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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 18, 1981)
Outtakes By Mike B urrich ter lb Tennis worth watching Now that basketball season is reaching its waning stages, what is an Aggie to do in his quest for solace on a Saturday afternoon? Baseball season is still a month away from getting into full swing, as is track. One sport on campus that seems ready to burst out of its cult following and into the limelight is tennis. Tennis has never really been that big at Texas A&M, perhaps because it just isn’t the macho sport Aggies like to watch. But for a laid-back Saturday afternoon, there's nothing better for me than to sit in the sun at the Omar Smith Tennis Complex, catching some rays and watching some of the nation’s better tennis players do their stuff. Some of the best in the country? Come now, you’ve got to be kidding. Nope. The Southwest Conference has been the toughest in the land for the past two or three years now. Indicating where most of the nation’s tennis talent lies, preseason polls this year duplicated last season’s predictions in picking six SWC teams to rank among the country’s 20 best. A&M’s men’s team has been ranked 20th, and with a 5-0 start thus far, I doubt they’ve dropped any notches. But the tennis team, despite its No. 18 ranking at the end of last season, is largely unnoticed at Texas A&M. Last Saturday, in a victory over a tough Southwest Louisiana team, the stands were approximately a third full. Still, that is an improvement. Senior Murray Blackshear, who played on the team three years ago, re members. “Nobody came to our matches,” he said. “We played them on the old courts, or at a country club here in town. And the yearbook forgot to put us ini” With the arrival of David Kent three years ago, the Texas A&M tennis program started an upheaval. The complex, one of the nicest facilities in the conference, if not the nation, opened up just after he got here. Kent is the first full-time coach in A&M tennis history. He is easily the most charismatic coach on campus, a delight to interview. A cherubic little fellow, he’s easily spotted around the courts wearing tennis togs and a snap-brim cap. He’s got a little Hie Nastase in him too; whenever a conflict arises on the courts, he’s always the first guy out there, and manages to get the last word in many times. One of the players told me Kent boxed pdK, in college and I’ve since watched him with keen interest everytime ^ he gets into a heated conversation with the opposition. The top three men’s seeds are seniors Reid Freeman and Trey Schutz and sophomore Brian Joelson. After a horrendous fall his freshman year, Kent may have wanted to ship Joelson back. However, in keeping with Kent’s all in the family atmosphere, the former Oregon state champ began dating | Maylyn Hooton of the women’s team and he settled down and began playing some serious tennis. He hasn’t lost much since. Freeman has been near the number one seed slot all four years Ui he’s been on the team. Tall, dark and skinny, he’s generally consi- itlti dered the team’s nice guy. He is a very consistent player at the :si baseline. Ill l Schutz shot into the limelight a couple of seasons ago when his tw serve became one of the league’s most deadly weapons. He’s prob- oftl ably more fun to watch when he loses, for when he’s down, he loses tl» everything: the match, his cool and very often, his raquet. But when lift] his serve is working and he’s confident, he’s the most awesome force ref on the team. ; The four and five slots are held by Max King and Tom Judson. King, a senior from Dallas, is one of Kent’s favorites. He’s been on S1 1 the team for four years now, and he made a curious change at the beginning of the season: he stopped wearing his Aggie cap, which pad become his trademark. Maybe he’s trying to show off his new ef .disco hair style. ot Judson walked on a year ago, had a sensational season, and as a , w j sophomore, he now has a scholarship. A real eye-opener for Kent, Judson was passed up by everyone, but when he became an integral I part of the team last season, the coach says he’ll keep on the lookout for walk-ons in the future. . The sixth slot on the men’s singles ladder, is being contested for e( |by the team’s two biggest flakes, sophomore Ron Kowal and fresh- fman Leonard Smith. Kowal is the team’s crazy man. He hails from Illinois, which automatically makes him a little different, but for novice tennis fans, he may be the most fun to watch. A tall, curly blond haired kid, u Kowal, like Schutz, has a terrible temper. He yells, cusses in foreign languages, stomps all over the court and wins a lot. Smith is from Austin. Enough said, right? One of the first times I met Leo, he pulled out a sheet of lyrics he had written for a punk rock band. The team had to force him not to dye his hair purple once last rC semester. si This year, the Ags play most of their tough matches, SMU, Texas, Arkansas, Wichita State and Arizona, at home. With a little more fan support, they could win some of the close matches they’ve lost in the past. They’re just looking for some respect. istit (<«• !! RETREAT!! The Association of Baptist Students invites you to their spring retreat at Paron, Ark. The dates are Feb. 27,28, & Mar. 1. The guest speaker will be Dr. Joe "" Pendleton, pastor of First Baptist Church of Mag nolia, Ark. The theme for this retreat will be “Fruit of the Spirit.” Registration fee is $20. Deadline for registration is Feb. 19. Transportation will be pro vided. For information call 693-1529. DIETING? Even though we do not prescribe diets, we make it possible for many to enjoy a nutritious meal while they follow their doctors orders. You will be delighted with the wide selection of low calorie, sugar free and fat free foods in the Souper Salad Area, Sbisa Dining Center Basement. OPEN Monday through Friday 10:45 AM-1:45 PM QUALITY FIRST Ag tennis team plays 1:30 match TANK MCNAMARA THE BATTALION Page 11 WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 1981 by Jeff Millar & Bill Hinds By RICK STOLLE Battalion StafT The nationally ranked and un defeated Texas A&M University men’s tennis team is scheduled to have two tough matches this week. Today, the Ags play the Uni versity of Washington in a dual match at the Omar Smith Tennis Center at 1:30 p.m. and on Thurs day, the Ags must travel to San Antonio to take on ninth-ranked Trinity University. Washington is from one of the toughest conferences in the na tion. The league has the four top- ranked teams in the nation and six overall in the top 20. “It will be a good match,” said Aggie coach David Kent. “But we can’t afford to look past Washing ton towards Trinity.” He said Washington has a good, solid team that could win if the Ags overlook them. “If we play well, though,” Kent said, “the match will be an excel lent tune-up for the Trinity match.” Texas A&M and Trinity have developed a rivalry since begin ning dual match competition a number of years ago. “They have a great deal of depth, are very strong and on pap er, they are better than us,” he said. He said the Ags are excited ab out the match and are looking for ward to going to San Antonio to play Trinity. “The pressure will be on them to win,” said Kent. “We’re just going to try to go in there relaxed and play the best we can.” Kent said the Ags can use any and all the help they can get. “If anybody is from San Anto nio, call your folks, relatives, friends or anybody who will yell for us and, if they want to watch some great tennis, tell them about the match,” he said. Maybe, he said, with a little support and help, the Ags will be able to pull an upset and defeat Trinity for the first time. The line-up for both matches will consist of Brian Joelson, Max King, Reid Freeman, Trey Schutz, Tom Judson and Leonard Smith in singles, and Joelson- Freeman; Ron Kowal-Judson and Schutz-Smith in doubles. The Ags have a string of 27 straight doubles victories in dual matches going. The string began with the last five matches of the fall and has continued to the present. “I hope we can keep the string alive after this week,” said Kent. “We are an excellent doubles team but need a little work on our singles.” The Ags are 5-0 for the season and were ranked number 20 na-' tionally in one of the various pre season polls. Banquet tickets available The Aggie football awards ban quet is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Saturday in the east wing of Dun can Dining Hall on campus. Special awards will go to Johnny Hector who was ABC-TV’s pick as top Aggie player in the SMU tele vised game and to freshman line backer Jerry Bullitt as freshman defensive player of the year in the SWC. The banquet’s highlight will be the presentation of the Aggie heart award. Tickets for the public, priced at $12 each, must be purchased by today at the football office on the ninth floor of Rudder Tower or at the Athletic Business office in G. 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TANK, AS THIS NIPP£N-CAME/3A evfpeNce iNi?icAT&>..r ALL RIGHT, TURKEY, BEAT IT!-WAT'S MY SPOT State rugby tourney will be here The Texas State Collegiate Rug by Tournament will be held at Texas A&M University Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the in tramural fields. Texas A&M will have two teams in the thick of the competi tion. The Ags will be sending their first and second teams into the fray to defend their state champion ship. There will also be two teams from Stephen F. Austin Universi ty, a team from Southern Method ist University and another from Rice University. The teams will be competing in a dual-bracket, round-robin tour nament for the state champion ship and the right to advance to the National Regionals Tourna ment. From there, it is on to the Nationals. Texas A&M also has four cup matches left on its schedule. The Ags have three Texas Rugby Un ion members left and a match against the Notre Dame Universi ty rugby team on March 16 in Houston. The Ags are 9-8 for the season and 1-3 in cup play. NO MATTER WHAT LIFE STYLE YOU CHOOSE, POLITICAL FORUM proudly presents the “Debate of the Decade” Former Indiana Senator Birch Bayh vs. National Coneervatlve Political Action Committee Chairman Terry Dolan debating “The 1980 Elections: Impact & Aftermath” Tuesday February 23, 1981 8 p.m. Rudder Theater Admission is Free For more information call 845-1515 *««*»-*• * c.e.**** Appearing LIVE Wednesday Night STEVE FROMHOI with VIVC E BELL fa S3.50 Cover 4410 College Main S4**4*e $ 2 ^ COUPON A TWO DOLLARS OFF ANY 17", OR 20" ONE ITEM OR MORE PIZZA FREE DELIVERY 846-3768 NOT VALID DURING ANY OTFWR spccial omn EXPIRES 3/15/81