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.
Rollie White Coliseum.
*
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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
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