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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 19, 1985)
Friday, April 19, 1985/The Battalion/Page 9 PORTS Texas A&M Sportscope Coach Mark Johnson’s Texas A&M baseball team ($5*11, 8-4 in the louthwest Conference) takes on Rice <25-16, $-11 in the SWG) in a three- lies with a dottbl Coach David , 3-3 in the SV in the .ubbock Saturd ;WO, A&M is TCU, Texas (5-2 Coach Jan B |WC) will stay i matches of the Saturday at 5:05 p.m. . ) A UlSLA it .iIJi ■ - r. _i*i ■ t m _| U ■iitj **.*)* *,+%.*•*+4 $»2 ' AgrM n&rters emoam on ro&a mp ■ i ninth-ranked Texas A&M men’s tennis tt travels to Fort Worth for a crucial match wr ) on Friday at 1:30 p.m. The Aggies then a dual match with Texas Tech (11-43, 1- in fifth place tn the SWC standings b Station this weekend for their final ore the conference championships. The Aggies j§ost Texas Tech Friday at the Omar Smith Tennis Center at 1:30 p.m. d Houston Saturday A&M currently holds onto sixth^ ITb-O). ?SWCstandin ;u (5-3), Rice (4-2), Houston (5-2). men’s and women’s golf teams will compete in their ^ ference Championship tournaments over the Aggie men’s squad will travel to Lakeway, out- -round tourney, April 19-21. Coach Kitty Hol- ?rs will stay put in College Station, beginning first- t the Briarcrest Country Club in Bryan and finshing Aggies’ Richardson enjoys role as ‘man to beat’ in SWC sprints A&M cowboys get 4th in NIRA rodeo By PETE HERNDON Sports Writer M Rodeo. I The word conjures up visions of tall, lean cowboys with decorative chaps and big hats, spurs tightly strapped to fancy hoots, and enough courage to place themselves on top of some of the wildest four-legged beasts this side of t|e Mississippi. ■ America’s oldest native sport was featured at Texas A&M last weekend as the Aggies hosted the Texas A&M-National Intercollegiate Rodeo Asso- dation (NIRA) rodeo at Dick Freeman Equestrian Park. ■ A unique attraction of NIRA sanctioned events is that college students can be awarded cash prizes without affecting their college eligibility. k Cowboys and cowgirls from 1 1 Texas and Louisiana schools, including local favorites Texas A&M, Prairie View A&M, Sam Houston State and Minn Junior College competed in the 10 event, three day rodeo. I The timed events included all of the roping events, barrel racing and steer wrestling while the rough-stock riding events consisted Of bull riding, bareback riding and the classic saddle bronc riding. 1 The A&M men finished fourth overall in the team standings while indi vidual standouts for the Aggies included Corey Priest, the winner of the men’s tie-down calf roping and Nancy Brown, the winner of the barrel rac ing competition. By CINDY GAY Sports Writer At the sound of the starting gun, Rod Richardson is on his own. One hundred meters of runners on all sides, leaning for top speed, confined by endless white lines. A finish line later, Richardson knows contentment. Richardson, the fastest member of the Texas A&M track team, looks forward to his sprinting surge this weekend in the Baylor Invitational. The 100-meters, the 40()-meter relay and 800-meter relay headline his Waco track program, but it’s the days before the races and the days after that make up the primary part of Richardson’s life. “I think the most important thing, day in and day out, is just to go about my business,” said Richardson, with out worrying over the 10 seconds of the 100-meters, or the class paper due the following week. “1 don’t think school is the most important thing in my life at 22, and track cer tainly isn’t.” “I’m strictly a short term plan ner,” said Richardson, whose sights are set on grabbing the gold in SWC and NCAA championships in May. He finished second in the indoor NCAA championship 55-meters be hind Sam Grady of Tennessee, but: side-by-side competition is Richard son’s ultimate fun. And these upcoming track meets promise plenty of that. “I don’t go into every event think ing I’m going to win it,” he said. At the Texas Relays 100-meter In vitational, Houston’s Kirk Baptiste, an '84 Olympic silver medalist, de feated Richardson. “I expect to see Baptiste at the SWC championships, and we’ll find out (who’s faster)” he said. But the struggle to meet others’ expectations and his own has taught Richardson how to breathe a little easier about his “life in the fast lane.” “Sometimes you have to just sit back and forget (the pressure),” he said. “I’ve had a tendency to take track too seriously. This isn’t life or death.” The threat of injuries, a coach’s headache and an athlete’s bad Battalion File Photo A&M sprinter Rod Richardson (right) — “Sometimes you have to just sit back and forget (the pressure). I’ve had a ten dency to take track too seriously. I think the most important thing, day in and day out, is just to go about my business.” dream, has been no silent stranger in his past two years at A&M. An ankle injury that dragged on for an uncer tain six months had Richardson not knowing if he’d run, or even walk again. That caused him to reevaluate his priorities. A few days ago, while shooting pool, Richardson celebrated a suc cessful shot with a sudden jump from the floor, and he said it felt even better when he remembered that not too long ago his ankle was his most fragile joint. “I just wanted to run down the hall,” he said with a smile. Richardson’s first “first” at the fin ish line came his way at the age of 10. “I ran the 50-yard dash and I beat the fastest guy in fifth grade,” he said. That summer the youngster was tying his track shoes at an AAU , meet in New Orleans. Back home in Shreveport, Richardson’s grand mother was protesting this new found stardom that pushed him out into the race of life. But Richardson said he was right where he wanted to be. “I was on my own,” Richardson said. And he’s been traveling the same road ever since. “I keep to myself,” added the na tionally acclaimed sprinter, who had his choice of colleges as a teenager. A&M has been no pie in the sky for Richardson. He played football in 1982-83 and has run track four years. There were times when he needed help, and “no one was In ten- big” “I guess I had rainbow shades on,” he said. “Being at A&M has taught me a lot about being indepen dent.” Aggieland, however, was a bit un expected. “I probably went through a little culture shock,” he said, adding that he came from a high school that had 80 percent black students. Richardson said he figured he would one day work in a predomi nantly white atmosphere. “I felt like, ‘Will I know how to re late?,”’ he said. “At the time I didn’t think I could.” Richardson said he switched from a business major to journalism be cause he decided that doing some thing he truly enjoyed was more im portant than making money. As a high school runner, Richard son was state championship material all three years, winning first in the Lousiana AAAA state finals his se nior year. Richardson became well acquainted with the back-of-the- head sensation that fingers were pointed at him from the stands and the sidelines as he warmed up for ev ery race. He’s always been the man to beat and he likes it that way. “I want to be able to go to the lop see what’s there and see the sights Richardson said. So who does he run for? “As much as I hate to say it, I’m a diehard Aggie.” GIVE YOUR PARENTS SOMETHING NICE FOR GRADUATION We’ll be open May 23rd. So if you’re graduating this August, make plans now for your parents, family and friends to stay at the new College Station Hilton and Conference Center, only minutes from the University. It’s plenty of hotel, including 300 rooms, two excellent restaurants, a club, pool, jacuzzi suites, and free transportation to and from the airport. So make your family doubly proud. Call now and reserve their rooms at the Hilton. BE A CHARTER MEMBER OF THE TEXAS AGGIE CREDIT UNION The Texas Aggie Credit Union is being organized for the benefit of full time students and former students of Texas A&M University. Application has been approved by the Credit Union Department of The State of Texas for the Texas Aggie Credit Union which will have offices at 2405 Texas Avenue, Suite 100, College Station. Graduating senior you are encouraged to become a charter member of the Texas Aggie Credit Union before they leave the Texas A&M University campus. The Texas Aggie Credit Union will be in a positive position to offer support to full time stu dents through the Guarenteed Student Loan Program, small loans for their short term needs, and longer term loans for those seniors preparing to begin their careers. Loan applica tions will be available May 1,1985. APPLICATION FOR CHARTER MEMBERSHIP IN THE TEXAS AGGIE CREDIT UNION Mail your check and application to: T'f.vas Aggie Credit Union P.O. Box 10091 College Station, Texas 77S40-S191 Name- . Class- X Social Security Number, Mailing Address COLLEGE STATION HILTON and Conference Center 801 University Drive East, College Station, Texas 77840 409/693-7500 CALL 693-7500 NOW TO MAKE RESERVATIONS FOR AUGUST GRADUATION. City- Employer or Occupation. Home Phone A/C Date of Birth -State. .Zip. .Business Phone A/C. -Spouse’s Name I hereby make application for membership in the Texas Aggie Credit Union and agree to conform to its rules, regulations, by-laws and policies as amended or adopted hereafter and subscribe for one membership share for $20.00 which will receive no dividends and will not be insured under Share Guaranty Insurance. Enclosed is my check for $25.00 which includes the membership share and the membership fee of $5.00. Signature. .Date. (Deadline for Charter Membership is May 1,1985)