Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 23, 1995)
Thursday • March 23, 1995 Aggie spring sports—There’s no I in team. By Shelly Hall The Battalion For the next six weeks, Aggie sports fans can expect a different approach to sports than they found in the fall and early spring. With the exception of baseball and softball, individual efforts to bring victory to “the team” have passed with the closing of the football season last fall and the fi nale of the men’s and women’s basketball teams before spring break. So, does the 12th Man get to take a rest for the remainder of the year? The answer to that question lies with the individuals who are working hard to improve their golf swing, decrease their times on the track or perfect their back hand in tennis. The sports that are often over looked but provide the fiercest competition between two individ uals battling for victory are the “individual" sports. Individual sports are not likely to draw 50,000 sports fans, stu dents and alumni alike, or 50 for that matter. But the 12th Man spirit is kept alive as Aggie athletes in volved in individual sports dedi cate hours of their time to com pete against other individuals who are jockeying to be the num ber one performer. These athletes, while working toward team victories, rely solely on themselves to bring home the championship. No more Kyle Kessel assisting See Hall, Page 8 The Battalion • Page 7 Lady Aggies to begin NWIT versus ETSU □ The top-seeded women's basketball team uses NCAA snub to fire up for the tourney. By Robert Rodriguez The Battalion The Texas A&M women’s basketball team will get their taste of March Mad ness tonight when they play in the Na tional Women’s Invitational Tourna ment. The top-seeded Lady Aggies will face eighth-seeded East Tennessee State at 8 p.m. at the Amarillo Civic Center. This will be the second consecutive post-season appearance for the Lady Aggies and for coach Candi Harvey. The Lady Aggies advanced to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA tournament last year and Harvey led Tulane to a fourth-place fin ish in last year’s NWIT. Harvey said the Lady Buccaneers are a dangerous and explosive team. “They are very quick and their inside game is similar to Texas Tech,” Harvey said. “They are a good basketball team and I was impressed by them. They will be a tough opponent,” she said. Junior point guard Lisa Branch com pared the Lady Buccaneers to another Southwest Conference foe which gave the Lady Aggies some trouble. “They are a lot like Houston,” Branch said. “They like to run and they like to push the ball.” East Tennessee State finished their regular season with a 20-7 record. The Lady Buccaneers were runners-up in the Southern Conference tournament and like the Lady Aggies, were by passed by the NCAA Women’s Tourna ment Selection Committee. Even though the Lady Aggies still believe they should have been in the NCAA Women’s Tournament, guard Lana Tucker said the Lady Aggies will prove something to the committee in the NWIT. “Being snubbed by the selection com mittee made us angry and we are going to channel this onto the court,” Tucker said. “We are going to prove in the NWIT that we belong in the NCAA tournament and carry that attitude into next year in order to not let the Baylors and SMUs beat us.” Harvey said the key for A&M to beat See Lady AgS, Page 8 Womens tennis loses to tough Sooner team Staff and Wire Reports The 31st-ranked Oklahoma women’s tennis team routed their A&M counter parts Wednesday at the Omar Smith Tennis Center 8-1. Texas A&M’s doubles team of Lonna Logan and Anna Strakosova tallied a three-set victory for A&M’s only win. “We just didn’t come out ready to play today, and it shows in the scores,” Lady Aggie coach Bobby Kleinecke said. “We didn’t have a good effort. I’m disappoint ed and the team is disappointed in the way we played.” The Lady Aggies fall to 5-8 overall while Oklahoma improves to 12-2 on the season. “This match can be a turning point for us. We see what we’re doing wrong, and now it’s a matter of correcting it.” Klei necke said. The Lady Aggies return to action this weekend with a road swing through Florida. A&M takes on South Florida in Tampa on March 24 and Florida State in Tallahassee on March 26. Bart Mitch«tl/THE Battajlion Senior community health major Cristin DiNardo volleys with the Sooners. Swimmers, divers to compete at NCAAs Staff and Wire Reports The Texas A&M men’s swimming and diving team will have four partici pants at the 1995 NCAA Division I Men’s Swimming and Diving Champi onships hosted by Indiana University- Purdue University this weekend. Sophomore Robb Pantano is the only Aggie that has national champi onship experience. At last years championship Pantano finished 12th and 14th in the 200-meter and 400 medley relay units. Pantano will com pete in the 100 and 200-meter back- stroke. Senior Scott DeWolf will compete in the 200-meter butterfly where he holds the fastest A&M time this season. Freshman Kyle Marden qualified for both the 100-meter and 200 breaststroke where he owns the A&M record in the 100-bre aststroke. The diving team will be sending its first ever diver, freshman Jarrod Flores. Flores qualified for the championship by finishing third at the Zone D NCAA Div ing Championships on March 10. “Jarrod’s well-prepared, and we’re not going to hold back,” diving coach Kevin Wright said. “We’re going to go all-out, and when the smoke clears, we’ll see how we do. Nationals are just another meet, and we’ll approach it from that perspective.” Flores has had a standout freshman season. He finished the conference dual meet season undefeated on the one-me ter and placed third at the Southwest Conference Championships. This meet will conclude the 1994- 1995 regular season. Move over Dick Vitale.... The Batt's road to the Final Four RsCIONAL BsACKET “ppY'” Southeast Region East Region West Region National Champs Why??? David Winder Virginia N. Carolina Wake Forest Maryland Maryland Naming first child Exree Winder. Nick Georgandis Arkansas Kentucky UMass UCLA UCLA Can't spell chalupa without UCLA! Kristina Baffin Kansas N. Carolina Wake Forest UCLA UCLA Can't mess with a guy named Tyus. Tom Day Arkansas N. Carolina Wake Forest UCLA Wake Forest Have two pet Demon Deacons at home. Shelly Hall Kansas Kentucky Wake Forest UCLA UCLA Oh me, oh my, O'Bannon! Robert Rodriguez Kansas N. Carolina Wake Forest Maryland Maryland Naming first child Joe Rodriguez. Jim Anderson Kansas N. Carolina UMass Connecticut N. Carolina Once dunked on by Jerry Stackhouse. Mark Smith Kansas N. Carolina UMass UCLA UCLA 1 love the Bruins. Hockey is the best. Rob Clark Kansas N. Carolina UMass Maryland N. Carolina Heard MJ was coming all the way back. Stew Milne Arkansas Georgetown UMass UCLA UMass As Sonny said to Cher: I've got UMass. Guest: Tony McGinnis Arkansas Kentucky Wake Forest UCLA Arkansas Read about that Corliss Force in Physics. Little Caesars LOOK WHO'S DELIVERING DINNER! i mmm Valuable Coupon mm m 2 Large 1 Topping Pizzas Delivered $ 10.99 plus fax (f; little Caesars- ©)*N unt»(iw«r fee Nof valid with arty otW coupon. Vsitd only at porticipalirts t»nie Caesars, BT * 03-23-95 Expires, - 04-23-95 NORTHGATE 268-0220 University & Stasney ■n mmm Valuable Coupon ^ 2 Medium j Pieasers of your choice | Delivered $ 11.98 plus tax little Caesars* OtM UNfetVwwMKtrfM*, *<«. Not valid with any other coupon. Nfatid only at participating Little Caesars, BT - 03-23-95 Expires - 04-23-95 ■h mmm Valuable Coupon mmm i 1 Medium I Topping Pizza Delivered *7.99 plus tax little Caesars* ©tW tint* Cow* &w*t>«. I* Not valid with any other coupon. Vdid only Qt participating Uttle Caesars. BT - 03-23-95 Expires - 04-23-95