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Sports
Tuesday, March 10, 1992.
The Battalion
Page 7
STEVE
O'BRIEN
Sportswriter
SWC basketball
must improve
national image
T he Southwest Conference basket
ball tournament begins Friday
and the whining has already be
gun.
The SWC is too weak in basketball.
The loss of the Arkansas Razorbacks
has taken away the conference's televi
sion appeal. Houston and Texas, the
two top teams in the league, can't even
find a place in the Top 25.
It's not that you're wrong if you
whine about the current situation in
SWC basketball. Actually, you're right
in every way.
The conference is on shaky ground
it seems.
Dallas' Reunion Arena and the
tournament may be on the last leg of a
long-standing relationship if all of the
event's 11,000 tickets aren't sold. As of
Sunday, 2,700 tickets needed to be sold
to keep the tournament at Reunion in
1993.
When Arkansas was still part of the
conference, athletic departments
weren't worried about selling tickets
— fans were worried about being able
to buy them.
But in some instances, conference
games were easier to watch then, be
cause, believe it or not, there were con
ference games on national television.
From national TV and conference
tournament sellouts to whining. The
conference is basically a joke.
But even though you might be
right if you're whining, you're still just
whining.
There is a more positive approach
to it all. And it's fairly simple. The
conference needs a dominant team.
Every sport, (SWC basketball is a sport
if you were wondeijp^g) has to have an
See O’Brien/Page 8
Men’s tennis set for new win streak
Team faces Illinois today; prepares for Southwest Conference play
By Doug Foster
The Battalion
Texas A&M men's tennis coach David
Kent said he would like to give his young
team a little bit more playing time before
opening up their Southwest Conference
schedule.
Kent will get that chance today when
his Aggie squad, now 9-2 on the season,
hosts the University of Illinois at 2 p.m. at
the Omar Smith Tennis Center.
A&M is a team with a small amount
of experience, Kent said, and the match
with Illinois is a chance to get more expe
rience before taking on conference foes.
"We're starting three freshman and a
sophomore," Kent said. "Our freshman
are getting experience and are improving
every match.
"We need this match against Illinois
desperately after losing some close
matches in the Corpus tournament."
The Aggies suffered their first two
losses of the season to Colorado and
Clemson last weekend in the H.E.B. Team
Championships in
Corpus Christi after
opening the season
with eight straight
victories.
Kent said the Illi-
ni would give the
Aggies a tough
match, and that this
was a good chance to
find out how A&M
could compete
Kent against tougher
teams.
"We've got a good team, but a lot of
other people have good teams too," he
said. "They always have a tough team,
and we will have our hands full with
them.
"One thing that makes them tough is
that they have players from all over the
nation and the world. They have players
from France and from all over the United
States, and they are all quality players.
Despite the youth on the team, Kent
said he has had some quality play from
some of the younger guys, as well as
some solid leadership from his veterans.
"Our No. 1 player, Mark Weaver, has
just been sensational," Kent said. "He's
just a sophomore, and he's one of the best
players I've seen here in a long time.
He's already beaten people who are
ranked in the top 25 nationally.
"We've also had some great play
from Doug Brown, who is a senior," Kent
added. "He's our captain, and we get
great leadership from him playing in the
No. 2 spot. He's a sensational player and
See Tennis/Page 8
Slocum fills open
coaching position
The Battalion News Services
Texas A&M head football coach
R. C. Slocum named Bill Johnson as
the Aggies' new defensive line coach
Monday.
Johnson, a defensive line coach at
Arkansas during the 1990 and 1991
season, was hired to replace Greg
Mattison, A&M's defensive line
coach who accepted a coaching posi-'
tion in February at the University of
Michigan.
Slocum said Johnson is an excel
lent recruiter and will make an im
portant addition to the A&M staff.
"I've been impressed with his
coaching abilities," Slocum said. "If
you saw our game with Arkansas,
you know the defensive line played
extremely well."
Aggies look to redeem
losses today vs. Lamar
The Battalion News Services
The Texas A&M baseball team has a chance to re
deem itself.
A&M hosts the Lamar Cardinals at 7 p.m. today at
Olsen Field. Left-hander Jay Hogue (0-0,1.00 ERA) takes
the mound for A&M, and right-hander Stephen West
brook (1-1, 3.52) takes the hill for Lamar.
The Aggies (13-7) lost both ends of a Saturday dou
bleheader to the Baylor Bears after winning the series
opener on Friday night.
The two losses dropped A&M to 5-4 in SWC stand
ings and pushed them out of the college baseball's Top
30 for the first time since April 15,1991.
The Aggies hold a!9-3 series advantage over Lamar
(12-6) that dates back to 1972, and last year when the two
teams met, A&M swept a twinbill from the Cardinals in
Beaumont.
A&M head coach Mark Johnson said tonight's game
will give the Aggies a chance to prepare for their next
Southwest Conference series against Texas Tech this
weekend at Olsen Field.
The Cardinals are coached by Jim Gilligan, who
served as coach at Lamar from 1973-86, leading his team
to seven Southland Conference champiftnships and si*
NCAA regional playoff appearances.
Gilligan is in the first year of his second stint at
Lamar. His overall record is 516-305.
DARREN HILL/The Battalion
A&M coach Mark Johnson argues with umpires
during the Aggies’s win over Baylor last Friday.
A&M's Russo joins
SWC second team
The Battalion News Services
A&M senior Dena Russo was named to the All-
Southwest Conference second team by a vote of the
eight head women's basketball coaches, the conference
office released Monday.
Russo led the Lady Aggies in scoring and rebound
ing this season with an average of 13.8 points a game
and 7.2 rebounds a game. Against the University of
Texas in Austin, she went 11-for-ll in the second half
and scored the game-winning layup to give A&M its
first victory over Texas in 14 years, 74-73.
The Friendswood native scored 25 or more points in
four games this season. She was honored as SWC co-
Player of the Week and national player of the week by
Sports Illustrated.
Russo came back this year after doctors told her she
could not continue her basketall career because of a
painful knee condition.
The members of the first team include Sheryl
Swoopes of Texas Tech, Evenda Barnes of Rice, Cinietra
Henderson of Texas, Krista Kirkland of Tech and
LaShawn Johnson of Houston.
Russo joins LaNita Luckey of Baylor, Fey Meeks of
Texas, Darla Simpson of Houston and Johnna Pointer of
Texas on the second team.
Swoopes was not only named SWC Player of the
Year but also named Newcomer of the Year.
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
Texas A&M University
Department Of Recreational Sports &
Sports Officials Association
date: March 10 and 11, 1992
place: Rudder Fountain
TIME: 9:00 A.M. TO 3:00 RM.
General Motors and GMAC Financial Services are pleased to be associated
with your campus’ "GM Auto Expo."
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Department of Speech
Communication
and TAMG Debate Society
presents
PUBLIC FORUM DEBATE
Resolved: The Congress should retaliate
against countries, like Japan,
that have restrictive trade
policies.
DATE:
TIME:
PLACE:
Wednesday, March 11, 1992
7:00 p.m.
601 Rudder
Come and voice your opinion!
TOTAL
TEST
PREPARATION
GMAT
MG AT
Grad School Selection
& Application
Assistance
EDUCATIONAL GROUP
College Station • (409) 764-8303