ebruary 12,1931 Scott McCullar cm THE W/1K HVtlS TILL GOIHQ > GOINS ANP... 1 Kowalski r Cardinal? io, ftt/Dby...! 60tT [HeiA Pi cm ‘MU. lots jges for 1990, uplc sase. Hunt said, calls for 4 percen: oss all pilot scales a: ist this year and ir. io differences in tit e of A and B scak hie new contraa i get two weeks va during the firs e weeks until yeai r 23, Five until yeai lat. 91 p.m. MSC r_z3 XJOOOOOOO II Card DW 'day | ■, 1991\ iy Inn jj *xas Ave- o Station S • 5:00 p* 01 ! 0 o o vissionl l 3000°°°* Sports 7 Tuesday, February 12, 1991 The Battalion Sports Editor Alan Lehmann 845-2688 Focus anger toward SWC foes, not Wilson V^riticism is the key to improvement, and I criticized the Texas Aggie basketball team. But not with out a purpose in mind. On a bright, sunny September day in 1983, while a senior at Bishop Dunne High School in Dallas, I was given a failing progress report Crai WiIson from my trigo- nometry teacher. Sports Writer The day suddenly turned cloudy and dark as I envisioned the deep trouble awaiting my posterior (yes, even at age 17) later that day. After the worst basketball practice of my life, my buddy gave me a ride home. The house looked like a dark mansion in a gothic novel, fog and all the extras. For some reason, my parents were especially glad to see me that day, probably happy that their favorite child was Finally home from school. Upon telling my mother of my progress report she yelled a bit, as most teacher-parents do, and ordered me to tell my father. Sweat dripped from my brow, my legs wobbled and my chest tightened as I made the long walk down the hallway to His Room. The next thing I remembered was sitting on my bed, angrier than I ever have been in my entire life. My dad, a great and honorable man by my standards, cursed me, downed me, and told me to get out of his face. And the house shook as he said it. Furthermore, I was temporarily off the basketball team, in my senior year as team captain. As was usually the case, my mom talked him into letting me play ball again, but those hurtful words stayed right with me. They angered me to the point where I improved dramatically in class and made a B in the course. My dad eventually told me years later that his explosion was a lesson in motivation. iijtu. silt. See Wilson/Page 8 Williams set to lead Aggie charge Home opener today at 1 p.m. By Michelle Bergeron Of The Battalion Staff Travis Williams has no trouble with mak ing a catch on or off the diamond. Williams, Texas A&M’s third baseman and power hitter, admits that when he is not on the field, his favorite place to be is fishing. “Oh, I love to fish,” said Williams. “I usually try to go fishing at least once a weekend just to get away, either by myself or with a friend.” Williams won’t have a chance to fish this afternoon, though. He and the Aggies will be taking on Southwest Texas State in a 1 p.m. doubleheader at Olsen Field. A&M comes into the match with a 2-1 re cord after a three-game road trip to UT- Pan American over the weekend. The Ag gies are ranked 14th in the nation by Base ball America and 19th by Collegiate Base ball/ESPN. This drastic change of setting helps Wil liams prepare for his job on the field. Williams, who is ranked seventh among the nation’s collegiate third baseman by Baseball America, has been thrust into a leadership role this season. “I feel it’s going to be real important for me to step forward and assume the role as leader,” he said. Williams and fellow juniors Jason Mar shall and Trey Witte have seen extensive playing time since 1989. “We’re going to have to pull out all our experience and come through as leaders,” Williams said. Experience is not an area where Williams is lacking and he doesn’t feel the team lacks it either. “I don’t think we are going to be hurting in that aspect at all,” he said. “We have a real deep staff — great talent — and good team unity this year, and I think we have just as much experience as last year.” But Williams does admit to having mixed feelings about last season. “As far as the record went and our ac complishments, I thought it went alright,” he said. “But as far as when we got into con ference, I felt real disappointed.” Due to a late slump, the Aggies finished fifth in the Southwest Conference last sea son. Williams said it was a crushing blow not to make the conference or regional tourna ments. “The last two weeks after school was out, we had to stay here because we didn’t know J. JANNER/The Battalion A&M third baseman Travis Williams will get a chance to show some fancy glove-work today as the Ags face SW Texas St. at 1 p.m. at Olsen Field. said. “I was on a real good team, and we won the Alaskan League and also an inter national tournament in Hawaii.” One would think playing baseball like this year-round could make Williams feel cramped for time, but he quickly disagrees. “I haven’t got tired of it yet,” he said. “You can always find the time for the things you want to do and also take care of the business of baseball.” The wildlife and fisheries major said jug gling school and baseball is not as difficult as it might seem. See Williams/Page 8 if we were going to make the conference or regional tournaments,” he said. “We prac ticed hard for two weeks and I thought it built real good character in all of us. Then, to turn around and not make either tourna ment was very disappointing.” But, Williams got the opportunity to par ticipate in several tournaments while play ing summer basebell in Anchorage, Alaska. The avid outdoorsrnan said he loved it there, and although he was the only Aggie on his team, some Aggies also played on other teams in the league. X “It was a great experience for me and I got to see some beautiful country,” Williams Ladys seek win tonight By Craig Wilson The Battalion After beating the TCU Lady Horned Frogs, 81-70, Saturday, the Texas A&M Lady Aggies will try to make it two in a row Tuesday night against the SMU Lady Mustangs. The Lady Aggies (10-11, 5-6) will try to begin a winning streak at G. Rollie White Coliseum at 7:30 p.m. against the Lady Mustangs (8-13, 3-7), who the Lady Ags beat handily in Dallas, 83-70. Unfortunately, it will be under somber circumstances. Forward Dena Russo, who was a team spark plug as well as the second leading scorer for the Lady Ags, has decided to end her basketball career due to injury. Russo suffers from what doctors call heritable high-riding kneecaps on both legs. The position of her kneecaps puts a severe strain on her patellar tendons, causing inflammation and excruciating pain. Showing great courage, Russo played basketball continuously since surgery on both knees last August. However, doctors said the only way to lessen Russo’s pain is if she were to quit playing. The team and coaching staff, openly saddened by the decision, supports Russo fully. “Detia has made a very difficult but wise decision,” A&M head coach Lynn Hickey said, “and we are behind her 100 percent. “The doctors told her not to plav in August, but she gave it the old college try. If purple hearts were given out for basketball, she would deserve the medal more than anyone.” Russo, a 6-2 junior from Victoria, started every game this season for the Lady Aggies and averaged 13.7 points while leading the team in rebounding with 7.5 boards per contest. Sophomore Karey Janak will replace Russo in the lineup Tuesday. Janak is averaging 2.7 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. A&M is averaging 70.5 points a game this season, while giving up 71.6 points a contest. Yvonne Hill, the team’s leading scorer at 15.1 points per game, scored 20 points in the Lady Aggie victory Jan. 12. She also scored 18 points to lead A&M See Lady Ags/Page 8 INTERNSHIPS ?v IN v Ylondon ^ < & PARIsC^r^ Gain valuable experience in the fields of: Advertising, Marketing, Public Relations, the Arts, the Media, Psychology. Finance. Economics. Legal Systems, Politics, & 1990's European Economy & Politics PRE-LAW SOCIETY Meeting Wed. Jan. 13 / \ §! / \ 7:00 p.m. 226 MSC v ★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Isn’t tills a great ad? Sorry, but you missed it ... it was on radiol If you aren’t listening at the exact moment a commercial is aired on radio or t.v., you miss it. Not so with newspapers! People always find time to read their newspaper. That’s why newspaper advertising is the ideal selling tool for retailers. For advertising Information and rates, call The Battalion 848-8696 ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★ ies for good service and good prices for your Valentine Flowers dfcin a fQtoi.6.0m