bulldog Swim Club in Georgia. “But I always go in kind of serious, have some goals in mind. Just kind of want to go around the best times.”

Descenza arrived in Columbia for the Missouri Grand Prix this weekend leading the Toyota Grand Prix series in points. The Missouri Grand Prix marks the third of eight meets in the Grand Prix series, and the winner receives a $20,000 prize.

“I don’t keep track of that stuff,” Descenza said. “I do it because I love it, not to look at points and scoreboards. I mean,Newcastle United shirt, yeah,Werder Bremen shirt, $20,000 is nice, but I just enjoy the racing and seeing my friends at all these meets.”

Descenza was at her best Saturday, winning the 200-meter butterfly and placing third in the 200-meter backstroke. She was the only swimmer of either gender to compete in the top heat of both events, which occur back-to-back in the meet’s schedule.

Descenza had a tougher time at the Missouri Grand Prix in 2007. Though she won the 200-back,Benfica shirt, Descenza placed third in the 100-meter backstroke, the 50-meter butterfly and the 200-fly, and did not medal in four other events.

“It was a little bit more difficult,Manchester City shirt,” Descenza said. “I just didn’t swim as fast, I don’t know why. Everyone has up and down years. I’m really pleased with how I’m doing this year, so I hope I keep on staying up and swimming fast.”

Descenza is spending her time now training for the Olympics, doing butterfly sets and “getting my (butt) kicked in the weight room and the pool as always.” She said this weekend, with a fast group of swimmers and a morning finals setup she’s not used to, would be good training.

“For meets like this, I get to swim two events per day, so it really tests your endurance and strength,” Descenza said. “It’s just good training for me and prepares me for when I get to swim just one event a day, so it’ll be that much easier.”