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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 21, 1989)
121. / n )r s rices H iever C .m' busine,. and HpJ otno/\' s P i ate ^ri f "lains iif >g S, Ne brasl l ""PH’tol, lurn iti tt IS IS innot re 'search stud| agriculi, the repo,; hat scorti •d as rural i Misson agricub s not b ased thtE ther “hoi ustries is letheyju momictt A’s or Bi that wbi their eto nust worl I maria business ie Unitd impetitoi! fares wd d inconif, obal siaii' itiveness,' M >p Re- i. Stu- adult :es in ion to jscrip- aceeds ion of call 1 ice to res of may ir the men- each le in ; and must >rad- t J an idee- ries ;cm- nt a ay at p.m. are Jibe azos for- ctor sci- ^vo- ^01 -ist’ fea- jnd ■ ilia of =oro- The Battalion SPORTS Tuesday, March 21,1989 Ags retain No.l ranking A&M football enters new era as Slocum begins spring drills By Jerry Bolz ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR Nearly midway through Texas A&M’s baseball season the Aggies find themselves on top of the college polls for the fourth consecutive week. The Aggies (26-1) edged out Lousiana State (22-3) in the ESPN- /Collegiate Baseball poll and Missis sippi State (11-3) in the Baseball America poll. A&M suffered its only defeat of the season Sunday in a 5-3 loss to Oklahoma State, who moved up one spot to No. 10 in the ESPN poll with a 14-3 mark. The Aggies record-setting 26- game win streak was stopped by the Cowboys at the Dixie Classic tourna ment in Shreveport, La. A&M had defeated Northwestern Louisiana and Southwestern Lous iana in their other two games of the tournament. The 2-1 record in the Classic gave A&M an 8-1 record over the spring break period. ESPN/Collegiate Baseball Top 30 Poll Team Record 1.Texas A&M 26-1 2.LSD 22-3 3.Wichita St. 18-1 4.Texas 27-6 5.Miami, Fla. 20-6 6.Arizona 22-8 7.Arizona St. 23-8 8.California 21-5 9.Miss. St. 11-3 lO.Okla. St. 14-3 11. Long Beach 24-3 12.S. Florida 21-5 13.San Jose St. 24-3 14.Clemson 16-2 15.Houston 27-2 16.Fullerton St. 17-6 17. Arkansas 16-4 18.USC 23-9 19. Florida 19-8 20.Fresno St. 17-10 21 Fla. St. 20-8 22.Georgia Tech 14-6 23.UNLV 22-7 24.Jacksonville 18-3 25.Oklahoma 9-5 26.Notre Dame 10-4 27.SW Louisiana 26-6 28.Nicholls St. 21-2 29.Michigan 6-4 30.Auburn 17-6 The Aggies won all six games they played in their Aggie Invitational March 11-14. The University of Texas (27-6) fell from No. 2 to No. 4 in ESPN’s poll after losing a game to Wichita State. The Shockers (18-1) jumped from tenth to third after posting an 8-0 mark during the week. The University of Miami of Flor ida moved from sixth to Fifth while last week’s No. 5 Mississippi State dropped to No. 9. Arizona and Arizona State each moved up two spots to take hold of the No. 6 and No. 7 positions of the poll. Pacific 10 Conference rival Cali fornia fell from seventh to eighth. Two other Southwest Conference teams remained in the top 30 in the poll. Houston jumped from No. 20 to No. 15, goine 8-0 The Aggies rest this week before travelling to Lubbock to open their SWC season against Texas Tech Fri day and Saturday. A new era in Texas A&M football began Monday evening as new A&M Head Coach R.C. Slocum began spring football drills with a rain- shortened workout at Kyle Field. The Aggies were able to get in about 45 minutes of work before be ing forced into the locker room by lightning. The players split into groups by position and concluded the session with meetings with their respective coaches. Slocum said he was happy with the first day despite the problems with the weather. “I was pleased with the first day,” Slocum said. “There was a lot of en thusiasm on both the coaches’ and the players’ part. We managed to get some things accomplished, but we were afraid to take chances with the lightning.” Slocum had been defensive coor dinator for A&M for nine of the last 10 seasons and apparently found it tough to break the habit of working with the defensive unit when prac tice began. With the offensive and defensive units on opposite ends of the field, Slocum walked on the field and be gan to move toward the defense. He then paused and apparently remem bered that he no longer has that re sponsibility. “I guess maybe that’s out of ha bit,” he said. “ It’s a little different in a superior’s role. It’s different to watch the other coaches with the players.” The first practice also ushered in the A&M careers of six new assistant coaches for Slocum’s staff. Slocum completed his staff last week by hir ing former Willowridge High School head coach John Pearce as a tight ends coach. Pearce will team with new offensive coordinator and quar terbacks coach Bob Toledo to install a multiple offense which is expected to feature the passing game. Toledo comes to A&M from Ore gon where he coached a unit which racked up some impressive passing yardage while rising out of the cellar of the Pacific Ten Conference to be come competitive. Questions at quarterback and the inside linebacker positions will be the main personnel concerns for Slo cum who is also expected to install a new offense with more emphasis on the passing game. Junior Lance Pavlas enters the spring listed as the starter ahead of senior Chris Osgood. Sophomore Kent Petty and junior Bucky Rich ardson, who is recovering from a se vere knee injury, follow Osgood on the depth chart. The Aggies, who finished 7-5 last year, will continue spring drills through April 20 with workouts Monday through T hursday of each week. The practices are open to the public. Despite losing another 4 big one% Aggies deserve to be No.l It’s easy to be skeptical about anything, induding sports teams. That’s why it has been easy for me to listen to Texas A&M baseball fans insist that their previously unbeaten Aggies were only that way because of an easy schedule. It’s understandable. A&M sports’ fans are serious, and they want the Aggies to win every game. The baseball fans aren’t skeptical because they are ragging on the team, it’s because they care how the team looks to the rest of the state and nation. Well, good news fans, the Aggies pass. Now, 27 games into the season (about half of the regular season), another set of skeptics voice themselves — those that think Mark Johnson’s Aggies can’t win the big game. So, what about this loss to Oklahoma State — the big one. For Aggies, the game could have been like a world-class sprinter tripping just before the finish line. Or a basketball player . Jerry 'nr—> # Bolz Assistant Sports Editor missing a last-second shooting attempt at winning a game. But it wasn’t — at least not for the team. It was more like a stumble at the 50-meter mark before turning on the juice to win the race. Aggie fans are a different story. Losing to Oklahoma State is serious. OSU has been the A&M baseball nemesis the last two seasons, and that’s the kind of tradition A&M fans don’t want. So losing to the Cowboys while having a 26-game winning streak stopped is woefully wrenching to A&M fans. But the worst part of it is that the skepticism is back. It shouldn’t be. The Aggies whizzed through 26 wins and only had to pull the game out in their last at-bat three times. That’s amazing! “But we didn’t play anybody with a decent chance of beating us,” the argument goes. That’s not true. In college or any level of baseball, it doesn’t matter who you play — you will lose sooner or later. And somewhere near 100 percent of the time, you will lose before the 27th game. Look at the Texas Longhorns this year. They are always powerful, and there’s no doubt they will be in their own NCAA regional playoffs again this year. But the Longhorns have lost games this year to Texas Lutheran and Texas- Arlington, as well as Notre Dame — none of which are noted baseball powers. It happens to the best of teams. Even the Cowboys have lost three games. So for any A&M fan still skeptical of the Aggies, it’s time to face the pleasant facts — A&M has a great baseball team and they are no fluke. For example, the Aggies showed their strength in the Aggie Invitational at Olsen Field. They won two games each against Kentucky, Iowa and Maine over four days. But it is the depth of A&M’s roster that was most impressive in winning these games. Freshman Travis Williams replaced Southwest Conference-leading hitter John Byington after Byington injured his back in the first game. Williams hit .591 (13 of 22) the next five games and won the most valuable player award for the tourney. When you look at the roster, it’s hard to find a weak link anywhere. The Aggies are fit and trim everywhere. It’s hard to believe, but A&M has put together a team that is able to beat anyone in the country. The skepticism can stop now. The supposed “jinx” that Oklahoma State and other teams (like Texas) have over the Aggies isn’t worth mentioning. The team certainly wasn’t skeptical of themselves during their record win streak. But they knew the day would come when it would end. So, they say, “Oh well” and sigh in relief of the lifted pressure that accompanied the streak. Pressing on, the Aggies will have an attitude of mortality derived by experience. They know they are for real the same way they know OSU is for real. But they won’t be afraid of losing. And, hopefully, diehard Aggie fans — just a little skeptical for fear of A&M’s streak ending — won’t be hindered by that any longer. Spring 89 Workshops ARTS & CRAFTS Basket Weaving Wed, Mar 29 - April 19 6:30-9pm $ 16/student Calligraphy II: Wed, April 5 - May 3 7-9pm $ 18/student Stained Glass: Wed, Mar 22, 29, April 5, 12, 19 6-9pm $25/student Etched Glass: Tues, March 28 6- 9pm $10/student Matting & Framing: Wed, Mar 22, 29, April 5, 12 7- 9pm $25/student Counted Cross Stitch: Mon, March 20, 27, April 3, 10, 17 7-9pm $15 class fee Embroidery : Tues, April 4, 11, 18, 25, May 2 6-9pm $20 class fee Jewelry Construction Seminar: Sat. & Sun. March 25 & 26 9am-12noon & l-4pm each day $38/student Jewelry Casting Seminar: Sat. & Sun. April 8 & 9 9am-12noon & l-4pm each day $38/student Watercolor: Thurs, March 23, 6-8:30pm Saturday, March 25, 10am-3pm Tues, March 28, 6-8:30pm Thurs, April 20, 6-8:30pm Saturday, April 22, 10am-3pm Tues, April 25, 6-8:30pm $18/student Drawing in Color: Mon, April 3, 10, 17, 24, May 1 6-9pm $25/student Pottery - Wheel Throwing: Thurs, Mar 23 - April 27 5-7pm Thurs, Mar 23 - April 27 7:30-9:30pm $25/student LANGUAGES American Sign Language: M/W, Mar 20 - April 19 $2 5/student Conversational Spanish: T/Th, March 21 - April 27 8-9:30pm $25/student Int Conv Spanish: T/Th, March 21 - April 27 6:30-8pm $25/student English As A Second Language: M/W, Mar 20 - April 19 6-9pm $25/student COOKING Authentic Mexican Cooking : Wed, March 22, 29, April 5, 12, 19 6-9pm $32 Class fee Survival Cooking: Tues, March 21, 28, April 4, 11, 18 6-9pm $32 Class fee Ethnic Cooking: Mon, March 20, 27, April 3, 10 6- 9pm $25 Class fee PLANTS Home Landscaping: Tues, Mar 21- April 18 7- 9:30pm $20/student Herb Gardening: Tues, Mar 28, April 4 6-8pm $8/student ?ECIAL INTEREST Auto Mechanics: Thurs, March 23, 30, April 6, 13, 20 7-9pm $18/student Bike Maintenance: Tues, Mar 21, 28, April 4, 11, 18 7-9pm $ 16/student Intermediate Guitar: T/Th, March 21 - April 18 8:30-10pm $23/student CPR: M/W, Mar 20 & 22 6-10pm $ 10/student M/W, April 17 & 19 6-10pm $ 10/student Personal Safety & Self Defense M/W, April 10 & 12 6- 8pm $ 12/student Yoga: T/Th, Mar 21 - April 27 $20/student Wine Appreciation II: Wed, March 22, 29, April 5, 12 7- 8:30pm $25/student Bartending: M/W, April 3 - May 3 7-10pm $36/student Potpourri: Thurs, April 6, 13 6-8pm $12/student PHOTOGRAPHY Beginning Photography: Mon, March 20, 27, April 3, 10 6- 9pm $22 class fee The Visual Art Of Photography: Thurs, March 23, 30, April 6, 13 7- 9pm $ 17/student Beginning Black & White Darkroom: Tues, Mar 21, 28, April 4 6-9pm $25/student WOODWORKING Decoy Carving: Tues, Mar 21, 28 April 4, 11 6:30-9:30pm $25/student Beginning Woodworking: Thurs, Mar 23, 30, April 6, 13 6:30-9pm $2 7/student Int. Woodworking - Jewelry Boxes: Sun, Mar 26, April 2, 9, 16, 23. 30 6-9pm $20/student Wooden Toys: Mon, March 27, April 3, 10, 17, 24 6-8pm $ 18/student BUSINESS Career Counseling: Thurs, Mar 23, 30, April 6, 13 6-8pm $14/student Business Etiquette M/W, April 3, 5, 10, 12, 17, 19 6:30-8pm $10/student Interviewing: Thurs, March 9 OR Thurs, April 27 6-9pm $8/student Resume Writing: Thurs, March 2 OR Thurs, April 20 6-9pm $8/student Register Now ! 845-1631