Tuesday, November 12,1985/The Battalion/Page 11.
Sports
Penn State swipes
No. 1 from Florida
in AP’s Top 20 poll
Associated Press
Penn State has become the fifth
team to reach the top of The Asso
ciated Press college football poll this
season, ending Florida’s one-week
reign.
The Nittany Lions, second a week
ago, boosted their record to 9-0 by
defeating Cincinnati 31-10 Saturday
and took advantage of Florida’s 24-3
loss to Georgia, which dropped the
Gators to 111n place.
Penn State received 44 of 59 first-
place votes and 1,143 of a possible
1,180 points Monday from a nation
wide panel of sports writers and
sportscasters.
APTop 20 Poll
The Top 20 teams in the Asso
ciated Press college football poll,
with first-place votes in paren
theses and season record:
1. Penn State (44) — 9-0-0
2. Nebraska (9) —8-1-0
3. Ohio State (2) — 8-1-0
4. Air Force (2)— 10-0-0
5. Iowa —8-1-0
6. Miami (Fla.) — 8-1-0
7. Oklahoma (2) — 6-1-0
8. Michigan — 7-1-1
9. Arkansas — 8-1-0
10. Oklahoma State — 7-1-0
11. Florida — 7-1-1
12. Georgia —7-1-1
13. UCLA —7-1-1
14. Auburn —7-2-0
15. Florida State — 7-2-0
16. Brigham Young — 8-2-0
17. Baylor —7-2-0
18. Tennessee — 5-1-2
19. LSU —5-1-1
20. Alabama — 6-2-1
Others receiving votes: Arizona
State, Bowling Green, Texas
A&M, Notre Dame, Texas, Utah,
Colorado, Fresno State, Minne
sota.
The rise to the top capped a sea
son-long climb for Penn State, which
was 19tTi in the first regular-season
poll and has since been 11th, 10th,
ninth, eighth, sixth, third and sec
ond. Oklahoma, Auburn, Iowa and
Florida had previously been ranked
No. 1 this season.
The No. 1 ranking wasn’t ex-
f iected to excite Penn State Coach
oe Paterno. Following Saturday’s
game, he said: “As I’ve always said,
nobody’s anything until the season’s
over. That’s exactly the way I feel
about it.”
Nebraska, which crushed Iowa
State 49-0 Saturday, moved up from
third place to second with nine first-
place votes and 1,083 points. Ohio
State trounced Northwestern 35-17
and went from fourth to third with
two first-place votes and 1,021
points.
Ail Force, the nation’s only 10-0
team, rose from fifth to fourtn with
two first-place votes and 941 points
by routing Army 45-7 and Iowa
went from sixth to fifth with 905
points after walloping Illinois 59-0.
Miami of Florida, a 29-22 winner
over Maryland, vaulted from eighth
place to sixth with 891 points. The
remaining two first-place votes went
to Oklahoma, which held seventh
place with 883 points following a 51-
o romp over Missouri.
Michigan moved up from ninth to
eighth with 744 points by drubbing
Purdue 47-0, Arkansas leaped from
12th to ninth with 662 points by
downing No. 11 Baylor 20-14, and
Oklahoma State, which beat Kansas
State 35-3, remained in 10th place
with 646 points.
The 20 teams in this week’s poll
are the same as last week, with some
shuffling.
The Second Ten consists of Flor
ida, Georgia, UCLA, Auburn, Flor
ida State, Brigham Young, Baylor,
Tennessee, LSU and Alabama.
Last week, it was Baylor, Arkan
sas, Auburn, UCLA, LSU, Florida
State, Georgia, BYU, Tennessee and
Alabama.
Ag spiker deals with new position
By CHAREAN WILLIAMS
Assistant Sports Editor
When starting middle blocker
Stacey Smith went down with a
knee injury against Texas South
ern Oct.' 16, it dealt a big blow to
the Texas A&M volleyball team.
But perhaps no one felt the re
percussions more than starting
outside hitter Margaret Spence.
That one play suddenly had
Spence playing a new position —
or at least learning to play a new
position.
“1 get real frustrated at times,”
the o-foot-11 junior said, “be
cause I feel like I’m not doing
well. I have put a lot ot pressure
on myself. I learn something new
all the time, and I try to adjust to
it. 1 guess 1 will eventually im-.
prove.”
Having little experience in the
middle before Smith’s injury, it’s
been quite an adjustment for
Spence.
“One difference, of course, is
the sets,” Spence said. “They
come from the middle instead of
the outside. On the outside, you
get short sets. It’s a lot quicker. In
the middle, you can take your
time and try to fool (the other
team). Also on the outside, you
have two blockers on you. In the
middle, it’s just me against the
other middle blocker.”
The
middle bloc!
can Sherri Brinkman, has helped
make the transition easier for
Spence.
“When I first started playing
the position, Sherri gave me some
tips,’ Spence said. ? ‘And I have
learned a lot just by watching
her.”
She also has a newfound re
spect for middle blockers.
“The middle works your butt
off,” Spence said. “You have to be
on your toes all the time.”
Smith began practicing last
week, and is expected to see lim
ited game action Wednesday
night against Houston. All of
which leaves Spence smiling.
“I am enjoying it,” she said,
“but I am looking forward to Sta
cey coming back. It’s her position,
so she knows more of what’s
Aggies’ other starting
docker, senior All-Amen-
going on.
And since the spring of her
freshman year, the outside has
been Spence’s domain.
“In the spring of my freshman
year, 1 first started to love the
game of volleyball,” she said. “It
was a whole new ballgame to me
after that. I felt like I could finally
play with the All-Americans.”
Last year Spence ruled the out
side, earning All-Southwest Con
ference honors with a .294 hitting
percentage.
“1 really enjoyed last year,” she
said. “I didn’t expect getting All-
Southwest Conference at all. 1
just felt like I was contributing to
the team. I felt like I was counted
on out there.”
And this year, perhaps more
than last, the Aggies have really
counted on Spence.
She is leading the team in digs
with 264 (2.63 per game), is sec
ond in blocks with 47, and is third
in hitting percentage at .248.
“I feel like I’m pretty strong on
defense,” Spence said. “Defense
is such a challenge to me. It’s fun
to read somebody, and digging a
hard ball feels real good.
“I need to improve on my hit
ting. I want to get to the point
where nobody can dig my hits.”
At Clear Lake High School in
Houston, Spence did just that.
She was All-District for three
straight years, was selected to the
high school All-State team her se
nior year and played in the
coaches’ All-Star game.
Having two brothers at A&M,
and a friend on the Aggie volley
ball team, there was never a
doubt where Spence would at
tend college.
“My junior year, I had an eye
on A&M,” she said. “Then my se
nior year, I committed at the be
ginning of October. I felt good
about my decision. I had no
doubts. I knew it was home the
first time I visited. I wouldn’t
have been this happy anywhere
else.”
And three matches in partic
ular make Spence even happier
with her decision.
“The San Diego State match
last year, when we upset them,
was great,” Spence said. “We
Photo by JOHN MAKELY
Texas A&M’s Margaret Spence (6) has found herself spiking the ball
past opponents in the mic
rgaret J>pc
the middle instead of the outside this season.
weren’t even supposed to be able
to play in the same gym with
them. Then this year, it was the
same thing with Purdue. We were
down 14-7 and came back and
won. The best game I’ve had per
sonally was against (Texas) I ech
last year at home. We drove them
out of the gym.”
An exercise technology major,
Spence has definite plans for the
future.
‘ I’m not going to graduate on
time,” she said. “I’ll stick around
after volleyball. When 1 graduate,
I plan on going into cot pot ate lit
ness. Thais the latest craze.”
But guess what that final year
of volleyball holds in store for
Spence.
“It looks like I'll be the middle
blocker since we’re losing Sherri,"
she said. "1 guess it's good I’m
playing there now because I’m
going to be there next year. 1
might as well be woi king for it."
E.L. MILLER LECTURE SERIES
Panel Discussions in
Rudder Auditorium 8:00 p.m. each night
Wednesday — “Defense Issues”
Thursday — "Civilian Issues”
Tickets are FREE but are
required for admission.
Pick up tickets at the
box office in Rudder.
For information on daily
symposia call SAS-15T 5.