ovember 2, 1994 ; from 1-4:30 p.m. in No appointment is lore information call ims at 845-4427. I Student Associa- ordan Institute: A ning with a mixer at ie held at 5:30 p.m. from your country to ollowed by Bonfire, ation call Jennifer 4, American Student ionfire social with a II be held at 6 p.m, e announced. For call Vu K. Nguyen ran Do Team: Open d from 7-8:15 p.m. in i 8:30-10 p.m. in'263 or more information 45. ta Biological Hon- neral meeting will .m. in 402 Rudder. ■, Dr. David Owens, ea turtles and other e information call 4-7060. /er Traditional irty will be held at Club on Texas Av- eet at 5 p.m. At 6 e where to eat. Be all evening. Roads Bonfire. For more ■eceive a newsletter 489. ents Association: neld at 12:05 p.m. at ,ife: A fundraiser 10 a.m.-4 p.m. in For more informa- 17-0035 or Janeene ition: Free Czech will be given from 25 Academic Build- irmation call David l or 268-1100. Battalion service ofit student and and activities, ubmitted no later n advance of the :e. Application notices are not 1 not be run in u have any ques- the newsroom at tiards 'oner, Pet2 Wednesday • November 2, 1994 5 PORTS The Battalion • Page 7 Success not known lately by Longhorns DREW DIENER Sportswriter^^l - jp A fter two unexpected losses in the last three weeks, a once proud and mighty college football program slipped out of the Top 25, placing dreams for a return to past glory on hold, again. Their head coach, in the third year of a five year contract, is walking on pins and needles, and the consensus among the school’s boosters is that he, like his predecessor, will be replaced before his contract expires. In the last ten seasons, success on the gridiron for the University of Texas has been as rare as De mocratic party success in Brazos County. The days of perennial SWC dominance and nationwide prowess are all but distant memo ries in the minds of most Long horn football enthusiasts. There once was a time when the Longhorns were consistently ranked among the nation’s top foot ball powerhouses. The annual bor der war between Texas and Okla homa was not only for regional bragging rights, but for national supremacy. Those were the days when a coaching legend named Darrell Royal roamed the sidelines of Memorial Stadium, winning three national championships and 11 SWC crowns during his 20-year reign. Several great players proud ly wore the hallowed burnt orange and white during Royal’s tenure, but perhaps none greater than the “Tyler Rose,” Earl Campbell. Racking up over 4,440 rushing yards in his storied four year Longhorn career, Campbell was a consensus All-American twice, and won the Heisman Trophy in 1977, before being made the num ber one pick in the 1978 NFL Draft by the Houston Oilers. J Royal retired after the 1976 sea son, a year in which Texas suffered a rare 5-5-1 record. The poor year had a lot to do with an injury to Campbell, who was forced to miss four conference games. Royal’s replacement, Fred Ak ers, fared well in his first year at the helm, going 11-1 in Campbell’s Heisman season, almost adding another national championship to the UT trophy case, if not for a 38- 10 loss to Notre Dame on New Years’ Day in Dallas. Akers’ next three teams did not get to make the “annual” holiday season trip to Dallas, as subpar records led them to the now-de funct Sun and Bluebonnet Bowls. In 1981, Texas would make the first of three final trips to the Cot ton Bowl in the last 14 years. With a 14-12 victory over Alabama, the 10-1-1 Longhorns finished second in the nation that season. No Long horn team has finished that high since. In 1983, the Longhorns made their last New Years’ Day run at number one, falling short with a 10-9 loss to Hershel Walker and the Georgia Bulldogs. Conference supremacy and na tional representation took their last breaths wearing burnt orange and white during that fateful year in Austin, as the Longhorns would pass the torch 90 miles to the east See Diener/Page 8 Volleyball team faces top-ranked Longhorns Carrie Thompson/ I hk Battalion Sophomore Page White hits the ball against Tennesse. A&M will play Texas tonight. Lady Aggies could move into second place tie with Texas in SWC standings By Kristina Baffin The Battalion The Texas A&M women’s volleyball team will play a tough conference match when they face the 23rd ranked University of Texas in Austin tonight. This match is critical for the Lady Aggies be cause a win could move them into a tie for second place with Texas in the SWC VanderWoude standings with only two conference matches remaining. “Our next two matches are very criti cal,” head coach Laurie Corbelli said. “But our goal is to win both of them. We have our work cut out for us. It’s not an easy task, but it’s possible.” The strong showing against their last seven ranked opponents gives the Lady Aggies confidence that they will have a great match against Texas. “We did real well in the last match,” junior Suzy Wente said. “I know that we will come out strong and beat the hell outta t.u.” One of the keys to an A&M win will be freshman middle blocker Cindy Van derWoude, leads A&M with a 1.35 block average and is ranked eighth in the SWC with a 0.97 average. “Cindy has made great improvement at the net with her block and attack and that has opened up our outside at tackers a lot more,” Corbelli said. The Lady Aggies’ passing and serv ing have improved throughout the sea son. Sophomore middle blocker Page White leads the league in ace average (0.45) in conference matches. “The key for us will be to serve tough,” Corbelli said. “Also, our passing has to be sharp and our outside hitters have to be on.” Defensively, the Lady Aggies will have to stop Texas’ outside hitter Jenny Warmack and middle blocker Angie Breitejpfield. Warmack leads Texas with a 3.90 kill average and a 2.91 dig average. Breitenfield leads the team with a .265 hitting percentage. “Our blocking and defense will be key,” freshman Kristie Smedsrud said. “Our blocking has improved throughout the season and if we play well, we have a good chance to win.” If the Lady Aggies are consistent in all aspects of their game, the team be- i lieves they will have a strong showing against Texas and win. “If we can get everyone playing their best, we have a good chance to win, even though the match is in Austin,” Corbelli said. “When we played Texas earlier this season, we outplayed them statistically in every area. The team knows we can beat them. We were very disappointed not to get the win. The players are defi nitely ready to redeem themselves.” Ward comes back home to anchor quarterback protection Senior center's new starting role strengthens line By Tom Day The Battalion Ecstatic. That was the feeling Aggie football player Brandon Ward felt three weeks ago when his coaches told him he would be the starting center against the Baylor Bears. As a back up for two and a half seasons, Ward has definitely paid his dues. “You can’t even put it into words,” Ward said. “I was really excited to fi nally get an opportunity after all these years to go out there and show what I can do.” Offensive line coach Joe D’Alessan- dris said moving Ward to the starting lineup was part of an attempt to strengthen the offensive line. “We’re trying to get the best out of our personnel,” D’Alessandris said. “We felt (that) moving some players around may give us a little more strength and a more physical of fensive line.” After a solid game against Baylor, Ward has held on to his new starting role the last two games. Ward D’Alessandris said Ward has pro gressed quickly. “He’s done very well,” D’Alessandris said. “He had a really good game against Baylor and he’s had two steady performances against Rice and SMU.” After playing his freshman year at Colorado State, Ward decided to come home to Texas and play at A&M. Be sides his unhappiness with being far from home, the senior lineman had two other reasons to make the transfer. “Academically, I wanted to work in Texas after I graduated and I figured the best opportunity to do so would be to graduate from A&M,” Ward said. “Also, the traditions, the people and everything is overwhelming. You go to one game and you know it’s the place to be.” Ward said his experience as a back up was enough to prepare himself for his current starting role. “Basically, as a backup, you pretty much do everything the same as a starter, you just work hard and im prove your technique,” Ward said. D’AJessandris said Ward’s desire im presses him most. “He’s a disciplined player with intel ligence and dedication,” D’Alessandris said. “He comes to work everyday with a tremendous attitude to get better.” Ward said he aims to improve each week. “I’m still kind of inexperienced at this position,” Ward said. “Every week I’m learning a little bit more and try ing to smooth out the rough areas. “It’s been fun, and hopefully it will just get better,” Lady Aggies challenge Mustangs for SWC soccer supremacy By Stewart Doreen The Battalion The Texas A&M women’s soccer team is confident of becoming the unofficial Southwest Conference champion and the new power of collegiate soccer in Texas. A victory over Southern Methodist University today at 3 p.m. at the Aggie Soccer Complex will accomplish both. “I know we’re going to take them,” senior forward Anna Whitehead said. “They’re going to be fired up, and we’re going to be fired up. Now, we just have to make it for the record as far as being the best team in Texas.” “They are a respectable team, but I don’t believe we should have any prob lem with them,” sophomore goalkeeper Sunny McConnell said. Despite the fact that official confer ence play does not start next year, a win will give the Aggies victories over all conference teams. Head coach G. Guerrieri sees the importance of Wednesday going far beyond the state level. An A&M win should have rami fications of national proportions. “To establish this team as a national power, we have to knock off a national power,” Guerrieri said. “It adds a little that we’re undefeated against South west Conference teams.” An invitation to the NCAA tournament might also be on the line, as the two teams Eire both ranked in the South region’s top ten. Guerrieri is confident that any argu ments for the Mustangs’ superiority will be defeated with a win on Thursday. “It is unfortunate that SMU and us can’t go to the playoffs, but it’s looking like only the winner of this game can move on,” Guerrieri said. “We come in with the bet ter record. We come in with the better record against common opponents. We get to play on our home field. We believe this game will be a stepping stone to move onto bigger and better things.” The Aggies, the eighth-ranked team in the South region, are 12-2-2 and are coming off a 3-1 victory over the Uni versity of Arkansas Sunday in Dallas. The victory gave the Aggies a 7-0-1 record for the month of October. The Aggies will be looking to extend two streaks with a win in today’s game. The Aggies have a 14-0 record at home in their two years as a varsity scholarship program. The Aggies are 7-0 in their inau gural year at the Aggie Soccer Complex. They have also won their last seven games, dating back to their tie with North Carolina State University on Oct. 2. “As far as were concerned, the play offs began the day we got back from North Carolina,” Guerrieri said. The Aggies are led by freshman for ward Bryn Blalack, the team’s leading goal scorer (nine) and point producer (21). Sophomore forward Yvette Okler leads the team in assists with eight. McConnell, who has a 0.90 goals against average, senior defender Kristi Dillinger and sophomore defender Allison Buckley will look to stop the SMU attack. “I’ve got confidence in our defense that we can shut them down,” Mc Connell said. “We always try to domi nate the game and make them play us rather than reacting to another team.” The Mustangs, 10-7-1, are the fifth ranked team in the South region. Freshman forward Danielle Garrett and junior midfielder Courtney Linex are the leading goal scorers with 18 and 13 respectively and lead an attack that averages the third highest scoring of- fenfee in the South region. McConnell, however, doesn’t think the Aggies will have a problem stopping the Mustang attack, right Sunny? “That’s right, no problem.” The county judge is chief administrator for Brazos County, with a budget of $28 million and over 600 employees. AI Jones, ’66 has a proven record in budgeting, management and leadership: Major General, U.S. Army Reserve - 50,000 troops, $50 million budget. Division Head, Texas Engineering Extension Service - $2 million budget. Pol adv pd by AI Jones Carrpaign, Ann Anderson Treasurer, Box 4486, Bryan, TX 77805 DIWALI Weekend Celebrations SHOW US YOUR STUFF! now accepting applications tIIE' for msc open house ° n Friday JANUARY22,1994 FROM 2-6 P.M. Cultural Program in Rudder Theater at 7:00 p.m. ♦APPLICATIONS DUE BY JANUARY 18,1995 Saturday What is the Good Word? •ONETABLE PER ORGANIZATION - $22 •ENTERTAINMENT IS ALSO ACCEPTING Antakshari APPLICATIONS - DUE BY DECEMBER 2ND Sunday Dinner Buffet (ethnic food) ♦PICK UP APPLICATIONS INTHE STUDENT PROGRAMS OFFICE. For information call 846-4673 FOR QUESTIONS CALL: 845-7627 Wishing you all a very happy Diwali... The Indian Association It happens when your advertise in The Battalion C • i Call 845-2696 £*<:**£- ?'*c-.v>r*V% l