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CHRIS
WHITLEY
Assistant
Sports Editor
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T he last time the Aggies and the
Longhorns met in Olsen Field in
1991, Texas A&M shocked the
baseball world with a three-game
sweep of Texas - their first in 25 years.
The last time the Aggies and the
Longhorns met this season, however,
Texas returned the favor by winning
two of three, including a walloping
13-2 defeat in the series finale.
This weekend, the two reunite in
College Station as the top two teams
in the Southwest Conference. Can
Olsen work its magic charm again?
It better. Nothing else is working.
A&M enters its most important se-
| ries of the year in an overall slump.
The team made the trip to Lubbock to
play Texas Tech last weekend, but
their bats didn't.
Not only did the Aggies lose two
of three, but they managed only two
runs the entire weekend. And only 13
hits.
The one game they did win was
the series opener, and that was in ten
innings, 1-0. The bats were as cold as
the Lubbock weather.
Aggie ace Jeff Granger pitched
fairly well against the Red Raiders,
but Friday he will need a much better
performance than the one he gave in
the first Aggies-Longhorns meeting
this season.
In the series opener in Austin on
March 21, Granger gave up eight runs
and two home runs in seven innings.
It was a bad night for him despite the
Aggies' eventual victory in ten in
nings.
For the ace pitcher in the rotation
to have that kind of game is unsettling
to a team fighting to stay in the confer
ence race. He needs to deliver a
strong outing Friday to give the Ag
gies some momentum through the
weekend and, if anything, to rest the
bui/pen.
Also, they must beware of the of
fensive onslaught that comes with the
return of Brooks Kieschnick. By him
self, he could provide the Longhorns
with enough runs to win if the Aggies
continue hitting like they are.
Kieschnick was out for four weeks
due to an injured ankle, and he still
leads the Southwest Conference with
42 RBIs! Aggie pitching beware.
He leads a Longhorn batting order
that A&M coach Mark Johnson said
was as good an offensive Texas team
as he had ever seen. Can you blame
him? They scored 30 runs against the
Aggies in Austin.
See Whitley/Page 8
Tennis team faces No. 20 Rice, No. 2 TCU
By Chris Whitley
The Battalion
The flourishing Texas A&M tennis team may never
have any bigger challenges than the two that await at
Omar Smith Tennis Center this weekend.
The fate of their Southwest Conference and national
contention will be on the line when the Aggies take on
20th-ranked Rice today at 1:30 p.m. and second-ranked
Texas Christian on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
A&M, who has a 15-3 record and a 3-0 SWC mark, is
ranked 16th in the nation in the Volvo/Tennis Collegiate
poll, their highest ranking since 1985. A win over both
Rice and TCU will clinch the Aggies a tie for their first
ever SWC team championship.
Aggie head coach David Kent
said his team is cautiously opti
mistic about the opportunities
that this weekend could bring.
"Like Thomas Jefferson said,
'There's no such thing as security,
only opportunity,'" Kent said.
"We've got opportunity right in
front of us.
"We're in a position to win
the conference and get invited to
the NCAAs. A lot of good things
can happen."
However, Kent said defeating
two of the best teams in the country, let alone the confer-
Weaver
ence, will be quite a chore.
"Actually, Rice is pretty dog-gone good," Kent said.
"TCU's just awesome. They could win the NCAA.
"We're looking forward to playing this weekend.
You get to this point in the season, and it's all cake. But
now, your destiny is in your own hands, so you just need
to get out and play."
Rice is 7-6 on the season and 1-3 in the conference.
The Owls are led by Steve Campbell, who was one of the
top players in the SWC until he suffered an injury.
Kent said A&M must have a good performance from
ace Mark Weaver against Campbell, along with the other
singles players, to win.
"They've got very good depth," he said. "They're not
See Tennis/Page 8
Texas Longhorns vs. Texas A&M Aggies
Showdown at the Olsen Corral
Longhorns in town
for battle of Texas
baseball powers
By Anthony Andro
The Battalion
Texas A&M junior second baseman
Eric Gonzalez may have best summed
up the feelings of the Aggie baseball
team going into this weekend's series
against the University of Texas.
"I just hate those guys," Gonzalez
said. "I just want to rub their faces in the
dirt."
So goes the Aggie-Longhorn rivalry.
• A&M, 25-13, 12-9 in Southwest Con
ference play, hosts the first-place Texas
Longhorns this weekend in a crucial se
ries at Olsen Field.
"For a championship, it's pretty
much a make or break weekend," A&M
shortstop Jason Marshall said. "If we get
down any further, we'd have to pray for
a miracle.
"This weekend, we have to take of
HUY NGUYEN/The Battalion
Texas A&M coach Mark Johnson and Texas coach Cliff Gustafson discuss
last year's bench-clearing brawl in Game Two of the series at Olsen Field.
business."
The Longhorns come into the series
with a 31-8 record. They are 18-4 in
SWC play and hold a 5 1/2 game lead
over the Aggies.
Senior third baseman Travis
Williams said this is the season's most
critical series.
"It's the major point in our season,
right here," Williams said. "We need to
take three from them to get back in the
race. We don't want to play for second
place."
When the two teams met the first
time in March, the Aggies beat the
Longhorns 11-9 in the opener before
dropping the next two games 8-1 and 13-
2.
The A&M bats have been silent in
recent conference play.
The Aggies have scored just 23 runs
in their last eight SWC games and the
team is hitting just .261 for the confer
ence season.
The recent hitting slump has the Ag
gie players scratching their heads.
"It's hard to explain," said Marshall.
"I think all teams go through a spot
where they are not hitting. Hopefully,
we have strong enough people to battle
back and battle through it."
A&M junior Mike Hickey could pro
vide some much needed hitting to the
Aggies lineup. After injuring his hand
earlier this season, Hickey has missed
See Aggies/Page 8
Young Aggies to run
weekend A&M Relays
By Steve O'Brien
The Battalion
The 1992 Texas A&M track
team, filled with freshman and
sophomores, has matured quick
ly this season, coach Ted Nelson
said.
But there's still some grow
ing to do.
The Aggies host the Texas
A&M Relays this Saturday at the
Anderson Track and Field Com
plex. Field events begin at 1 p.m.
and running events begin at 5:30
that evening.
"We started out the year as a
very young team," Nelson said.
"We have a lot of freshman and
sophomores on our team. We're
winding down on the year, and
we can't use that excuse any
more."
See Track/Page 6
Weekend
Schedule
Events happening this week
end on the A&M campus.
Friday
Men's tennis vs. Rice 1:30
Baseball vs. UT 7:00
Harlem Globetrotters 7:30
Saturday
Men's tennis vs. TCU
A&M Relays AH day
Baseball vs. UT 7:00
1:30
Sunday
Baseball vs. UT 2:00
By Steve O'Brien
The Battalion
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Football team injury proned
Slocum holds scrimmage minus starters
In a scrimmage on Thursday,
the Aggies were without injured
defensive linemen Sam Adams
and Pat Henry. Both starting of
fensive guards from last year,
Tyler Harrison and John Ellisor,
were sidelined with injuries, and
wide receiver Brian Mitchell is
out with a broken foot.
"I was pleased with the
scrimmage, although we had to
control the tempo of it because
we've got a bunch of injuries
See QB/Page 8
After eight days of spring
practice, two things are obvious
about the Texas A&M football
team. Injuries are making it hard
for head coach R.C. Slocum to
assess his team. And if next sea
son's starting quarterback is
among the four players fighting
for the position now, he's keep
ing a low profile.
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