Aggie polo team finding
success depsite obstacles
by John Wagner
Battalion Staff
After the Texas A&M polo
team won the state champion
ship April 4, a half-page adver
tisement appeared in The Batta
lion, congratulating the team
and informing the student body
of the victory.
The ad was bought by a mem
ber of the team.
And when the team showed
up to present its championship
trophy to Dr. Zerle Carpenter,
head of the animal science de
partment, they found that he
was out of town.
It’s been that kind of year for
the members of the polo team —
not enough money, no proper
facilities and no recognition. But
without the money, without the
facilities and without the public
ity, they have succeeded in
establishing themselves as a na
tional power in the world of col
legiate polo.
No small feat for a team that
doesn’t even enjoy the financial
security that comes with varsity
status, and yet has one of the
highest budgets of all of Texas
A&M’s extramural clubs.
The members will say that it’s
pride that keeps them going.
And pride that keeps the team
winning, despite all the financial
obstacles that stand in its way.
Their reasons for learning
and playing polo are as diverse
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as their backgrounds.
Larry McClure, the club pres
ident, is one of the four players
who competed in the state cham
pionships. By his own admis
sion, he doesn’t have a good polo
background.
“I was raised on a ranch, and
when I first started playing polo,
I said, ‘You’re not going to get
me in one of those little sad
dles,”’ McClure said.
But now the senior from Col
orado City says it’s his ranch-
style raising that benefits him
most.
“Your horse makes up a big
majority of the game, and if you
feel comfortable on that horse
and if you can ride a horse well,
then of course you’re going to be
'a better polo player,” he said.
I John Cole’s background is a
itad more traditional. The soph
omore from Greenwich, Conn.,
'grew up around horses, but not
on a ranch.
“I used to show horses, and I
was on the United States Eques
trian team when I was 16 years
old,” Cole said. “We were get
ting ready to go the Olympics
and I just quit — I just got bored
with it.
“I had done just about every
thing that had ever been done
on a horse, and one day my
.father suggested to me that
maybe I could get into a really
fine college if I played polo.”
Cole came to Texas A&M af
ter meeting polo coach Mike
McClery at the stables where he
worked. McClery and several
members of the Aggie team
were in Connecticut for the in
tercollegiate championships,
and McClery persuaded Cole to
head for College Station.
In March, the Aggies
finished third in the intercollegi
ate championships, losing to the
University of Connecticut. Both
McClure and Cole say members
of the team suprised themselves
as well as the other teams partici
pating.
“When we went up there,
they didn’t expect us to have a
good team at all,” McClure said,
“and we kind of fooled ourselves
and them.”
UC defeated the Aggies in the
last two minutes of the game,
only to lose in the finals to Cali-
fornia-Davis.
Cole and McClure predict
good things for Texas A&M
polo in the future, but both say
the club has many problems to
overcome before it can concen
trate on growing.
The cost of keeping horses
and traveling to matches is ex
pensive, and much of the money
comes from the players’ own
f >ockets. And the club’s facilities
or practicing and
or practicing and keeping
horses aren’t as good as they
could be, the players said.
But the polo team goes on,
and they are doing right well,
thank you. Cole said the team
just needs a little support.
“If we could get some sup
port from the university, there is
no doubt in my mind we could
be number one in the nation
next year."
Team
Larry
Mike
members John
McClure and
McClery present
Fernandez tops No. 4
seed at TAIAW event
Lili Fernandez of the Texas
Aggie women’s tennis team de
feated the No. 4 seed at the
Texas Association of Intercolle
giate Athletics for Women state
tournament Thursday in Fort
Worth.
Fernandez, a junior, adv
anced to today’s quarterfinal
round by upsetting Lori Nelson
of TCU 1-6, 7-5. 6-3. Texas
A&M teammate Amy Gloss lost
to Susan Gerrell of SMU 6-4,6-4
in another match Thursday.
Aggie coach Davitl Kent said
the victory was well-deserved.
“That was a big wbi
because Nelson beat herl
they played,”
“She’s in real good sha[i|
now.”
Fernandez will play!
man <>f the I niversitv 1
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Monday evening, when you buy any
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Interurban t-shirt these evenings
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505 University Drive, College Station, Texas
Argentine battles illness, heat
to advance in tennis tourney
Texas A&M
p as team
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United Press International
HOUSTON — Second-
seeded Jose-Luis Clerc, Argenti
na’s No. 1 player, for the second
day fought off more than his
opponent to advance in the
$300,000 River Oaks Interna
tional tennis tournament.
Battling a sinus problem
aggravated by Houston’s tradi
tionally heavy humidity, Clerc
Thursday defeated Poland’s
Wojtek F'ibak, 6-2, 6-3.
The previous day, after up
setting local favorite Sammy
Giammalva, 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, Clerc
said, “I feel bad. I’m really sick.
I’m in a lot of pain.”
Clerc complained of pers
piration and error-ridden play
Thursday. He was ahead of
Fibak, 5-1, in the second set
when he lost concentration and
allowed the Pole to win two
games, making it 5-3.
In the ninth game of the
second set, Fibak had four con
secutive break points before
Clerc pulled out the win.
Top-seed Ivan Lendl used his
powerful serve to defeat Ricar
do Ycaza of Ecuador, 6-0, 6-4,
and seeds No. 4 Peter McNa
mara, No. 6 Eddie Dibs and No.
8 Andres Gomez also advanced.
Lendl broke Ycaza in the first,
third and fifth games of the first
set, playing well from baseline to
baseline. He relied on nine ser
vice aces and seven service win
ners in the second set to over
come a spate of errors.
Lendel got his only service
break in the second set with the
games tied 2-2. Down 40-love,
Lendl hit four straight winners
and Ycaza then made an error to
lose the final point of the game.
In the 10th game, down love-
30, Lendl reeled off two service
aces and two service winners to
take the match.
Dibbs of Miami Beach, Fla.,
beat Gianni Odeppo of Italy, 62,
7-6. The second set saw back-
and-forth efforts throughout.
Ocleppo pulled to the lead 3-2.
then Dibbs won three straight to
make it 5-3. Ocleppo then tied it
at 5-5, and each won one game
to make it 6-6 and require the
tie-breaker. Dibbs took the tie-
fare
3y si
Bruins defeat Quebec
on last-minute goal, 4-
breaker 11-9.
Gomez bested RodFral
Australia, 6-2, 6-3, am
mara of Australia (
Erick Iskersky, 6-7,6-1
In other WCTactionTI
day, Elliot TeltscherofScji'
Fla., beat Steve Delonoi United Pres-
coll, Texas, 6-3, 6-3. Te® e much -m
said he was luckvonsomt 1 , ! n {’ sta “
big points and said Dt^ rl(l beat ^ r s
bothered by the slicksii(Jf‘ 1 ^. 0 , ^
7 sists It’s Still S
luri.
In other wo
mte October.
B|teve Mur?
ordinals’ secoi
etf-game vict<
upping the C
United Press International
Ray Bourque would agree
that when it comes to playoff
goals, the latest is the greatest.
“That has to be the biggest of
my career,” the Boston defense-
man said Thursday night after
scoring with 55 seconds to play
in regulation to give the Bruins a
4-3 victory over the Quebec
Nordiques in Game 1 of their
Stanley Cup quarterfinal series.
“I’ve scored in the playoffs be
fore, but nothing like this.”
Boston’s stylish defenseman
whistled a 30-foot wrist shot past
goalie Dan Bouchard af ter pick
ing up a puck in the slot and
faking around Quebec defense-
man Andre Dupont.
The winning play began
when Rick Middleton steered
the puck out of the corner to the
slot area, where linemate Bruce
Crowder deflected it to Bour
que, who did the rest.
“That was a masterful goal,”
said Boston Coach Gerry Cheev-
ers. “A goal that a superstar gets.
It was just a super play.”
The Nordiques, who ousted
ts - But Elia ..
resst'd with th
SpbiTnance, e
<irn did not
the Montreal Canadiem mh w , R .
games, led until 9:10 r. s fb urth horn(
the game, fhen Stew thou „ ht a
took Keith Crowder’s lei j 1 g > ^
around defenseman sau |
Hoganson and slid a ln|t’t|hat the Cut
der between Bouchard’spl L a iion(
tie the score 3-3, bmp. “if f, e
In other playoff b * er ‘
New York Rangers defeaifn r b<>0 ,J :>It(
New York Islanders 5d f 150 ! 1
go defeated St. Louis ’ s r . uc ^
L„c„uver,dgedU»§ d r t ^
urn ph. Lonn
-urge Hendr
111 a with homi
?Doug Birdh
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ATTENTION!
*Young Life
Annual Fun Run*
AGGIES PARENT’S DAY SPECIAL
ONE QUARTER AND ONE HALF MARATHOI
DATE: SATURDAY — APRIL 17, 1982 - PARENT'St
TIME: REGISTRATION — 7:00 A.M.-8:45 A.M.
START —9:00 A.M.
PLACE: IN FRONT OF G. ROLLIE WHITE COLISEUM
TAMU CAMPUS
Entry Fee $5.00 per runner, 1st 300 will received
iron-ons, others will be accepted and privileged to f|
AGE GROUPS, MEN AND WOMEN
(AGE CATEGORIES: 20-BEL0W, 21-29, 30-39,■
49, & 50-AB0VE) ALSO FATHER/SON, FATBi 1
/DAUGHTER, M0THER/S0N, MOTHER/DAM
DIVISIONS.
TROPHIES GIVEN IN ALL DIVISIONS FOR
ONE QUARTER AND ONE HALF MARATHON
!!!EVERYONE WELCOME!!!
RUN FOR THE FUN OF IT
>eer
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