Sports
Thursday, November 11,1993
The Battalion
Page 9
The ‘V' stands
for a lot more
than victory
MATTHEW J.
RUSH
Sportswriter
T he begin
ning of a
new col
lege basketball
season is upon
us, and once
again Texas
A&M men's
head coach
Tony Barone
will try to in
still a deeper
meaning to the
1993-94 season
- this time be
ginning with
the letter "V."
Last year,
Barone and his
players came up with the motto
"M.T.X.E." which found itself neatly
splashed across the back of the play
ers' practice shorts.
"M.T.X.E. (mental toughness, extra
effort) was something that character
ized last year's team," Barone said.
Barone noted that by putting these
letters on their shorts, the message
helps the team set the tone for the
season. Barone made the point that
this so-called "letter practice," helps
the team retain focus.
"No matter what the motto, the
idea becomes a part of their daily
practice routine," Barone said. "It is
something that they can build upon."
Barone explained that it is easy for
athletes to lose focus during the regu
lar season, especially when these stu
dent/athletes have to deal with time
conflicts such as road trips, school
work, late practices and two-and-a-
half-hour games played three times a
week.
"Focus is important in rebuilding a
basketball team, and focus changes as
you develop."
This year's theme, the letter "V,"
may seem to have less pizzazz or less
flair than M.T.X.E., but there is a
deeper meaning to the symbolic let
ter.
The letter, though it may seem sin
gular and meaningless, represents the
late Jim Valvano, former head coach
at North Carolina State.
Barone and Valvano, during their
extensive coaching experience in the
NCAA, had developed a friendship
over the last five years through a
Nike corporate-sponsored event. But
earlier this year, Valvano lost a year
long battle with cancer.
To honor the late coach, Barone
and the players decided to wear the
letter 'V' on the backs of the team's
shorts.
Barone said that Valvano was not
well-understood by most people until
his last months, when he served as
motivation to millions of people by
remaining strong while he battled his
disease.
See Rush/Page 10
Guerrieri kicks back after
A&M soccer season ended
By Jose de Jesus Ortiz
Mnry Macmanus/THE Battalion
A&M women's soccer coach Gerald Guerrieri instructs his team
during the past season. Soccer ended up with a 1 5-3-1 record.
The Battalion
Entering its inaugural season as an NCAA
scholarship team, there were many questions sur
rounding the Texas A&M Lady Aggie soccer
team, and these questions would have to be an
swered by first-year head coach Gerald Guerrieri.
After the team's 15-3-1 season has come to a
close, all the questions have been answered for
this year, but Guerrieri said that while facing next
year's uncertainties he remains pleased with the
support the program has received by A&M's ath
letic department.
"They went out of their way to get our soccer
program going as soon as I got here," Guerrieri
said. "At A&M, they are willing to do the little
things that help build a champion."
Senior defender Rennie Rebe and junior mid
fielder Brittan Hlista, who were part of last year's
non-scholarship team, said that the extra effort by
Texas A&M to build the soccer program was the
biggest key for the Lady Aggies finishing the sea
son ranked 10th in the NCAA Southern Region.
"They brought in coaches that we could re
spect," Hlista said. "And they also started a good
conditioning program for us."
Guerrieri came to A&M after being named
Coach of the Year by the National Junior College
Athletic Association for his job as coach at Rich
land Junior College. He said he chose A&M be
cause he wanted to work at a program that had a
100 percent commitment toward soccer.
"At other places that I have coached, we were
told that we were not going to get the support that
the major sports got," Guerrieri said. "But at
A&M, I am surrounded by people who are trying
to create the best environment for our athletes."
Naming Guerrieri head coach on April 1 was
the first step in building the new program, but it
was not a smooth transition for Guerrieri, who
had to start recruiting three months after the first
day to sign athletes had passed.
"We started recruiting players way after every
one," Guerrieri said. "And we had to do some
fancy footwork in recruiting,"
Within a month after signing freshman for
ward Yvette Okler, Guerrieri had finished signing
his 12 recruits. The team began to take shape
soon after, and for coach recruitment he brought
on Kathi Conner as an assistant coach.
"She gave us a lot of stability from the coaching
side," Guerrieri said. "I knew that I could depend
See Guerrieri/Page 10
A&M netters stocked with total team talent
By Andrew J. A. Tomczeszyn and
William Harrison
The Battalion
At Texas A&M's Omar Smith Tennis
Center, the men's and women's tennis
teams are ready to serve up their sea
sons with regional and national recogni
tion as goals.
The teams are preparing for this
weekend's Westwood tournament in
Austin, and while both teams return key
personnel this season, the women's
squad may have the edge in depth.
Women's head tennis coach Bobby
Kleinecke said that he expects his teams
to crack the national rankings this year,
and said his top five can match up with
any team in the region.
"Maybe we aren't a team of great in
dividuals, but we are a solid, good team,
and that's important," Kleinecke said.
""Our top five have been playing very
well; Lonna Logan, Janine Burton-
Durham, Nancy Dingwall, Wilson Pate
and Christine DiNardo have the poten
tial to be as good as they want to be.
Kleinecke said he expects great things
from freshman Nancy Dingwall and
sophomore Wilson Pate.
"Pate has the ability, and with a few
more breaks, could be one of our best
players. Dingwall could be the first All-
American at A&M since Lynn Staley,"
Kleinecke said.
Staley was ranked 18th in the nation
in 1991.
Both Pate and Dingwall said they ex
pect the same measure of success their
coach anticipates for them.
"The confidence is really high around
Mike Steele/THE Battalion
Lady Aggie sophomore Wilson Pate returns a volley during Wednesday's practice
at the Omar Smith tennis center. Both the A&M men and women's tennis squads
will play from Friday to Sunday at the Westwood tournament in Austin.
here," said Pate. "We've all had some
success this fall, and you can see that
we're all looking forward to the upcom
ing season."
Dingwall had more specific things to
say about the upcoming season and the
team's goals.
"We're going to be number one in the
region, and we're going to beat Texas,"
Pate said.
And Texas is the defending national
champion.
Kleinecke said that as bold as that
may sound, it is all within his team's
reach.
"I've told the girls that if we take care
of business and play to our potential,
it'll be us and Texas at the end of the
season, and that match is here," he said.
On the men's side, head coach David
Kent said his Aggie netters have the
See Netters/Page 10
A&M women's
volleyball falls
to Houston
From Staff and Wire Reports
HOUSTON - The Lady Aggies
dropped their second straight Southwest
Conference game to the University of
Houston, losing in three straight games,
15-11, 15-3, 15-13 in front of a crowd of
746 at the Hofheinz Pavilion.
A&M's record dropped to 25-6 overall
and 7-3 in the SWC but had already
clinched second place in the conference
before the match. Houston improved to
14-14, 6-4.
The Lady Aggies recorded their low
est hitting percentage of the season, hit
ting .074 to beat the team's previous lows
against Texas Tech and the University of
Texas.
The team was led by senior outside
hitter Sheila Morgan with a match-high
15 kills, and senior middle blockers Kim
Mitchell and Amy Kisling with six kills
each. Kisling paced the team with 6
blocks, and Suzy Wente had 34 sets -
both match highs.
A&M plays Southwest Texas State on
Nov. 16 before taking part in the South
west Conference Championships on
Nov. 19-21 in Lubbock.
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