Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 17, 1987)
Tuesday, November 17,1987/The Battalion/Page 7 Sports Lady Ags hope to rebound in ’87 -’88 By Brad Marquardt Reporter Although the Texas A&M wom en’s basketball team is coming off a disappointing 9-17 season and are still rebuilding, Head Coach Lynn Hickey is excited about the upcom ing season. “So many things happened last year that were out of our control, but sometimes injuries are going to occur,” Hickey said. “But I’ve been very pleased to see they’ve come back.” The Lady Aggies lost only four se niors, two of whom contributed' sig nificantly. From the graduation of Paula Crutcher and Beth Young, the team lost a combined average of 20 points and eight rebounds per con test. This year’s squad has a good nu cleus of players. It returns last sea son’s top two scorers and rebound ers. Two of the top three assist leaders are also back. Because the team was hindered by injuries last year, many young play ers had the opportunity to play and get experience. So even though A&M lost two starters, the team re turns six players that started 10 or more games last season. Leading the list of returnees are junior guard Donna Roper and the lone senior, forward Evelyn Sand ers. Roper missed half of last season due to gall bladder surgery but still enjoyed a productive sophomore season by averaging 15 points a game and dishing off 71 assists. Hickey said Roper is one of the top guards in the nation and is the best she has ever coached. “Donna could play for any team in the country,” Hickey said. “She does so many things so well. “What is funny is that we have to get on her to get her to shoot the ball,” Hickey said. “You would ex pect her to be a gunner but she’s not. When I would see her brother (A&rM linebacker John Roper) after a game he would say, ‘Gotta get that girl to shoot.’ ” Evelyn Sanders returns for her fi nal season for the Lady Aggies and will be looked to for leadership from the younger players. Hickey de scribes Sanders as a workhorse and a defensive standout. Sanders was sec ond on the team in scoring and re bounding and had a high game of 35 points, which is the second highest ever by a Lady Aggie. “Evelyn is very aggressive and is a ball-hawk,” Hickey said. “She grabs a rebound and goes right back up with it. That makes her very tough to de fend.” Shoring up the middle will be ju nior center Lisa Jordan. Jordan led the team in rebounds last year, bang ing the boards for an average of seven per game. She also holds the school career record for blocked shots and has two more seasons to play. Hickey is expecting great things from Veronda Roundtree due to her great athletic ability. Hickey thinks that Roundtree is the big scorer that could make the Lady Aggies into a good team. Last year the junior for ward was used mostly off the bench but showed flashes of offensive bril liance. “Veronda is one of those 5’-ll” kids that can get above the rim and is a scorer deluxe,” Hickey said. “We have got to get the ball in her hands.” Fighting for the second guard spot are sophomores Lisa Herner and Traci Thomas. Both started 10 or more games last season, with Herner giving out 70 assists and av eraging three points a game and Thomas handing out 37 assists and scoring five points per game. The tallest player on the squad is 6-5 center Debbie Lorenzen. Loren- zen was redshirted last season due to an injury but will provide valuable depth at the center position. “Debbie is another center we have to fill in, and that’s something we didn’t have last year,” Hickey said. “I think she will be a big help this year right away.” Although hindered by injuries last year, junior center Nette Garrett still started 14 games. Garrett brings in extra experience and has shown that she can score.The center from Cen ter, Texas was the most consistent shooter on the squad last year aver aging 55.9 percent from the field, an A&M single season record. Providing depth are freshmen Mindy Neal, Louise Madison, Tra cey Fewell and Wendy Jennings. Hickey said that Neal is very coa- chable and a tremendous athlete. In high school Neal went to the state track meet in the long jump and the triple jump, which is impressive for someone 6-1. Madison was one of the top re cruits in Texas last year and scores well, Hickey said. “Even though there are funda mental problems, she is going to score,” Hickey said. “She works that hard and is that good of an athlete.” Fewell will be a backup at point guard but is probably the best passer they have, Hickey said. “Right now we are trying to get her to slow down and fit into our of fensive structure,” Hickey said. Hickey also recruited a three- point specialist in Wendy Jennings. Hickey said she has a funny two- handed set shot, but when she’s hot nobody shoots better. The Lady Aggies made another major acquisition with the addition of assistant coach Lubomyr (Luby) Lichonczak. Lichonczak previously coached at perennial women’s bas ketball powerhouse Old Dominion. “Luby really complements Eileen (Feeney, another assistant coach) be cause he is very low-key and calm,” Hickey said. “I really think we have the best assistant coaches in the con ference, and that is going to pay off.” Buckeyes’ Bruce after 3 straight losses COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio i State football coach Earle Bruce, plagued by fan criticism after three consecutive losses, was fired Monday only a few hours after he said he had no intention of stepping down, Ath letic Director Rick Bay said. Bay, Bruce’s staunchest defender in recent days, said he had resigned as a result. Bay said Bruce’s firing was effec tive after the end of Saturday’s regu lar-season final game at Michigan. “Earlier this afternoon, I spoke with (OSU President Edward Jen nings), who asked me to meet with him and informed me he was under pressure to make a coaching change and that he had to do that,” Bay told a news conference. Because of what he called “philo sophical differences with the admin istration,” Bay said, “I have resigned as athletic director.” Bay said, “I think (Bruce) has done a whale of a job. “His record is among the very, very best in the country.” Bay described Bruce as “very disil lusioned” by the turn of events. At his weekly media luncheon Monday, Bruce, flanked by his wife, had said he would not quit. “I am staying at Ohio State,” Bruce said. “I like my job. I’m going to prepare hard for (Saturday’s game at) Michigan. “I’ll stay and prepare though the winter and summer so we can have a Big 10 championship next year.” Bruce, in the second year of a three-year contract, has coached Ohio State to a 5-4-1 record, includ ing three straight losses by a total of 10 points. His victories include a 28- 12 smashing of Texas A&M in the 1987 Cotton Bowl. The coach said he was as frus trated and disappointed as anyone over Ohio State’s season. m Back to the stands - Oh, what a feeling! By Hal L. Hammons Assistant Sports Editor I had almost forgotten how much fun it is to watch a Texas A&M football game from the stands. You see, the press corps has it VlOWpOiflt rough. The 12th Man is out there screaming its throat raw for the team, standing and stomping on the sacred alumi num of Kyle Field, getting a reu sable Aggie cup with their $1.25 Coke, paying 50 cents a bite for a gloriously chilled hot dog. Meanwhile, Yours Truly is up in the press box on the 50-yard line, having to sit the entire time, being force-fed barbecue, getting unlimited Dr Pepper refills from the gorgeous Aggie Hostesses. I didn’t ask for this. I’m just an Aggie, Fightin’ Texas Aggie Class of (Lord will ing) ’88, who would like to yell for the home team once in a while. So I fanagled my way into the stands for a day. And what a day. I’m convinced the average fan of live football doesn’t appreciate the smell of excitement that per meates an autumn Saturday in a college town. He is calloused to the sense of electricity in the air v I felt it, though. Even before the game started. A girl behind me was still wait ing for her roommate. A girl in front of me had arrived early as well. And me in the middle. Three people who will proba bly never see each other again, who probably have little in com mon except a common school and a common love. And then “The War Hymn” kicked in. I looked back to the girl behind me, who looked rather forlorn with no one standing next to her at that particular time, and said, “Do you want to get down here with us?” Minds out of the gutter, Ags. A strictly no-strings-attached ges ture on my part which she grate fully accepted. The one in front of us came up on her own accord. And there I was, arm-in-arm with two beautiful young ladies whom I probably would have never spoken to in any other cir cumstance, singing “Saw Varsity’s horns off!” at the top of our lungs, not caring what it sounded like, initiating body contact by quite innocent means that proba bly would necessitate marriage in some Eastern cultures. Who but Aggies, I ask you. Who but Aggies? It didn’t matter if I had never seen them before or if they were each 10-year acquaintances. They were Aggies. That was enough. And then the game started. No doubt many of you were disenchanted with the kind of football playe'd at Kyle Field Sat urday. You know — tough de fense, no offense. I, of course, am a great fan of great defense. And I was eating that game up. Maybe I’m just a closet Rambo. Maybe I’m alone in the universe. But I don’t think so. Remember Jim Simpson? He was the third of four quarterbacks the Razorbacks threw to the lions — I mean, the Aggies. On one play he was flushed out of the pocket, did a 270-degree roll to his right, and came face-to face with John Roper. I remember Roper even better. About 30 inches off the ground. Spread-eagled, screaming, no doubt. I’d give a lot of money for a photograph of Simpson’s face about that time. Given time, I bet the quarterback would have col lapsed on his own. Rather like x six-foot Jell-O sculpture. As I left, 1 turned to the g^ hind me and said, “Nice to meet you.” She returned the favor. Her roommate never did arrive. Well, blond junior, section 224, row 26, whoever you are, do me a favor: tell your roommate she missed a whale of a ballgame. i L P 1 3 ,RK I 'J * [e rts in :he Make a splash. The MSC Opera and Performing Arts Society presents "Singin' in the Rain" at 8:00 p.m., Tuesday, Movember 17 in Rudder Auditorium. Based on the MGM film classic, this delightful Broadway musical features dazzling sets, gorgeous costumes, intricate dance steps and yes, a genuine rain storm on stage. Spirited songs like "You Are My Lucky Star", "You Were Meant For Me", "Good Mornin", and, of course, "Singin' In The Rain" are sure to make you smile. There are still a few seats available for this splashy musical. Tickets are sold on a first come, first served basis. in 3 per MSC Box Office • 845-1234 • Dillards Ticketron Visa and MasterCard accepted. I JL i MirfJoLJLPJjL JL ffP BILLIARDS • DARTS Murmur \57 Reckoning ^ Fables OfThe Reconstruction ^7 Lifes Rich Pageant MSC TOWN HALL PRESENTS VDOCU M E N T R.E. M. “America’s Best Rock-n-Roll Band” - Rolling Stone G. Rollie White Coliseum an art 00 nd la 1 ’ =S>'lemorial Sui(k , iH Cv*'l'T • U'x.is Vd l niu-rsiH • ftox II • l iillrqi'''Union T\7?rt44'“>M Plenty of good reserved seats still available Tickets $10 - On sale at TAMU Box Office 845-1234 Call Battalion Classified 845-2611