Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 29, 1996)
The Battalion larch 29,19% truvc, Tup Battauos ' elected se- congratulated s were read. . “Aggies voted It just goes to c doesn’t work,’ TS tf cut lent i>fl for Veil l,eader ng of 1997. The riin4 c fop 5 (five) senior ;four) junior ral election. rdcnf Center Compln l/seinester for Fiscal i re working mpus mm irogram. rogram. n apply, re active and /our school's ■er them for you. eadquarters N ’ u s FRIDAY March 29, 1996 Sports sports GLANCE Future Aggie Brown to play in all-star game Texas A&M basketball recruit Jerald Brown, the Texas Class 5A Player of the Year, will be one of 22 players competing Sunday in the 20th Annual McDonald's All-Ameri can Game In Pittsburgh. The game will be televised na tionally by CBS at 1 p.m. Brown, a 6-foot-8-inch forward, is rated among the top 30 players in the country by almost every recruit ing publication. As a senior at Al- dine High School in Houston, he averaged 23.9 points and 11.5 re bounds per game. More than 97 percent of the past participants in the McDonald's All- American Came have played for Di vision I programs and more than 100, including current all-stars Michael Jordan, Patrick Ewing, Shaquille O'Neal and Grant Hill, have gone on to NBA careers. Men's Golf Team climbs up in rankings The Texas A&M men's golf team is ranked No. 21 in the Rolex Team Rankings released Thursday by the College Golf Foundation. The Aggies were No. 22 in the previous rankings. A&M's Dru Fenimore, a senior from Fort Worth, is ranked No. 18 in the Rolex Individual Rankings. Aggies, Longhorns duel in dual meet For only the third time in 22 years, the Texas A&M Men's Track Team will battle Texas in a dual meet on Saturday at Ander son Track and Field Complex. Field events will begin at 6:30 p.m. with running events starting at 7 p.m. All events will be finals. The meet will conclude with the 1,600-meter relay at 8:45 p.m. Waterski meet this Saturday in lola ! / Afore than 100 water skiers I from at least a dozen schools will : come to compete in the Texas A&M University's annual club sport water ski tournament Satur day and Sunday. The tournament will be held — rain or shine — at Century SKi Lake in lola. Competition begins at 8 a.m. both days and should conclude around 5:30 p.m. Participants from schools in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Mississippi will compete in three events: slalom, trick and jump. Admission is free and conces sions will be available. Women's Track Team to compete in Classic The Texas A&M Women's Track will compete at the Rice University Bayou Classic today and Saturday at Rice Track Stadi um in Houston. The meet includes high school and university divisions. On Fri day, field events begin at 2 p.m. and running events start at 2:30 p.m. On Saturday, field events be gin at 12:30 p.m. and running events begin at 1 p.m. Several Lady Aggies will be chasing NCAA qualifying marks, junior Rosa Jolivet provisionally qualified for the national meet in the 100-meter hurdles at the Bay lor Invitational last week with a time of 13.48, just off the auto matic standard of 13.35. Jolivet also is closing in on the qualifying time in the 400-meter hurdles. Golf Team hops up a spot in latest poll The Texas A&M Women's Coif Team moved up one spot to No. 21 in the latest women's Rolex/Nickalus Collegiate Rank ings released today. The Aggies also gained one i spot in the district compilations tor the West Region, taking fourth behind Tulsa, Texas and Okla homa State and moving past for mer No. 4 New Mexico State. In addition, two Aggies are list ed among the nation's to plOO golfers. Sophomore Isabele Ros- berg, fell back to No. 28 after climbing as high as No. 19. Senior Kristina Edfors, dropped to No. 95. SCORES NBA Chicago 111, Atlanta 80 Portland 94, Golden State 89 Denver 92, Vancouver 88 Cleveland 83, L.A. Clippers 81 The top two SWC teams, No. 2 Texas Tech and No. 15 Texas A&M, face off in a four- game series this weekend in Lubbock. By Lisa Nance The Battalion After taking three of four games from Houston last week end, the Texas A&M Baseball team continues it’s Southwest Conference play in Lubbock this weekend as they take on the No.2 Texas Tech Red Raiders in what could prove to be their toughest test this season. The Aggies are currently ranked No. 15 in the nation and have compiled a 24-8 overall and 5- 3 SWC record. Tech, which has been in the top 10 for most of the season, has compiled a 31-3 overall and 6- 2 SWC record. Despite Tech’s high ranking, A&M junior out fielder Chad Allen said that the two teams are a good match-up. “I think we’re pretty evenly- matched teams,” Allen said. “We split with each other last year and you know, they’ve lost some and we’ve lost some. With the guys that they lost and the guys that we lost, we’re coming back as the same teams. We’ve got a lot of confidence in ourselves that we can go in there and hopefully win three. If we win four that’s great, if we win two that’s not so great but at least we split with them.” A sweep is not going to be easy, though. The Aggies know that they will be facing one of, if not the, toughest team that they have faced all year. “They’re really an aggressive team that really has a lot of con fidence in themselves,” Allen said. “They go out every day when they have a game and they think they’re going to win the game. I think that’s really what puts them above most of the teams because they go out and they know that they’re go ing to win the game. They’re a really great team that has a lot of confidence in themselves.” The Aggies have reason to be confident as well. In last week end’s game against Houston, they pounded the Cougars for a total of 40 runs in four games. But for the Aggies to sweep the Red Raiders, they are going to have to not only click at the plate, but on the mound as well. Sophomore pitcher Matt Blank said that as long as they can put everything together, they’ve got a good shot at winning the se ries. “Our hitting has come alive the past couple of games,” Blank said. “We’re hitting the ball real ly well and our defense has played solid almost all year. Our pitching staff has also been throwing well. I think our team is coming together a little bit and if we can get our pitching and hitting together at the same time we can have a good shot. The last couple of weeks, the hitting has been good or the pitching has been good, we just haven’t clicked at all. Allen agreed that it is going to take both good hitting and See Baseball. Pace 8 V Evan Zimmerman, The Battalion Aggie left fielder Chad Allen hustles into Tirst base against The Uni versity of Houston last weekend at Olsen Field. Super sophomore has batters firing Blanks Matt Blank transferred to A&M after mowing down Junior College batters with a 12-0 record and an 0.83 ERA. By Philip Leone The Battalion Most of the time it takes the “new guy” a while to make his mark on a team, per haps a season or two to “cut his teeth.” But don’t tell this to sophomore A&M pitcher Matt Blank. Though Blank has worn maroon and white for only half a season, he has al ready made an impact in Aggieland. In fact, the transfer left hander out of Galveston Ju nior College has already pitched his way into the Ag gie record books. " A On Feb. 16, Blank took to “iJiF the hill at Olsen Field against the University of Texas-Pan American in his second start as an Aggie and walked of A&M history. Blank blazed through the Broncs’ line up, striking out 12 and walking only three along the way to hurl ing the sev enth no-hitter in Ag gie history and the first since 1988. The 4-0 win over the Broncs was the first no-hit perfor mance of Blank’s career, but he said he felt at ease on the mound and managed to fight away with a piece off the no-hit pressure until the final inning. “I came out and threw the ball real well and got into a rhythm,” Blank said. “My teammates did a pretty good job of staying away and leaving me alone, and I didn’t get nervous until going into the ninth. “At the end, I just took a deep breath with every pitch before I’d let it go. Everything sort of went my way that day.” Not a bad way to pick up your first Division I victory. “It was a big deal for me because it was my first start at home here at A&M and my first win at this level,” Blank said. “It was impor tant for us to start off the season in front of the home crowd on a successful note.” Blank is no stranger to suc cess. A standout at Martin High School in Arlington, Blank was an All-State performer in his junior campaign and helped lead the War riors to the 5A State Championship in 1993 along with current Aggie outfielder Johnny Hunter. So impressive was Blank in high school that radar guns from college scouts tracking the blue-chip’s pitch es were soon joined by those from the professional ranks. The New York Yankees selected Blank in the late rounds of the 1994 draft; however, instead of hit ting the minor league trails immediately upon gradua tion, Blank opted for a little extra seasoning at Galveston Junior College — a program that has earned a reputation as a pipeline to major colleges throughout the Southwest. Blank was the ace of the Whitecaps’ staff last season, finishing 12-0 with a pocket-sized 0.83 ERA en route to JC All-American honors. After such a superb season, Blank decided to take his game to the next level, and major col lege coaches from around the na tion came calling for his services. A&M Head Coach Mark Johnson was one of the first in line and said he was im pressed not only with Blank’s lively left arm, but also for his work ethic and winning ap proach to the game. “Matt has a winning personali ty — the type of guy who has been successful all his life,” Johnson said. “He likes to have the ball in his hand and likes a challenge out on the mound. “Matt’s also dedicated to be ing the best player he can be and is willing to do what it takes to achieve that.” Ironically, Blank nearly signed with the University of Texas before rethinking his decision to pitch for Longhorn Head Coach Cliff Gustafson, who some be lieve overworks young arms. “I decided that I really didn’t want to go to Texas be cause I figured I might have to throw quite frequently and use my arm up,” Blank said. “I knew some guys here at A&M and thought they had a good caliber ballclub and chance to go to the (College) World Series.” After opening the season on the road with a 6-1 loss to the University of Ari zona, Blank rolled off four straight wins, including victories over Maine and Michigan, before losing to Bay lor in the Southwest Conference First- Pitch Tournament on March 15. Heading into this weekend’s start in Lubbock against defending SWC champion Texas Tech, Blank has a 4-2 record and a respectable 4.17 ERA. He is also the Aggie leader in strike outs with 37. Though Johnson said Blank’s last few outings have been less than spectacular, he is confi dent that Blank will re bound with a solid out ing against Texas Tech. “He’s had a couple of off-weeks here lately be cause he’s had prob lems with the loca tion of his fast ball,” Johnson said. “But he’ll work out of it, and we expect to see some good things from him this weekend.” Texas A&M No-Hitters On Feb. 16, Matt Blank entered Aggie history when he threw a no hitter, just the 8th in school history. 1907; George Smith vs. Texas 1973: Bobby Wittkamp vs. TCU 1978: Mark Thurmond vs. Tech 1982: Rick Luecken vs. Delta State 1983: Rick Luecken vs. St. Mary’s 1987: Darryl Fry vs. La. Tech 1988: Fred Riscen vs. Rice 1996: Matt Blank vs. UT-Arlington By the Numbers Men’s Final | Four matchup Ac\, Men’s Final ^ Four matchup 199S46 Maion •tetteties AVG POINTS OPP. AVQ POINTS FIELD GOAL PCT OPP neiDGOALPCT 3-PT FGM-FGA OPP. 3-PT FGM-FGA FREE THROW PCT OPP. f BEE TWROW PCT. REBOUND AVG OPP: REBOUND AVG. The Battalion Sports Desk Final Four Staff Picks What It Is Georgandis Day Leone Nance Smith Winder Baffin Swift MSU vs. Syracuse Syracuse MSU MSU Syracuse Syracuse MSU MSU MSU Kentucky vs. UMass UMass UMass Kentucky Kentucky Kentucky Kentucky Kentucky UMass Tournament MVP Travieso Walters Delk Delk Delk Jones Pitino Camby National Champion Why? UMass Look! / didn’t pick the Oilers! MSU Sherrill castrated a Minute man! Kentucky Kentucky The Family I have this says it's a lock strange feeling Kentucky Is this deja vu? MSU The man who took Oklahoma State last year Kentucky Uh, Kristy, he doesn't play anymore UMass They ain’t No.l for nothing ~7> V T X '--. Saturday: Mississippi State vs. Syracuse, 4:42 p.m. Kentucky vs. UMass, 30 minutes after conclusion. Monday: National Championship Game, 8:22 p.m. 11