Battalion/Page 11
November 16, 1982
sports
Experience Kowal’s tennis partner
Jities
? off the table
rs X-amountofi
iber of downs|i
inkings on
')• We told then:
ange the more,
k the incentives;
iged severance;
third-year plaw
because the
n’t change, we
he back end. .It
, severance pi
r players up to
As it reads nm
up to 10 yean. 1
roney from thel
ear players arnil
>ney and gavet
rr players/
on Kowal, a senior member of the Aggie men’s
tennis team, has emerged as one of the top players
jin the Southwest Conference during his Texas A&M
career. Here, Kowal hits a backhand against an op
ponent during the 1981-82 season.
by Joe Tindel Jr.
Battalion Staff
The weather was abominable
three years ago when a highly
confident young tennis prospect
arrived in College Station.
Ironically, the reason Ron
Kowal wanted to play tennis at
Texas A&M lie in the nature of
the weather — more specifically,
varmer climate. And like
almost everyone else, he liked
the people here.
Kowal didn’t figure tennis at
Aggieland would let him down a
few notches, though. In Naper
ville, Ill., he was the big man on
the high school campus.
At Texas A&M, he was that
new guy with the Midwestern ac
cent.
“When I came here, I just got
off winning the Illinois state
men’s singles title,” said Kowal,
now the captain of the Aggie
tennis team. “I was ranked in the
top 35 in the nation. I was the
king of the hill back home as far
as the first state champion out of
our high school.
“I was real popular. I’m not
being conceited, I mean (tennis)
was just a popular thing, and I
came down here with a head that
probably couldn’t fit through
the coach’s door.”
Kowal was quickly humbled.
His new surroundings were
enough to stifle his first few
attempts at showing the local
fans he was for real, as the com
petition turned out to be a little
tougher than he expected.
“I got down here and started
playing college ball and all of the
sudden, you found me at the
bottom of the barrel,” Kowal
said. “I mean it was a very big
adjustment. The competition
was so much tougher. The
pressure they put on you from
coming out of a place like that
and then coming in to college
tennis is so much more' stre
nuous.”
It was David Kent, the Aggies’
head coach, who let Kowal know
that his case of “freshmanitis”
was a completely normal thing
and that it would pass with ex
perience.
As it turned out, Kent’s treat
ment was the remedy for the ail
ment. Kowal finished his fresh
man season as half of one of the
SWC’s champion doubles teams.
“I established myself as a
doubles player,” Kowal said. “At
that time, I had so much press
ure on me in singles, I couldn’t
accomplish any part of my full
game because I was so tight and
so tense. So when I’d go on the
doubles court, I had someone
there to talk to and someone
there to get all this pressure off
me.”
He returned for his sopho
more year recognized as a dou
bles player but still lacking some
thing in singles. In fact, it wasn’t
until last season that Kowal
made a name for himself as a
singles player, making it all the
way to the Southwest Confer
ence No. 6 singles finals last
spring.
As Tom Judson’s partner
Mustangs’ initial goal
victory from reality
appears the S’
igenow is agree!
, Garvey said®
gone back on v
promises. He
vuncil withdre*
istate certain pb
i*rp rut hefotf: United Press International
Lou Holtz and Bobby Collins
egan preparations Monday lor
- Ire game a lot of people have
^ I Been waiting for and F.A. Dry
A I r J S Began work for the game he
^ "idn’t want to see — his last at
exas Christian University.
TCU Chancellor William E.
ucker, saying his school was
lot a “win at any cost institu-
|on,” fired Dry Monday, the
vcond dismissal in as many
tch at windoiv’S«Bears in the Southwest Confer-
e in front of Cl pice.
“We do, however,” said
ucker, “want to enjoy winning
day and sopli :asons and to become a consis-
o so betweenM( ;ntly tough competitor.”
Texas A&M was the last
jue school to fire a coach,
urchase dckeist lumping Tom Wilson and then
day may buytl 0 oming up with more than $1
8 a.m. and million to hire Jackie Sherrill
(way from Pittsburgh.
Speculation as to Dry’s suc-
lessor centered around a num-
ler of coaches already in the
rea — chief among them for-
ner TCU quarterback Chuck
urtis, currently a successful
fech at Cleburne High School.
| Dry’s firing came as no sur-
rise ( since he had been under
Iressure to produce a meaning-
ul improvement in the win col-
imn this year.
Don’t have any long faces,”
)ry told meeting
yith Tucker early Monday.
!You don’t have to feel sorry for
He.” Dry has two years remain-
[igon his contract and TCU is
ibligated to pay him for that
leriod of time.
In six years at TCU, Dry
Hade obvious gains in the com-
witive level of the Horned
fogs. Nevertheless, they have
ton only 12 games during Dry’s
enure (three this year) with a
Inal chance for No. 13 coming
text Saturday in College Station
J fgainst Texas A&M.
Collins, meanwhile, has a
bancefor 12victories in his first
eason at SMU — taking a 10-0
eoord into next Saturday’s
ittraction with Holtz’ Arkansas
I
AfiGIE CMEMAJ
M S C
PRESENT
"This school is our home,
we think it's worth defending"
I
scb
iseum. Juniors®
etween 7 a.
ic same day.
and other stud#
s host TCU
while Texaspl*l
co at 2 p.m
uy
S $ 3
to the
$Q00
$K75
es
Razorbacks. The game will be
televised by ABC-TV from
Texas Stadium beginning at
2:50 p.m.
“This one is for the outright
Southwest Conference cham
pionship,” said Collins, “and
that was our goal from the start.
And with that goes the Cotton
Bowl trip and that is something
our players felt they were dep
rived of last year (being ineligi
ble for the bowl game because of
NCAA probation).
“But we know the only way
we can win a national champion
ship is to win this game and the
next one. That means this game
is very important. But in the
context of the national cham
pionship, all the other ones were
important, too.”
Collins was facing the task of
calming his players after their
frantic 34-27 win over Texas
Tech. That victory, SMU’s 14th
in a row, came about only be
cause of a trick kickoff return
after Tech had tied the game
with 17 seconds remaining.
The SMU coach admitted
Monday that things got out of
hand on the SMU bench after
Bobby Leach had run 91 yards
for the winning score.
“I started screaming for peo
ple to get off the field (after the
score),” said Collins, “and I real
ized that there were 45,000 peo
ple in the stands, 200 football
players, cheerleaders, band
members and an awful lot of
other people around.
“And not one soul was paying
any attention to me.
“I was trying to get the extra
point team on the field and I
turned around and asked one of
my assistants where they were.
He said, ‘coach, they are in the
end zone.’”
NOTICE
Our retirement planning cre
dentials are impeccable.
Shouldn’t you let us work for
you?
Call Larry or Swede 693-6030
TAPS
GEORGE C. SCOTT
TIMOTHY HUTTON
TAPS
»t cmoAici suggishd •<£::')
Friday
Saturday
Auditorium
8 p.m.I
8 p.m. & Midnight!
$1.501
O
Prescriptions Filled
Glasses Repaired
BRYAN
216 N. Main 799-2786
Mon.-Fri.8-5 Sat. 8-1
COLLEGE STATION
8008 Post Oak Mall.. 764-0010
Mon.-Sat. 10-9 p.m.
Texas State
« Optical oc
Since 1935.
DIETING?
Even though we do not prescribe
diets, we make it possible for many to
enjoy a nutritious meal while they
follow their doctor's 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
S
IZZA
Cards
i, Hot
54
You are someone special
Treat yourself to our
special cut
505 University Dr., Suite 805 846-4771
during his sophomore’ year,
Kowal might have found the
season more profitable if he and
Judson were playing horseshoes
or darts. It was a season of near
misses, as the duo fell in three
sets to both the eventual NCAA
champs and the runners-up.
They missed the NCAA tourna
ment “by a hair,” Kowal said.
“We just played so much
together that it just wasn’t there
any more,” he said. “It was like
getting a divorce, as the coach
put it.”
Last season, Kowal teamed
with Greg Hill to form the duo
that made it to the semifinals of
the SWC tourney.
Being part of a doubles team
perhaps goes along with Kowal’s
philosophy of the game. He’s a
team player, he said, and not so
much an individualist. It’s his
team perspective that’s helped
him be the team captain for the
past three years. Off the court,
he uses his leadership abilities as
a resident adviser in Cain Hall.
But he said he’s still con
cerned about setting an example
by improving his own game.
“As far as where I would like
to be right now, 1 don’t ever
think I really punched through
as well as I should in singles,”
Kowal said of his accomplish
ments. “I think I’m trying to
make a come-through now. I’ve
had some good matches and
played well, but I don’t think
I’ve been as consistent at win
ning as I would like to be.
“That’s something that I’m
trying to work on this year. I’d
like to come through and make a
strong performance — at least
play at the level that I think I
should be playing every time I
go out onto the court.”
Kowal and the Aggie men’s
tennis team have finished their
fall competition, but still ahead
are this weekend’s NCAA in
door qualifying matches in Fort
Worth.
ZETA BETA TAU FRATERNITY
ZETA BETA TAU Fraternity is
forming a new chapter here at
Texas A&M University.
Z(3T offers these advantages:
NO PLEDGING
BECOME AN ACTIVE NOW
SCHOLARSHIP AIDS
JOB PLACEMENT SERVICE
For more information call:
Jay R. Gotlieb
National Rep
Tonight Organizational Meeting
6 p.m. Room 100 Holiday Inn
ZETA BETA TAU FRATERNITY - FOUNDED 1898
A Brotherhood of Kappa Nu, Phi Alpha, Phi Epsilon Pi, Phi Sigma Delta, Zeta Beta Tau
3rd Annual
Miller Lite/92 KTAW
Radio/United Way
10,000 Meter Road Race
The Brazos Center
Sunday, November 21,1982 2:00 pm
In consideration of acceptance of this entry, 1 waive any and all claims for
myself and my hiers against officials or the Brazos Beverages, Inc./United
Way/92 KTAW RADIO, race sponsors of the 1982 Miller Lite 10,000 Meter
Road Race, for injury of illness which may result directly or indirectly from my
participation. I further state that I am in proper physical condition to partici
pate in this event.
$5 entry fee payable to Road Runner Club.
..FIRST NAME:
,CITY:
LAST NAME:
MAILING ADDRESS::
HOME TELE: ( )- - //OFFICE TELE: ( )-
T-SHIRT SIZE (50/50): S, M, L, XL (circle) // Est. TIME.
SIGNATURE: (parent if under 18 years)
., SEX: M/F
AGE:
.(on race day)
MAIL TO: 3rd ANNUAL MILLER LITE 10,000 Meter Road Race//Race Director
1408 Lemon Tree, College Station, Texas 77840