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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 20, 1979)
Page 12 THE BATTALION TUESDAY, MARCH 20, 1979 e on third Battalion photo by Lee Roy Leschper Jr. Texas A&M’s Mike Hurdle looks a bit tired son. The Aggies are scheduled to host Arizona after diving into third base earlier in the sea- this afternoon at 1 p.m. Reynolds happy in Houston United Press International COCOA, Fla. — Sometimes going home can be a painful experi ence. Many athletes prefer to show case their talents in strange cities rather than endure the microscopic scrutiny and criticism of the hometown folks. Craig Reynolds, however, can’t wait for the opportunity to once again perform his athletic skills for the people of his native Houston. An All-Star shortstop for the Seat tle Mariners a year ago, Reynolds was obtained by the Astros for pitcher Foyd Bannister at the winter baseball meetings last De cember and will be returning to the city where he earned state-wide acclaim as a high school basketball and baseball star. Ironically, Bannister will be re turning to his hometown of Seattle, making it the only trade known to baseball historians where both players involved were dealt to teams in their native cities. “We like Seattle,” said Reynolds, also referring to his wife, Josey, another Houston native. “It’s a nice city. We enjoyed being there, but when a person has a chance to go to his home city it’s a big break. “We couldn’t be happier in Hous ton. In fact, we were already looking forward to purchasing a home there before the trade. I’ve gotten a lot of phone calls and a lot of mail from people, welcoming me back home.” Once the season starts, though, Reynolds will be on the spot. Be cause he is a hometown boy and had such a brilliant high school athletic career, folks will be expecting to see the player they remembered from eight years ago. On top of that, the Astros traded a promising pitcher in Bannister to get Reynolds. They see him as a key toward making them a contender. The fans may settle for nothing less than near perfection from the 26- year-old shortstop. People who understand the nuances and fundamentals of the game should get their money’s worth watching Reynolds. Last year he hit .292 for Seattle and turned 102 double plays, the second high est total in the American League. Houston has never had a shortstop who combined allround skills like Reynolds. “We have a lot of good hitters on this club and I think my responsibil ity is going to be to move them along,” said Reynolds. “You know, move them first to second or second to third either by sacrificing and giv ing myself up. “That’s what my skills are more conducive for. All I want to do is be a consistent day-in and day-out ballplayer, do the kind of fundamen tal things it takes to win games. Player for player we have guys who can do the job at every position. “From strictly an average point of view, we might have one of the highest hitting clubs in either league. Seven of the eight regulars who will play this season hit around .290 last year. Those are pretty awe some statistics.” Reynolds is especially looking forward to playing for a competitive team again. In his two years with the Mariners the club lost over 200 games. “One thing about an expansion team, you don’t have any pressure to win. People don’t expect you to win,” said Reynolds. “So, when you win it’s icing on the cake.” WE BUY BOOKS EVERY DAY! And remember we give 20% more in trade for used books. LOUPOT’S BOOKSTORE Northgate - Across from the Post Office *1.2 MILLION COME TO AN OPEN HEARING AND EXPRESS YOUR OPINION ON HOW TO SPEND YOUR STUDENT SERVICE FEES. THURSDAY, MARCH 22 7:30 P.M. ROOM 141 MSC This hearing is being held by your Student Senate Finance Committee. GANT FOR HER Mm GANT BLAZER $ 78 Khaki and Navy Sizes 4-14 OXFORD CLOTH Button down shirts $ 25 ties *5 and *6 GANT SKIRTS $ 38 Houghton at home in wat$ Khaki and Navy Sizes 4-14 By BETH YOUNG Battalion Reporter From lifeguarding on the sunny beaches of California to swimming on the Texas A&M swim team comes Cheryl Houghton. After her mother taught her to .swim at an age so young she can’t !even remember, Houghton has been swimming competitively for almost 11 years. She started compe ting on Amateur Athletic Union teams at the age of nine and was on teams at her high school in Simi, Calif, at Ventura Junior College in Ventura, Calif. Now she is at Texas A&M. What started out as family swim ming with her three brothers and parents turned into a college educa tion for Houghton, who is on schol arship at Texas A&M. “I’m the only one (in the family) still doing it (swimming),” she said, “and I guess my own interest has kept me with it.” Houghton said that her parents and coaches have kept her interest up as well. “When I was younger, we be longed to a country club and as I got older, I joined the AAU clubs,” Houghton said. “My mom espe cially helped me out because she would drive me to work-outs that were two hours away and would take me to meets that were some times five hours away. “My coaches helped me get where I am and kept me interested in swimming.” It was because of the scholarship that Houghton decided to come to Texas A&M. She said that she was offered scholarships at schools in San Diego and Oregon but was of fered more at Texas A&M. “I also wanted to get away from California,” the 21-year-old junior said, “but if USC or UCLA had made me an offer, I’d have gone to one of them.” Houghton said her decision to come to Texas A&M was made at the last minute. “My AAU coach knew A&M’s coach (Dennis Fosdick) and told him that I was interested in swimming and he called me,” she explained. “Another girl on the (Aggie) team called and talked to me and the next thing I knew I was taking off in a plane for A&M.” One thing Houghton said she didn’t like about the sudden deci sion was the fact that male swim mers who are looking at Texas A&M as a possible college choice can come and see the school, and then decide if they want to sign. Women, on the other hand, have to sign first, then visit? “They’re trying to enforce that what the men get, the women get, too,” she said, “but right now, the men get their airplane flights home paid for and we don’t. Houghton suggests that other women interested in swimming competitively should go to meets and let coaches know that they are interested in swimming. Houghton does not limit her tal ents in the water to swimming. She played water polo in high school and played on several AAU teams. “Our high school didn’t have a girl’s team,” Houghton said, “so I had to play on the boy’s water polo team. There was only one other girl on the team.” Houghton, who is playing on Texas A&M’s women’s water polo team, says she likes the break from swimming that she gets from play ing water polo. “I’ve been swimming for a long time, she said, “and just swimming gets tiring.” It might seem as though swim ming and water polo would conflict, but Houghton said they don’t. “From August to November is water polo season at A&M,” she said. “During this time, we swim for an hour every morning and practice water polo two or three hours in the afternoon. When swim meets start, usually in early December, we swim at both work-outs.” Houghton’s swimming career has been filled with breaking records and All-America titles. Currently, she holds records in four events at Texas A&M: 50-yard freestyle, 200-yard freestyle, 50-yard butterfly and 100-yard butterfly. Although Houghton said she just recently set these rej added “they may changejl two weeks, too. Records J being broken and don’t long.” Many of tli«| Houghton has brokenktj own. Houghton was seleottl America teams in higl junior college as wellii| A&M. “All-America t ming are honor awards J committee for meetings standards in certain evenj H oughton said sheL swimming as more ofaJ her through school ttianj else. ‘Some people say I’m I said, “and maybe it’s(J helped me express mysell “I don’t have anyolymj anything like that,” Houa but quickly added, Tdpl if I had the chance. I Bickham has surgei United Press International DALLAS — SMU starting pitcher Sammy Bickham underwent surgery for a recurring knee prob lem Monday night and will be lost for the remainder of the season, a spokesman said. Bickham, 20, had been expected to lead the Mustangs to a Southwest Conference baseball championship this year following his transfer from Baylor, but suffered from knee problems all this season. He was operated on Monday night at Baylor Hospital for a staph infection resulting from a 1977 oper ation, the spokesman saii The Plano, Texas, natl ferred from Baylor to SJll after the SWC Faculh] Committee granted hima of eligibility to play foi] tangs. Bickham was the SWtBn freshman of the year inf pitched for Baylor in World Series that year. ] the Bears’ starting quaitt^H two years. Bickham’s season reco was 1-3. GRAND OPENING B. SNOOK OPEN RODb t APRIL 13th & 14th Rough. . . Tough. . . Action Packed Excitement. Tickets available at Court's Western Wear & Saddlery or at gate, IVi miles west of Snook on FM 60. 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