7
The Battalion
SPORTS
Friday, May 5,1989
Road to SWC title goes thru A&M
Ags, Hogs in crucial series to decide conference championship
By Richard Tijerina
ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR
All roads to a Southwest Confer
ence championship go through Col
lege Station this year.
Heading into their final three
Southwest Conference games of the
season against each other, the Texas
A&M baseball team and the Arkan
sas Razorbacks are neck-and-neck
for the conference lead.
With Arkansas (43-8,16-2) hold
ing a one-game lead over the Aggies
(48-4,15-3) in conference play, both
teams have their eyes set on the con
ference title.
For Arkansas, it would be their
first SWC championship. It also
would be the first time a team other
than A&M, Texas or Texas Chris
tian has won a conference
championship.
To win or share that title, all Ar
kansas has to do is avoid getting
swept by the Aggies. A calculator be
comes necessary "when figuring all
the possiblities that can come out of
this weekend’s series.
If the Aggies sweep the Razor-
backs, A&M wins the title outright.
If the Aggies win two of three games
this weekend, the two teams would
share the crown as co-champions.
The Aggies would be the number-
one seed in the SWC tournament,
which is being held this year in Col
lege Station, because they would
Aggie Update I
• What: A&M meets Arkansas for a
three game series.
• Records: A&M is 48-4 (15-3), Ar
kansas is 43-8 (16-2).
• Ranking: A&M is second, Arkan
sas is fifth.
• When: Tonight at 7. Double-
header Saturday starting at 2 p.m.
• Where: C.E. “Pat” Olsen Field.
• TV/Radio: Home Sports Enter
tainment will televise Saturday’s
doubleheader. 1240 KTAM-AM will
broadca ree games.
have won the season series between
the two teams.
If the Razorbacks sweep the Ag
gies, Arkansas becomes the confer
ence champions. If Arkansas wins
two of three, they still win the
championship on the basis of having
a better SWC record than the Ag-
gies.
However, conference title picture
becomes cloudy if one or more of
the games this weekend are rained
out.
Alan Cannon, A&M sports infor
mation director, said any games not
played because of the weather will be
made up Sunday afternoon. If, for
any reason, the games cannot be
made up, the conference title will be
decided on how many of the games
were played and who won them.
• If the Aggies win one game and
no other games are played or made
up, the two teams become co-cham
pions and A&M receives the top
seed.
• If the Razorbacks win one game
and no other games are played or
made up, Arkansas wins the confer
ence title outright.
• If the Aggies win two games
and no other games are played or
made up, A&M wins the title out
right.
• If the Razorbacks win two
games and no other games are
played or made up, Arkansas wins
the title outright.
Cannon said Southwest Confer
ence rules don’t allow more than two
games to be played on the same day.
The extended weather forecast
for this weekend includes the possi
bility of rain both Friday and Satur
day.
Friday is expected to be cloudy,
becoming partly cloudy in the af
ternoon, with a 40 percent chance of
showers and thunderstorms.
Saturday is expected to continue
to be cloudy and warm with a 30 per
cent chance of thunderstorms.
The Aggies’ last conference
championship was in 1986, when
thev were co-champions with Texas.
The Aggies’ last outright
championship came in 1978.
The Aggies were ranked second
nationally in Monday’s ESPN/Colle
giate Baseball. Arkansas was ranked
fifth.
Bob Wiatt, director of security
and University Police, said security
measures discussed after the A&M-
Texas series earlier this year will be
enforced at this weekend’s series.
Students will not be allowed to
consume alcoholic beverages either
See Aggies/Page 9
Lady Ag netters get bid
to NCAA tournament
FROM STAFF & WIRE REPORTS
The Texas A&M women’s ten
nis team Thursday received a bid
to the post-season NCAA tourna
ment in Gainesville, Fla. May 10-
14.
It is the first time the Lady Ag
gies have been invited to the tour-
a]m
nament as a team since 1986,
Bobby Kleinecke’s first year as
head coach at A&M.
The Lady Aggies are seeded
19th in the 20-team field and
open tournament play May 10
against 14th-seed Arizona. The
winner meets third seed UCLA
Mav 1 1.
Kleinecke said it was an honor
to be invited to the tournament,
but he thought it was possible the
Lady Aggies wouldn’t receive a
bid.
“We’re elated to be in,” Klei
necke said. “We were right on the
border. We were beating people
right behind us in the polls, but
were worried about w-hether we’d
actually make it or not."
Kleinecke said he hopes this
year’s tournament appearance is
the first of many for his Lady Ag-
gies.
“Our goal is to be there (at the
NCAA tournament) on a regular
basis,” he said. “We want this to
be a regular feeling. Arizona will
be a tough match for us, but a
winnable match.”
The top three seeds for the
tournament are Stanford, Florida
and UCLA. Texas is the number
13 seed. Texas and A&M are the
only Southwest Conference teams
invited to the tournament.
The Pacific-10 conference led
the way with six bids as UCLA,
Stanford, Cal-Berkeley, USC,
Arizona and Arizona State will be
competing in Gainseville.
A&M baseballers can bury the Aggie Choke by beating Hogs
Send away the women and children.
Hide your valuables.
Lock your refrigerators.
Aggieland will be laid seige to once again.
After successfully defending their top
national ranking from the raiding
Longhorn hordes, Coach Mark Johnson’s
Aggies are boiling oil and sharpening
arrows to defend the keep and castle of the
Southwest Conference championship.
And, once again, it won’t be easy.
It’s going to take a sweep to wrest the
conference title from the Hogs, two wins
just to tie. A tall order if it were just another
series with the Razorbacks. To make a Curt
Gowdy-ish understatement: This isn’t just
another series.
It’s a big to-do when A&M and Arkansas
tangle. A&M’s last outright conference
championship (1978) came at Arkansas’
Tom
Kehoe
Sports Editor
expense. Both teams entered the series in
Fayetteville with 17-4 records. The Aggies
promptly took the first two games to secure
the title.
But that was 11 years ago.
Since then Texas has won nine titles
outright and shared just one (with A&M).
That’s not going to happen this year. The
Horns have six losses and are eliminated
from any chance of making it 11 in a row.
The king is dead. But who will claim his
throne?
On paper it’s a dead heat.
The Aggies lead the conference in
hitting. The Hogs lead in pitching. John
Byington’s batting average leads all SWC
hitters but Arkansas’ Bubba Carpenter is
right behind him. Seven of the top 10
hitters in the conference reside either in
College Station or Fayetteville.
But this series will be played on the green
grass of Olsen Field, not on paper.
And that’s where the problem could lie
for the Aggies.
Yes, it could be time for the dreaded
Aggie Choke.
Oh, THE Choke you say.
The same.
It’s unfortunate, but these things happen
in the sports world.
Greg Norman somehow always finds a
w'ay to snatch defeat from the jaws of
victory in the majors. Bjorn Borg never
could pull it off at the U.S. Open. The
Chicago Cubs: enough said.
Add to this sad list the Aggies’ ineptitude
for rising to the occasion and reaching the
pinnacle.
It’s happened all too often in the past.
The most recent attack of The Choke
occurred in Austin last year as A&M
dropped all three games to Texas. Despite
A&M winning its final six games, The
Choke paved the way for Texas to claim its
l()th consecutive crown.
It appeared to be rearing its ugly head
again this year as Texas took the first game
of the series here and appeared to be in the
driver’s seat, enroute to another sweep,
until John Byington put the brakes on the
Horns with his ninth-inning heroics.
The Choke had been stilled. With two
heart-stopping home runs, Byington
turned his back on one of the less popular
Aggie traditions.
And it happened on grass, not paper.
Ignore history and The Choke.
Hope that Byington and Jim Neumann
didn’t exhaust the thunder from their bats
in Houston. Hope that Scot Centala’s sole
bad pitch of an outing doesn’t end up on
the intramural fields.
And hope the Aggies bury The Choke’s
corpse this weekend.
An Invitation to Luxury...
The Jewelry Express Card
S N
NATIONAL JEWELERS CREDIT ASSOCIATION. LTD.
000 000 000
S I SMITH BANK = ONE
\ ^
The Jewelry Express Card...Sheer Brilliance!
Join an exclusive membership with benefits you richly deserve...
•Instant Credit-up to $5,000
•No annual card fees
•30 day grace period billing
•No down payment required on purchases
•Minimum monthly payment of $10 or 5%
of the outstanding balance
•Revolving credit line
MARQUISE
Carat
Our Price
Compare at
2.04
$12,570
$$25,000
1.67
5,875
12,200
1.35
3,100
5,800
1.23
3,350
6,395
1.10
3,650
6,650
1.04
2,850
5,200
.98
2,475
4,395
.79
2,095
3,875
.72
2,325
3,895
.71
2,195
4,095
.71
2,050
3,995
.70
2,390
4,250
.70
1,995
3,450
.68
1,890
3,650
.64
1,385
3,495
.62
695
1,195
.55
985
1,895
.54
1,490
2,795
.52
1,050
2,295
.50
1,275
2,295
.48
1,225
2,250
.46
1,160
2,195
.39
875
1,595
.35
595
995
PRINCESS/RADIENT/
EMERALD
Carat
Our Price
Compare at
1.02
$2,150
3,95
.99
2,950
$5,495
.81
2,385
4,395
.73
1,975
3,750
.62
1,475
2,495
.52
1,325
2,450
.47
695
1,195
.33
395
750
•Optional Customer Account Protection protects
your account for loss of income from: unemploy
ment, disability, death, and loss or damage of
jewelry: up to $5,000
•90 days same-as-cash on initial purchase (mini
mum monthly payment required)
Carat
PEAR
Our Price
Compare
2.14
5,850
$9,950
1.82
5,095
9,350
1.75
5,775
9,925
1.43
3,780
7,250
1.24
3,925
7,400
1.21
3,750
7,100
1.01
2,675
4,995
.72
1,985
3,850
.71
1,965
3,800
.64
1,295
2,395
.64
875
1,495
.62
1,485
2,395
.60
1,250
2,295
.58
995
1,795
.52
665
1,195
.51
1,240
2,350
.48
1,160
2,150
Carat
HEART
Our Price
Compare at
.75
$1,785
$3,395
.58
1,375
2,495
.51
1,395
2,495
Carat
OVAL
Our Price
Compare at
2.11
$4,950
$9,250
1.61
5,875
10,200
1.11
2,850
5,495
1.10
1,450
2,650
1.03
2,875
. 5,395
.99
2,450
4,350
.71
1,450
2,200
.62
1,475
2,350
.58
1,095
1,995
.58
1,350
2,200
.53
1,325
2,200
.51
1,175
2,150
.50
1,050
1,995
TEXAS COIN EXCHANGE
Jewelry Repair on the Premises
846-8916 846-8905
404 University Drive
Behind Shellenbergers
Texas Ave.
&
V)
S3
■ >
c
D
Texas 6
★ Texas Coin Exchange
Texas A&M
BOTHER’S
BOOKSTORE
We buy ALL books!
(textbooks, paperbacks, studyguides, schuams outlines, cliff notes)
Don’t Be Overwhelmed
With Your Used Books!
Bring them to Pother’s and
Spin to Win on our Wheel of Fortune!
20% discount • free T-shirts
50% discount • $5 00 free merchandise
10% more cash
OPEN LATE FINALS WEEK
340 Jersey 901 Harvey Rd.
Across from University Police Woodstone Shopping Center