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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 12, 1989)
E he Battalion PORTS 7 uesday, September 12,1989 in Bei in A&i! Univci. e Oftlij 'ho wji scuerf Tianac. 'eakerii md wi he mas. tips il inter. ieratiti ieotape ure re Ags drop to No. 22 after weekend upset FROM STAFF & WIRE REPORTS SEATTLE (AP) — Texas A&M dropped seven spots to No, 22 in the Associated Press poll yistir day after a HLd defeat by the University ©f Washington. Washington eoaeh Don James, whose I9o4 team finished run ner-up to national champion BYU, was happy after his team's season-opening victory Saturday. But he said experience has showed him that rankings are only important at the end of the season. "It’s a little bit early to worry about polls,” James said. "I! we would have lost, we wouldn't have been ranked.” He said it was understandable the nation’s voters took notice oi Washington. A&M defeated Louisiana State in its own opener the previous week. “We beat a highly visible team that had a great win under their belts,” he said. When Washington State beat Brigham Young fa§t week, first- year coach Mike Price Jokingly suggested the Cougars deserved to be ranked No. I because ihey were the only 2-0 team in die na tion. Yesterday, Price’s Cougars were 23rd in The Associated Press college football poll. “I’m disappointed,” he said tongue in cheek. “Our 24-hour ranking as No. 1 didn’t come through Friday.” Price took over a Washington State team that went 9-3 and heat Houston in the Aloha Bowl last season under Dennis Erickson. Erickson left after See Poll/Page 8 Lady Ags see action By Richard Tijerina Of The Battalion Staff For the Texas A&M Lath Aggies volleyball team, it’s been a case of home sweet home. At least for now. Texas A&M, who has played ai Lady Aggie Update i Today? A&M plays die Sam Hous- rm State LadyKats tonight at &:30 • ton state Lady 0 .._ in G. Roliie White Coliseum. • Record: 1-3. • Next game: Buckeye Invitational in Columbus, Ohio on Sept. 15-lb. A&M plays Iowa State at 5 p.m. Fri day, with Saturday’s consolation and championship matches sei for 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. (CST) home for the first two weeks of the 1989 season, finishes a five-match homestand tonight against Sam Houston State in a 7:30 match at G. Roliie White Coliseum. After tonight, the Laclv Aggies hit the road to compete in the Buckeye Invitaional Sept. 15-16 in Columbus, Ohio. The Lady Aggies (1-3) won sec ond place in last weekend's Reebok- /Hampton Inn Invitational. Yvonne Van Brandt and Krista Hierltol/.er were named to the all-touniament team, with Van Brandi claiming Mom Valuable Player honors, Van Brandt broke Chris Xogaia's career school-assist leader Friday niglii, With 104 assists so far this sea son. Van Brandt now litis 2.996 as sists during her career at A&M. I he Lady Aggies hold a 20-4 edge in the series with Sam Houston State (5-5). including their last three. A&M Coach Al Givens, who used several of his less experienced play ers in last weekend's tournament, said he isn’t afraid to keep experi menting until he finds the combina tion that will win. “Depth isn’t a problem this veur." Givens said. “We want to huri v up and find a lineup that we can go with from here.” Photo by Jay Janner Krista Hierholzer and Monika Daniels will try to get the Lady Aggies on the winning track against Sam Houston tonight. ;s John McEnroe may be back, but does the tennis world care? KS it Doe comitit ig WOE inequii :s, lat sco: nips dfy 198i ige sco; pie, aatli [its sa er :nt AP) on : Note laker 1 heai fight Yes world, Mac is back. It was a little more than ten years ago the young tennis star who had pimples and a red bandana around a big haircut emerged from out of the pack to become the sport’s next dominant player, causing the early retirement of Sweden’s Bjorn Borg. Ten years later, John McEnroe finds himself in a similar position — fighting to emerge from a pack of talented players to become the sport’s next No. 1. In his two-year hiatus from the sport, which he took because he needed time off from tennis to raise a family and attend some Los Angeles Lakers games, tennis suffered — no longer having McBrat to criticize or marvel at. Wimbledons now seemed boring, and tennis was without its loudest champion. But in his absence, new stars emerged. Ivan Lendl, McEnroe's longtime bridesmaid in the early 1980s, matured and has been the sport’s top player since 1985. Boris Becker, the wunderboy f rom West Germany, came out of nowhere to capture three Wimbledon championships and one U.S. Open 4 f Richard < djif Tijerina —— Assistant Sports Editor Stefan Edberg, when consistent, became one of two dominant players from Sweden. The other was Mats Wilander, who had the No. 1 ranking last year but has since suffered from “McEnroitus” — premature burnout from the game of tennis. Now McEnroe’s back, or so thev sav. He actually has been hack for two \ ears, but has been beaten so badly bv so many average placet s that some are wondering if he can ever recapture the form that made him so good. In his first two years hack from his sabbatical. McEnroe’s game suffered. First-round losses at the U.S. Open. Second-round losses at Wimbledon. Injuries. Temper tantrums. McEtcetera, McEtcetera, McEtcetera. But this year has been a pivotal one for McEnroe. He won three tournaments and saw his ranking soar to No. 4 — his highest since he quit tennis in 1985. He has lost only five times in 1989. Coming off his third tournament victory of the year in Indianapolis, his hopes were high coming into the Open. But a second-round loss to the 1 14th best men’s player in the world gave McEnroe a shot of reality: Though he’s advanced far in his comeback to regain the No. 1 ranking, he still has far to go. He’s regained most of the serve-and- volley game that made him so dominant, and he’s even regained the anger that made him a genius on the court. But McEnroe has someyvhat mellowed with age and fatherhood, and now he must seek the consistency that will allow him to play yvell against the Lendls, Beckers and Edbexgs. Surely, he has seen the future of men’s tennis — and it does not include John McEnroe. At 30, his competitive playing days are nearing their end. He will get even better, and his doubles championship in this year’s Open, the first championship of any kind in a Grand Slam event since 1984, suggests he’s on the verge of being a Grand Slam force again next year. All he has to do is stay healthy. Jimmy Connors, like his former fiancee Chris Evert, is ready to retire. Connors has to know the writing’s on his wall when trainers now must feed him fluids intraveneously after matches. Lendl too is approaching the age where he’s going to become heatable. Becker’s triumph over him Sunday was the first danger sign. Wilander has vanished from the game. He’s admitted he’s bored with the sport and that he only prepares for the Grand Slam '• tournaments. Goodbye, Mats. Edberg is young, talented and ready to * become a dominant force. Becker is young, talented and already j has become a dominant force. i « That leaves a couple of young Americans: to pick up the slack from aging heroes McEnroe and Connors — Andre Agassi and Michael Chang. Agassi, the stonewashed wonder who } had such a dominating year in 1988, and } Chang, who became the y oungest French - Open champion in history in 1989, are major forces in the game. But they’re not even old enough vet to be- watching twenty something, and are a few years away from realistically beating the top players consistently. McEnroe may he hack, hut he's learned a harsh lesson: Although the tennis world missed him while he was gone, they didn't - wait for him. Now, it's ready to leave him behind. Where have you gone, Bjorn Borg? ‘ StfiT: pi H-C— Wood- the? ic nui ith ie trea; / pact : Satur lormal dshe ’eresa e inter- tion day loctoii :ght lx devo dyinf 1 Peaft Medd J.S. o it. 3, Make the grade with perfect spelling. Introducing the Ready Reference™ Spell-Checker from Texas Instruments. Imagine what a difference you’d make in your grades if every term paper, test or assignment was spelled perfectly. seconds. jjjf >' Better get your hands on the Ready Reference™ Spell- Checker from Texas Instruments. It can help get you out of a jam by finding the correct spelling of over 93,000 words in seconds. 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