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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 9, 1989)
Page 12 The Battalion Thursday, February 9,1989 Lady Ags clash with No.9 Texas to night New pact makes By Stan Golaboff SPORTS WRITER Texas A&M will try to do what no other Soutwest Conference team has down in over 11 years tonight when they play the University of Texas in the Frank Erwin Center'in Austin — beat Texas. Texas, ranked ninth in the most recent AP poll, has won 110 straight SWC games since league play began and 161 straight games against SWC teams. A&M was the last team to beat Texas, 59-52, on Jan. 23, 1978 in College Station. The Lady Ags (14-6 overall and 6- 3 in SWC) have to overcome Texas’s streak and several other obstacles. One obstacle is that the Ags are playing on the road. The road hasn’t been kind to the Aggies this year. A&M is 5-5 on the road. Their last road win was against Rice on Jan. 21, 71-65. The biggest obstacle the Lady Ags face is 6-foot-1 senior Clarissa Davis. Davis is averaging 26.4 points and 9.6 rebounds a game for the Long horns. A&M senior Lisa Jordon said. A&M is also facing a red-hot Texas team. Texas started the sea son off slow, losing four of their First seven games. Since then they have won 12 straight, including nine in SWC play. Texas has been beating it’s SWC by an average of 20 points and their 12 game win streak in cludes a 69-67 upset of then number two Tennessee. Ironically, A&M also enters the game ranked first in the SWC in bench points at 30.9 per game. Tra ditionally, Texas has led that eater- gory and it used to be a standing joke that Texas was the best team in the nation and the second-best team was the Texas bench. Gooden richest Met “Clarissa is the best player I’ve played against and how do you stop her. I don’t know if you can, but we are going to try to contain her,” A&M enters the game ranked First in the SWC in Field goal percentage defense at 38.8 percent. They rank first in the SWC in scoring defense at 66.4 points a game. They also rank First in rebounding (49.3 a game) and rebounding margin (-I- 9.4 a game). “This is an extremely important game. There’s always the thought that you could be the upset team. We don’t want to go in with too much emotion,” A&M Head Coach Lynn Hickey said. “We have execute our offense, play tough defense and avoid funda mental mistakes,” Hickey said. NEW YORK (AP) — Dwight Gooden became the highest-paid player in baseball this year and the highest-paid player in the history of the New York Mets when he agreed Wednesday to a three-year contract worth $6.7 million. Gooden, who made $1.4 million in 1988 after losing in arbitration, will get a $500,000 signing bonus, $2.25 million this year, $1.7 million in 1990 and $2.25 million in 1991, a source familiar with the negotiation told The Associated Press. Including a prorated share of the signing bonus, Gooden will receive $2,416,667 this season, topping the salary of Minnesota Twins tit baseman Gary Gaetti, who t $2.4 million. But Gaetti will gt $500,000 in 1990, the season may be disrupted by a playersttiii or an owners’ lockout. Gooden can make an addition $290,000 each year in bonuses. Hi would get $100,000 for winning!) Cy Young Award and $50,000(a Finishing second through fifth, would get $100,000 if named Mo* Valuable Player of the World Sem and $50,000 if named MVP oft) playoffs. He also would get $25,9) if selected for the All-Star Gamean; $ 15,000 if he wins a Gold Glove. Recruits (Continued from page 9) Drapela averaged better than seven yards per carry as a senior and scored 21 touchdowns on the way to being named to the third team of the All-State squad in Class 4A. The big catch for A&M appears to be defensive back Kenneth Norman of Sweetwater. Norman was the Class 4A Player of the Year as a se nior and was listed fourth on the Southwest Blue Chippers List of Athlon magazine. He was named first-team All-State as both a de fensive back and a running back in 1988. Texas Football magazine rated Norman as one of the state’s top running backs. He rushed for over 4,000 yards in three years as a starter in the backfield on offense. Slocum will use him as a defensive back. “(Norman)’s as good a defensive back as you can go and find,” Slo cum said. “I made the decision a long time ago that he was the one we wanted.” The Aggies did not have the im pressive number of signings that other Southwest Conference schools had. However, Slocum used the signings to fill the few gaps on the team — mainly in the defensive line and at linebacker. Of the 14 recruits signed by A&M, eight were either defensive linemen (four) or linebackers. The defensive line will be shored up by the addition of four players who each are over six-feet-four inches tall and weigh over 220 pounds. A pair of 6-4, 235 pound boo- kends from Arlington High lead the way. Brad Cooper and Tyler Harri son will provide considerable size in an area where it was deeply needed last year. Joining the Arlington duo in the line will be Lance Teichelman (6-4, 240) from Austin Westlake and Larry Wallace (6-5, 220) of Irving Nimitz. Teichelman chose the Ag gies over Brigham Young, Texas I felt the areas we really had to have some help were defensive line and linebacker.” — R.C. Slocum, A&M head football coach - Pi id ( A&M over Houston, TCU and Okla homa State. The linebacking corps, the heart of the Aggie defense, will be bol stered by the signing of three 6-4 prospects. Marcus Buckley (235) of Fort Worth Eastern Hills, Jason Medlock (205) of Dallas Roosevelt and Louis Rose (210) of Sweetwater will be ex pected to contribute soon to a group which will be taking on a new look with the departure of Dana Batiste, John Roper and Basil Jackson. Slocum compared Medlock to current Aggie linebacker Aaron Wallace. Wallace will be the only re turning starter at A&M’s four line backer spots. Jason Atkinson, a 6-3, 225 pound prospect who has been clocked at 4.7 in the 40-yard dash, signed on as the fourth linebacker signee later Wednesday evening. Atkinson, from Houston West- field, should fit in well with the other linebackers. He’s big strong, quick and fast. A&M’s head man was happy with the defensive signings and relieved that he was able to fill the holes left by graduation. “I felt the areas we really had to have some help were defensive line and linebacker,” he said. “We had to have some linebackers.” Slocum added some depth at tight end with the signing of Steve Sa- graves of North Mesquite who chose A&M over Nebraska, Arkansas, Ok lahoma and Louisiana State. A pair of 6-4, 270, offensive line men rounded out the signings. Dexter Wesley from Rockdale and Lowell Hutchens of Munday will give help up front for A&M. Miami nabs state’s top player by signing Jessie Armstead DALLAS (AP) — Dallas Carter linebacker Jessie Armstead, con sidered the bluest of Texas high school defensive blue chip re cruits, signed a letter of intent Wednesday to play college foot ball for the University of Miami. “This is my old 46,” Armstead said as he held up a Miami jersey with his name on the back. “I’m going to No. 1 now.” Armstead wore a No. 1 jersey underneath an orange and green Miami warmup suit. In choosing Miami, Armstead spurns Baylor and Texas A&M, joining some of the state’s best high school players by going to a non-South west Conference school. “The SWC is not together,” Armstead said, adding he was im pressed by the emphasis on aca demics at Miami. He said the Hurricanes graduated 100 per cent of their senior football play ers. Armstead said his decision came down to between Baylor and Miami. Armstead talked to the head coaches from both schools Wednesday. Miami coach Jimmy Johnson told Armstead to take his time making the choice, the Carter linebacker said. “Coach (Grant) Teaff said, ‘You can help me rebuild our program.’ I said I thought I could,” said Armstead, recalling his conversation with the Baylor coach. But Teaff told Armstead to do what is best for him, Armstead said. Armstead, 6-2, 205, had 117 tackles last season and helped lead Carter to the state 5A championship. He runs the 40- yard dash in 4.6 seconds. Armstead’s announcement at a news conference timed to coin cide with evening newscasts cli maxed a frenzied day of signings by Texas college football teams and those around the country. Wednesday was the first day high school football players could sign letters of intent for college play. Armstead joins Dallas Roose velt wide receiver Kevin Williams in committing to the Hurricanes and Johnson. Armstead announced his deci sion from a wood-paneled con ference room at the Loews Anat- ole, a giant hotel and convention facility just north of downtown Dallas. ' He said his father suggested using the hotel for the announce ment. “You just do it one time," Armstead said. Asked whether he chose Miami because the Hurricanes were more likely to win a national championship than Baylor Armstead said, “No, not really, because when I started at Carter we built into a state championship team. That’s all it takes, a few good men, and then you can build any program.” Miami was ranked No. 2 at the end of last season, while Baylor finished with a 6-5 record. Armstead said choosing a col lege was a “tough decision" be cause “I had the opportunity to go anywhere 1 wanted.” Roosevelt’s Williams was con sidered one of the state’s top of fensive prospects. He caught 3" passes for 785 yards. The Batl El Thursdi G wc By Thor ENTERTAIf In its fo The Medic made its m campus. 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