Recent grads excel in April college games

While May is heating up for high school teams pursuing their postseason dreams, April was an exciting month for some recent area graduates.

Andover’s Kortney Clifton and Goddard’s Whitney Berry played key roles for the University of Kansas women’s soccer team during an April game. Although women’s soccer takes place in the fall, the Jayhawks played six exhibition matches in March and April. Kortney and Whitney helped Kansas beat Iowa in its last exhibition game April 24 at the University of Minnesota. The contest was part of the Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge. Whitney’s goal put Kansas ahead 1-0, but the Jayhawks’ own goal tied the game and eventually resulted in a shootout. Kortney scored KU’s game-winning goal in the shootout.

Also in April, Yale sophomore Callie Kemmer was among five named to the all-Ivy League first team for women’s golf. Callie, who graduated from The Independent School in Wichita, tied for fourth place at the Ivy League Championship in Springfield, N.J.

Finally, Wichita Southeast alum Nate Kirk finished his tennis season in April when his squad – the University of Illinois at Chicago – lost to Cleveland State in the Horizon League championship match. Nate completed his sophomore year at UIC after an impressive freshman performance; he tied the school record for singles wins in a season when he recorded a 21-6 mark in 2009.