Page 14/The Battalion/Friday, November 8, 1985
Aggie swimmers
to test the waters
at SMU Saturday
By KEN SURY
Sports Writer
After last weekend’s success, the Texas A&M swim teams now face
Texas Christian today and Southern Methodist and Kansas Saturday in
dual meets.
A&M Swim Coach Mel Nash said the TCU meet in Fort Worth will give
the men a chance to swim their No. 2 and 3 events.
“We can find out where we stand as far as our flexibility goes,” Nash
said. “You to be a little flexible and Find out where you might nave some un
known strengths with your freshmen.”
The women’s meet, he said, will be much tighter competition.
Nash said the TCU women’s team has good swimmers, but also a larger
number of swimmers than the Aggies. The Aggies will field just seven swim
mers since senior Edlyn Bell remains sidelined with an injury. The normal
number of swimmers needed to field a solid team, Nash said, is about 12 to
14.
"They’re (the A&M swimmers) all good, but it asks a lot of them (to swim
three events as opposed to two),” Nash said.
The SMU-Kansas meet in Dallas should be a tougher match for the
teams, Nash said.
The SMU women’s team currently is ranked eighth in the NCAA Top
20 poll, while the Aggies are 15th.
“It’s going to be a tough road to hoe,” Nash said. “They (the SMU
women) have the combination of numbers and quality. It’s going to be real
tough to knock them off.”
■The SMU men are just as tough as the women with a seventh place spot
in the NCAA Top 20. The Aggies are ranked 16th.
“It’s the same thing (as the situation with the women),” Nash said.
“They’re just a little bit better. If we beat them, it’ll be an upset, if we don’t
beat them it won’t be something to be ashamed of.”
The Kansas women’s team, ranked 13th in the nation, should also match
up well with the A&M women, Nash said.
“Our top seven folks would match up (equally), maybe be a little
stronger, than their top seven,” he said. “But then, they have the next seven
(swimmers), and our next seven are imaginary people.”
Nash said the Kansas men’s team is less experienced than their female
counterparts.
A&M women netters
to ploy in Rice tourney
By KEN SURY
Sports Writer
Hee
The Texas A&M women’s tennis
team plays its last tournament of the
fall semester this weekend at the
Rice Invitational in Houston.
“Our doubles teams are playing
well,” A&M Women’s Tennis Coach
Bobby Kleinecke said Thursday.
“We’re really concentrating on sin
gles for this tournament. If we rise
to the occasion we’ll do well.”
The Rice Invitational is a flighted
tourney, which means, for instance,
that a school’s No. 1 player plays
other school’s No. 1 player.
Here are the Aggies’ first round
drawings in singles competition:
•No. 1: Vanne Akagi vs.
Back (No. 2 seed, Houston).
•No. 6: Kellie Dorman vs. Mary
Lee Libera (No. 3 seed, Houston).
Kim Labuschagne, Gave Lynne
Gensler, Karen Marshall, Helen
Christiaanse and Laura Liong each
earned byes in their respective
flights.
The doubles teams first round
drawings:
•No. 3: Christiaanse-Dorman
(No. 1 seed) vs. Jean Carder-Katie
McGrath (Baylor).
•No. 3: Liong paired with Ross
(Tulane) vs. Micliele Tabere (LSU)-
Gigi Sacaris (Rice).
The No. 1 team of Akagi-Gensler
and the No. 2 team of Marshall-La-
buschagne earned first round byes.
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A&M’s record quiets critics
Sherrill no longer feeling heat from Aggie fans
DENNE H. FREEMAN
A P Sports A nalysis
Jackie Sherrill hasn’t exactly
been the $1 million football mes-
siah that the free-spending Texas
A&M University officials believed
he’d be four years ago.
H.R. (Bum) Bright, who was
then chairman of the Board of
Regents, lured Coach Sherrill
from the University of Pittsburgh
for some $250,000 year plus lu
crative perks.
Sherrill’s assignment: win the
Southwest Conference title im
mediately, if not sooner, and get
the Aggies in the Cotton Bowl For
the first time since 1967.
Not only have the Aggies failed
to come close to the SWC title un
der Sherrill (SWC finishes of 7-4-
7) they haven’t even been to any
ole bowl, Cotton or otherwise.
It took closing victories over
Texas Christian and Texas last
year to prevent a major alumni
uprising against Sherrill.
Although Sherrill has a five-
year contract which is automat
ically renewable each season,
some Aggie alumni were ready to
fire the cocky coach just as
quickly as he was hired.
winning field goal with less than
two minutes to play could signal a
turnaround in Sherrill’s pro-
ex
Bright was openly critical of
Ml, who had recruited well
Sherri
but failed to produce on the field.
The Aggies showed lack of dis
cipline and coordination, beating
themselves with mistakes instead
of making an opponent earn its
victory.
There also was the ‘final period
fatalism factor’ in which the Ag
gies seldom rallied in the fourth
quarter to win. The word was
out: Get the Aggies down in three
periods and you ve got ’em.
On a rainy Saturday night
against 20th ranked Southern
Methodist, the Aggies shattered
twin stigmas of choking against
ranked teams and fading away in
the fourth quarter.
The 19-17 victory over the
Mustangs was simply the biggest
in Sherrill’s A&M coachine ca-
gram. The Aggies, with a weex of
rest, are 6-2 overall and 4-1 in
SWC play. The Bluebonnet Bowl
has been the Aggies’ constant
shadow.
Arkansas, Texas Christian and
Texas are the Aggies’ final three
opponents. A clean sweep and
they have a chance at the Cotton
Bowl. Victories in two out of
three games make them a prime
bowl candidate.
“The victory over SMU really
pepped up the whole campus/’
said assistant sports information
director Alan Cannon. “Every
body is talking about it.”
About all the campus coffee
shops had to talk about until the
SMU victory was Sherrill’s bril
liant innovation to have a 12th
Man kickoff team composed of
members from the student body.
A portion of the Aggies’ turn
around this year can be traced to
Sherrill’s decision to hire Lynn
Amedee as offensive coordinator
and quarterback coach and Joe
Avezzano as offensive line coach.
A&M’s offense shows imagina
tion and the offensive line is
blocking better than it has before
in the Sherrill era. The Aggies
are leading the SWC in offense
with some 150 yards more per
game than a year ago.
New linebacker Coach Bob Da
vie is helping defensive coordina
tor R.C. Slocum forge a hard-
striking, intelligent defense that
ranks third in the SWC.
The Aggies are far from a pol
ished team. They had 120 yards
in penalties against SMU, includ
ing a quick 15 on Sherrill for
unsportmanlike conduct. Ref
eree-baiting is still a bad Sherrill
habit.
Asked if it yvas his biggest vic
tory at A&M, Sherrill replied,
“No question about it. SMU has
the most talent of any team I’ve
coaching ca
reer.
It was the first time Sherrill’s
troops had defeated a ranked op
ponent. It was only the second
time they had come from behind
in the fourth quarter (Arkansas
State was the other one) to do it.
Eric Franklin’s 48-yard game-
ny ______ _ .
ever played or coached against.”
Sherrill added “This is the kind
of victory that gives your whole
program confidence. It was much
needed and it was deserved. Our
coaches and kids have been work
ing so hard.”
He has posted seasons of 5-6,
5-5-1 and 6-5 since his move from
Pittsburgh.
. '
TAMU Students, Faculty and Staff: you are invited to
ATTEND THE
ARMISTICE/VETERANS
DAY 1985
A Community Celebration In Recognition
Of The
Military Service
Of The Women And Men Of The Brazos Valley
On
Speech By Herb Odell, Commander,
Department Of Texas, The American Legion
Texas National Guard, 163rd Armored Cavalry
US Army Reserve, 420th Engineering Brigade
Flyover, Confederate Air Force Aggie Wing
Firing Of Aggie Salute Cannon, Corps Of Cadets
Plan to attend and honor those members of your family who have served or are
serving our country in its military services, please come and share it with us
your neighbors.
Simpson Drill Field (By The MSC)
Texas A&M University
11:00 A.M., Monday, November 11, 1985
Sponsored by the:
American Legion & Auxiliary
Veterans of Foreign Wars & Auxiliary
American GI Forum
Disabled American Veterans & Auxiliary
Reserve Officers Association
Retired Officers Association
Aggieland Air Force Association
Uniforms Of:
•Continental Soldiers (Heroes of ’76)
•Civil War, Union and Confederate
(Living History)
•Spanish American War (Living History)
•World War I, Rainbow Division
(Corps Of Cadets)
•World War II Rangers (Corps Of Cadets)
•U.S. Army (Active Duty)
•U.S. Air Force (Active Duty)
•U.S. Marines (Active Duty)
•U.S. Navy (Active Duty)
Exhibits On Display Until 1:00 P.M.
Program:
Invocation
Color Guards
Raise Colors & Sing Star Spangle Banner
Pledge Of Allegiance
Moment Of Silence
Taps
Flyover By Confederate Air Force
Speech, Cmdr. Herb Odell, Amer. Legion
Uniform Display
Benediction
Cannon Firing
In Case Of Rain, Ceremonies Will Be Held At Rudder Auditorium.
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c
5.