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Sports
Ifday, March 27, 1992
The Battalion
Page 7
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CHRIS
WHITLEY
Assistant
Sports Editor
Tolar Bears'
jump at chance
to ski in March
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tivities.
•ne, first-
an entry
call the
D ff in the back corner of the
Brazos Valley, where man
rarely travels, sits Century
Lake.
This tranquil body of water rests
bff the beaten path, far away from
Civilization - from crowds, from
noise, and from smog.
For 363 days of the year, Century
Lake is a place to commune with na-
ure. But every March, the water ski
ing world visits the lake for two days.
The end result is a stiff competi
tion, a chilling experience, and what
water skiers from around the South
west call the biggest party on water.
It is more commonly known as the
A&M Polar Bear Water Skiing Tour
nament.
Over 160 skiers from schools in
Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Missis
sippi and Arkansas give up a week
end in the name of water skiing. Not
only that, but they also must face
some pretty cold water temperatures,
hence the name "Polar Bear."
Warm temperatures have glazed
the area this spring, but that doesn't
mean that people are flocking to
swimming pools, yet. It's still a little
nippy.
So the big question that must be
asked is, "Why would anyone in
their right mind get out in that cold
water, let alone get on a pair of skis
and be dragged off by a boat?"
Well, to become one of the few
who partake in this year's Polar Bear,
you have to be brave or insane, or
both.
Freshman and avid skier Chet
Lenox is putting on this event, and he
said part of the intrigu^ to the tourna
ment is the colder-than-average wa
ter.
"It's the best indication of a ski
er's dedication," Lenox said. "It has
nothing to do with ability. It's all
about loving the sport."
Stacy Keese, a freshman on
A&M's women's water skiing team,
said that skiing in the tournament
will be enjoyable, but participants
have to have the desire to do it.
"Well, the water is hardly bear
able," Keese said. "If you are a
diehard skier and you really want to
ski, you'll overlook the cold water.
You just want to do it."
But not all of it is mere devotion
to skiing. There is some pretty rough-
and-tumble action going on.
"You're really competing against
yourself," Lenox said. "There are in
dividual and team awards, and brag-
n rights are pretty hefty. This is
iggest tournament around."
Just Do It...
People who have skied for most
of their lives will say that the draw to
the sport is the exhilarating thrill of
zooming along at incredible speeds
with nothing separating man and wa
ter, but a thin piece of wood.
Keese explained what the sensa
tion was like for her to go off one of
the ski jumps.
"The first time I ever went off the
jump, it seemed like forever as I ap
proached the ramp," Keese said.
"Then, all of a sudden as I got closer,
I thought, 'Do I really want to do
this?' But then I realize that I've
come this far, so I might as well just
do it.
"All of a sudden, flash, and I'm
flying in mid-air. Another half-sec
ond later, I could see the ground turn
upside down. And then splash."
A&M's men's team has a good
chance of doing well, but Keese said
the women's team has been depleted
because of graduating seniors. Still,
she looks forward to the challenge
because she loves the sport. She con
siders skiing to be an enjoyable outlet
from her daily life.
"Skiing is a lot of fun," she said.
"I have a good time when I'm out
there. Going out to the lake gives
you a total change of atmosphere.
You go out there, get away from
studying, and have fun."
Apparently, water skiers know
how to have a good time. Lenox says
anytime you get a large consortium
of them together, the fun never stops.
"Skiers are pretty outrageous
people in general," he said. "They
love to party more than anybody. It's
a party atmosphere that happens out
there in the lake. People ski to have a
good time."
Saturday should be no exception.
Barone, A&M program must rebuild
without much-needed scholarships
By Scott Wudel
The Battalion
A white bulletin board rests on the
back wall of Tony Barone's office, filled
with the basketball coach's pending en
gagements and a long list of prospective
recruits, divided by height and position.
But not one of those prospects will
see the G. Rollie White Coliseum floor
for almost two years. Each recruit is
just a high school junior, but all are part
of Barone's plan to get a head start on
next year's recruiting competition.
Barone's work on this year's recruit
ing class has been completed for more
than five months. It actually came to an
abrupt halt the first week of November
when the NCAA sanctioned A&M's
basketball program for violations under
former coach Kermit Davis Jr.. Barone
was left with just two scholarships to
give to a new "class" that was supposed
be the foundation of his rebuilding pro
ject.
"It's a disaster," Barone said. "The
recruiting sanctions, at first glance,
seemed to be relatively insignificant.
But in all honesty, the issue was that we
were allowed two scholarships for next
year. That meant, in a program that
was already shorthanded, we were re
stricted in terms of the scholarships.
"It wasn't like we had a full compli
ment of scholarships anyway."
The penalties against the basketball
program, which also include a limita
tion on the number of expense-paid vis
its to A&M by prospective student-ath
letes during the 1992-93 year, hit Barone
and his plan where it hurt the most -
the A&M team is badly in need of schol
arship players.
The coach chose to honor the first
two commitments he received - Keith
Morgan, a 6-foot-10, 210-pound center
from Austin, and Lance Broderson, a 6-
foot-6 forward from Naperville, Ill..
Barone was forced to tell two other
prospects, who had already made their
decisions to attend Texas A&M, that
See Aggies/Page 10
Plenty of Hangers
Texas A&M will have only eight scholarships
available next season, compared to the
maximum amount of 14 allowed by the NCAA,
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The Winter of Discontent
Basketball team
gains credibility
through adversity
By Chris Whitley
The Battalion
S ince A&M head basketball coach Tony Barone
received his degree in English, he, no doubt, is
familiar with the first line of Shakespeare's
tragedy, Richard III.
"Now is the winter of our discontent.” No saying
could more aptly fit A&M's worst season in 37 years.
In the first year on his mission of bringing a suc
cessful program back to Texas A&M, Barone has been
beset by numerous setbacks that were out of his con
trol.
From old business with the NCAA to a bizarre
poisoning incident to family tragedy, the Aggies have
beared the brunt of many unforeseen dilemmas.
Still, the same team that finished in the Southwest
Conference cellar with a 6-22 record managed to gain
some respectability by sticking with a credo that
Barone has drilled in their minds from day one.
"You control what you control, and what you
can't control you don't let it get in the way of what
you can control," Barone said. "If you do that, then I
think you can be successful."
The negative situations that A&M couldn't control
hit A&M like a case of the plague throughout the sea
son:
• October 31 - The State Board of Education re
jects A&M's proposed Special Events Center, one of
the recruiting tools that originally brought Barone to
A&M.
• November 4 - The NCAA hands down a two-
year probation on the Aggie basketball program. The
team is barred from 1992 post-season play and
stripped of all but two scholarships for the 1992-93
season.
• December 20 - Freshman Kevin Barker quits the
team for personal reasons. An All-State player out of
high school. Barker averaged 9.6 points in the five
games he played.
• January 14 - In a heartbreaking loss to Texas,
leading scorer Damon Johnson breaks a bone in his
left foot, keeping him out of action for six weeks and
ruining any chances of SWC Freshman of the Year
honors.
• January 18 - The entire team and several other
officials are hospitalized after a leak of carbon monox
ide fumes infiltrates the A&M locker room at the Fer
rell Center in Waco before a game with Baylor. Four
were sent to Dallas for further treatment, and two
games had to be rescheduled.
• January 26 - Barone's mother, Corinne, dies af
ter suffering a heart attack two days earlier. Barone
and his walk-on son, Tony Jr., miss the Rice game as a
result.
• February 11 - The Aggies fall to SMU, 44-38, to
extend their losing streak to 12 games. It is one of sev-
A&M coach Tony Barone (top, left and right) found reason for frustration many times this season.
(Bottom, left) Freshman Tony McGinnis provided several bright spots for the Aggies this season.
(Bottom, right) Freshman Corey Henderson celebrates after A&M's win over Texas Tech on Mar. 4.
en games that the Aggies lost by six points or less.
Any other squad would buckle when the basket
ball gods lay down such a fierceful wrath as that
which had stricken the Aggies. But Barone's team
continued scaring considerably higher-ranked oppo
nents up until the end of the season.
"People have asked me on a number of occasions,
'Wasn't I upset? Wasn't I disappointed?' Or, 'Wasn't I
mad about what happened?' Because there have been
a ton of things that have happened," Barone said.
"The answer to that has been no.
"I'm not upset with the way this season ended.
I'm not upset with the way the kids played. I'm upset
we won six games. But in the bigger picture of things.
See Season/Page 10
Lady Aggies fall
to Mustangs, 5-4
The Battalion News Services
The A&M women's tennis team lost
its second Southwest Conference match
Thursday after SMU edged the Lady Ag
gies 5-4 at Omar Smith Tennis Center.
The Mustangs doubles team of Jen
nifer Brennan and Nicle Woods defeated
A&M's Nicole Monsul and Joanne Maki
in the final match of the day to grab the
win.
A&M falls to 2-2 in the SWC, and 7-9
overall.
The Lady Aggies will play a noncon
ference match today against Tennessee at
the Smith Center. First serve is at 5 p.m.
Janine Burton-Durham and Anna
Schlumpf won their doubles match, as did
the team of Christine DiNardo and Lynn
Staley to force a tie.
Burton-Durham and DiNardo were
the only Lady Aggies to win in singles
competition.
Lynn Staley reaches for a forehand in Thursday's match at Smith Tennis Center.
A&M men's tennis
faces Longhorns
The Battalion News Services
The 19th-ranked A&M men's tennis
team will face unranked Texas today in
Austin in the teams' annual slugfest.
A&M, 13-3 overall, 1-0 in the South
west Conference, will be trying to down
the Longhorns in Austin for the first time
in A&M coach David Kent's 14-year ca
reer in Aggieland. Singles play begins at 5
p.m. at Penick-Allison Tennis Center.
Kent notched his first career victory
over Texas last year during the SWC
Championships in College Station. He
said that win has the Aggies ready to face
off against the powerful Longhorns on
their home court.
"There's probably no tougher team
than lexas on its home court," Kent said.
"We learned that we could beat them last
year, and I think that confidence has car
ried over to this season. It's going to be a
dogfight from start to finish, and we'll
have our work cut out for us."