-rsity
1 history o :
id thdl
he Batta|.
on 8 ani
n g or hat.
n the MSC
^compliah.
ns.
monitor,
ty Center
°f campus
traditions
'tist depit-
in demon-
t it means
gie spirit,
ght Meda!
ues to one
would be
‘eruption o:
as stolen.
ng
- A fift
ly entered
ig of candy
- A victim
annoying
The from
of a Mil
: was bro
lecked the
hat all the
sharp in
puncture
991 Isuzi
ivestigat-
irm with
Depart-
g officer
i fire
The fire
or tiles,
i advised
Friday • April 21, 1995
The Battalion • Page 7
ng-
Briefs SWC comes to Aggieland
Lady Ag basketball
receives two recruits
The Texas A&M women’s
basketball team signed two players,
Patricia Thomas from Diboll and
Kerrie Patterson from Houston, to
national letters of intent Thursday.
Thomas, a 5-foot-9-inch guard
from Diboll High School averaged 31
points, 12 rebounds, nine steals and
five assists per game last season.
She was named to the first-team all-
state team.
Patterson, a 5-foot-8-inch guard
from Yates High School, averaged
16.4 points and 10 assists per game
this season while being named
District 18-5A’s Most Valuable Player.
Thomas and Patterson will join
future A&M teammate Brenda Beard,
a five-foot, 10-inch small forward from
Temple, at the Texas Girls’ Coaches
Association all-star game in July.
Track teams head to
Austin for SWC meet
The Texas A&M men’s and
women’s track teams will attempt to
move up in the world when they begin
competition in the 1995 Southwest
Conference Outdoor Championships
today at Memorial Stadium in Austin.
The men’s team will be looking for
its first SWC team title since 1981.
A&M has finished second three
straight years, all three times behind
the University of Texas.
The Lady Aggies will be trying to
improve on last year’s fifth-place
finish in Houston. Only once in the
last 12 SWC women’s outdoor meets
has A&M finished higher than fourth.
□ The tennis teams are
ready for the opposition
as the other seven
SWC schools converge
towards A&M.
By Shelly Hall
The Battalion
The best tennis players in the
state of Texas will grace the
Texas A&M campus this week
end when the men’s and wom
en’s tennis teams host the
Southwest Conference champi
onships at the Omar Smith Ten
nis Center.
The men’s tennis team comes
into the championships ranked
No. 22, while the women fin
ished the regular season with a
No. 42 national ranking.
Two-time NCAA qualifier
Bernardo Martinez said the ad
vantage of playing at home is
enormous.
“There is a huge advantage
(playing at home),” Martinez
said. “Over the past four years, I
can count with one hand the
losses we’ve had at home.”
Martinez said the success
from playing at home has come
from the atmosphere involved at
Omar Smith.
“We’ve got more crowd than
any other team in the nation,”
Martinez said. “We are used to
our courts, fans, atmosphere and
even the weather.”
Martinez said his goals for
the championships include beat-
Ags, win streak to be
tested against Tech
□ This weekend's series
proves to be pivotal as
the SWC race is starting
to heat up.
By Robert Rodriguez
The Battalion
They can hit. They can pitch.
They can field. And they are
coming soon to an Olsen Field
near you.
The eighth-ranked Texas
Tech Red Raiders, leaders of the
Southwest Conference in hitting,
fielding and pitching will play a
crucial four-game series against
the Texas A&M baseball team
this weekend.
The Aggies
are in first
place in the
conference
race, 1 1/2
games in front
of Tech. How
ever, the Red
Raiders have
a team bat
ting average
of .345 and a
team earned
run average of 3.99, tops in the
conference. Their fielding per
centage is .970, which is second
best in the conference.
Head coach Mark Johnson
said Tech is a team that has all
the tools.
“They’ve got a well-rounded
team,” Johnson said. “They’re
ranked high and it’s not by acci
dent. They are a complete pack
age, and I don’t know if you can
stop one thing and not get hurt
by the others.”
Offensively, the Red Raiders
have the top three hitters in the
conference. Jason Totman leads
the SWC with a .429 average,
while both Clint Bryant and
Randy DuRoss are second with
.415 averages. Both Bryant and
Dion Ruecker are among the
conference leaders in home runs
with 10 apiece.
“They’re a solid hitting ball-
club,” Johnson said. “They score
Johnson
a lot of runs and their batting
averages are high. This will be a
real test for our pitchers.”
Defensively, the Red Raiders
have made only 51 errors in 43
games and their pitching has
been sound all year. Both Jeff
Peck and Travis Smith are
among the top 10 in the confer
ence in earned run average,
while Matt Miller leads the team
with eight victories. All three
pitchers are also in the top 10 in
the conference in strikeouts.
One thing Tech does not have
that the Aggies do is the mo
mentum from a 14-game win
ning streak. Johnson said this
momentum is crucial, especially
in a series like this one.
“We got some momentum go
ing and we have been playing
good, so I’m pleased that we are
going in on a pretty good roll,”
Johnson said. “I’d rather be going
in strong like we are right now
than (be) going in struggling.”
Junior Paul Barber agreed
with Johnson and said the mo
mentum the Aggies have has
jelled the team together.
“We are just on a high right
now and things are going our
way,” Barber said. “We are
playing good and the team is
like one big family. Everything
is just great.”
Another factor that is in
A&M’s favor is the home field
advantage they will have. All
four games will be played at
Olsen Field this weekend and
Johnson said this will help the
team that much more.
“I’m glad we are playing here
and the key for us is to get a lot
of fans out,” Johnson said. “We
got to have fan support since
this is a major series for us. One
team is going to gain ground and
one team is going to lose ground,
so this is a great matchup.”
“This matchup with Tech is
going to be a dogfight,” Barber
said. “It’s one we are looking for
ward to and we are ready to go.”
The first game of the series
will begin at 4 p.m. today at
Olsen Field.
ing arch rival Texas to win the
Southwest Conference.
“We are going in to win,” Mar
tinez said. “My goal is to beat
Texas in the final. Both TCU and
Texas are the top seeds, but we
have the ability to win.”
Men’s tennis coach David
Kent said he feels the team can
realistically contend with any
one in the SWC.
“We’ve got as good a chance
as anybody to win,” Kent said.
“We’re ranked No. 22 and we’ve
got the greatest fans in
the world.”
"Over the past four years, I can
count with one hand the losses
we've had at home."
—senior Bernardo Martinez
Kent said pressure from last
year’s successful team will have
no effect on this team.
“We have steadily improved,”
Kent said. “Our big problem was
losing Mark Weaver, but we
have good people at the top.”
On the women’s side, coach
Bobby Kleinecke said home field
advantage will definitely factor
into his team’s success.
“They love to play at home,”
Kleinecke said. “They just need
to focus on one game at a time.”
Despite the home advantage,
Kleinecke said a championship
will be not be difficult to obtain.
“The road is not easy,” Klei
necke said. “We had a tough
match with Houston, TCU, Bay
lor and Rice.”
The doubles team sophomore
of Nancy Dingwall and junior
Wilson Pate, who qualified for
the NCAA championships last
year and set a school record for
doubles teams with a 25-5
record, hope to repeat last year’s
championship.
Dingwall said revenge for a
loss sustained in the regular
season will motivate her against
her Houston competitor.
“We start off with Houston,”
Dingwall said. “I
want to get off to a
good start and get
revenge for the reg
ular season.”
“Each match is
going to be differ
ent,” Dingwall said.
“I need to devise a
plan for each match
that comes along.”
Dingwall said standout play
ers will include the University
of Texas’ Kelly Pace, who is
ranked No. 1 in the nation, and
Suzanne Anderson, who is
ranked in the top 50.
Pate said she has no doubts
about who one half of the finals
competition will be.
“I think we will be in the fi
nals,” Pate said. “It’s basically a
mental thing because we are
physically ready at this point.”
Both the men’s and women’s
matches will start at 1:00
p.m. today and continue on
through Sunday.
Junior Blake Arrant puts everything into his serve as he prepares
for this weekend’s SWC tournament.
After rough times, Barber still lucky to take the field
□ Paul Barber remembers back
to the car crash that almost
ended his baseball career.
By Tom Day
The Battalion
Junior infielder and pitcher Paul Barber
has accomplished many feats on the base
ball diamond. In high school. Barber was an
All-State selection, two-time MVP and was
named to the All-District team three times.
But perhaps his greatest accomplishment
as a player came last season, when he simply
took the field for the Aggie baseball team.
Barber was redshirted after a promising
freshman year when he suffered injuries in
a car accident the day before practice began
in 1993.
“It was a tough time when it happened,
but the coaches, the team and everybody
helped out a lot,” Barber said. “We were
winning that year and that helped out a lot,
too. It kind of took the pressure off and
eased the struggle of being out.”
Breaking both sides of his jaw and suf
fering a dislocated and broken ankle in the
accident, Barber’s road to recovery was not
a smooth one.
“I did a lot of exercises and running un
der (the supervision of) Danny Kniffin, the
physical therapist for the department,” Bar
ber said. “I also worked out over the sum
mer to get back in shape.”
“He lost a little bit of speed and agility
because of the frozen ankle,” A&M head
coach Mark Johnson said. “But, he can still
do everything we ask of him.
“It took dedication and hard work to get
back to the Division I playing level.”
Johnson said a reshuffling of the A&M
infield was necessary in Barber’s absence.
“After fall workouts (in 1992), he was
projected to be our starting shortstop and
Robert Harris was going to be at second
base,” Johnson said. “After the injury, we
had to move Harris to shortstop. We had
prepared differently, but everything worked
"To me, a position is just a posi
tion, it's fun no matter where
you're at."
-junior Paul Barber
out all right.”
After rejoining the team for the 1994 sea
son, Barber was happy just to be on the field.
“I just enjoy playing the game,” Barber
said. “To me, a position is a position, it’s
fun no matter where you’re at.”
This season. Barber has found much suc
cess at the plate, hitting .351 with a .452
on-base percentage. However, Johnson has
also made Barber his closing pitcher, an op
portunity the right-hander relishes.
“I like the closer’s role that I’m in right
now,” Barber said. “In tight games, you
want to be on the mound.
“It’s an adrenaline rush and something
you look forward to because there’s noth
ing like it.”
It is doubtful that the batters Barber
faces look forward to seeing him on the
mound because he is sporting the lowest
earned run average on the team at 0.96.
Barber is 3-0 on the year with a save and
opposing batters are hitting just .152
against him.
Drafted by the Houston Astros in 1991,
Barber picked up extra experience playing
summer baseball for the Wichita Broncos in
the Jayhawk League.
Johnson said Barber’s well-rounded ath
leticism and team-first attitude are what
impress him the most.
“He is a complete team player with no
hidden agendas,” Johnson said. “He’s not
trying to impress scouts or raise his batting
average, he’s only trying to help the team.
“When you have a dual position player
that can hit, pitch and play infield, you
have a special commodity.”
Barber attributes the A&M coaches for
teaching him the game and providing him
an avenue to success on the college level.
“You come in here as a young guy and
you think you know everything, hut you
don’t,” Barber said. “It takes a while to ad
just and really focus in on what the coaches
are trying to teach you.
Barber said his first priority is to help lead
the team back to the College World Series.
“My biggest goal is to go back to Omaha
because I missed out (in 1993) being
hurt,” Barber said. “I want a national
championship, and I think everybody on
this team does.”
Lady Aggies seek revenge against South Carolina
□ The softball team
heads into the series at
USC with some much-
needed confidence.
By Tom Day
The Battalion
Despite losing to the Univer
sity of South Carolina in the
Frost Cutlery Tournament last
weekend, the Texas A&M Lady
Aggie softball team is brimming
with confidence. The players felt
that their 2-0 setback to the
Lady Gamecocks could have
gone either way.
“We had a lot of chances to
win, but we let them slip away,”
sophomore first baseman Mya
Truelove said. “They made some
All-American catches and robbed
us of some hits. They’re good,
but they’re definitely a team we
can beat.”
The Lady Aggies, 24-18 on the
year, will carry this confidence
to Columbia, South Carolina this
weekend when they take on
USC again in a four-game series.
South Carolina, 41-14 and
ranked 11th nationally, owns a
21-1 home record.
“We have a chance to turn the
season around if we do really
well there, so we’re pretty moti
vated,” A&M head coach Bob
Brock said. “I felt like we could
have won (last week’s) game at
any time. We just didn’t get the
hit at the right time and they
made the catches.”
A&M was also without the
services of second baseman and
No. 3 batter Merry Mapp, who
was out with an injured hand
last week. She will rejoin the
starting lineup this weekend.
“Her injury has responded
and she should be ready to go,”
Brock said. “She’s been working
out all week and she’s got the
green light.”
Although it lost to South Car
olina, A&M fared well in its oth
er games in last weekend’s tour
nament posting a 4-1 mark.
The Lady Aggies will be look
ing to recapture some of the mo
mentum that propelled them to
a 10 game winning streak earli
er in the month. Junior short
stop Kendall Richards said the
team will be looking to get back
on a roll.
“We’re pretty excited to play
(USC) again,” Richards said.
“We’ve lost two out of three now,
and it would be good to turn that
back around and get a four game
winning streak going.”
Brock said the Lady Aggies
have improved in all areas in re
cent weeks.
“Last weekend, we got some
good things going,” Brock said.
“We ran and hit the ball well.
“We’ve been playing a lot bet
ter percentage defense and our
batting averages have been go
ing up. We’re playing good ball
right now.”
Whether a Chief or 49er, Joe still the greatest of all time
H e has been trying to dodge the warning
signs, a sore elbow and bad knees, but to
the dismay of sports fans everywhere,
there will be no more Joe.
The aches and pains finally caught up with fu
ture Hall-of-Famer Joe Montana as he decided 16
seasons of playing professional football were
enough and retired Tuesday.
Montana is perhaps the best quarterback in the
history of the National Football League and his con
tributions to the game will be missed. Montana’s ca
reer illustrates that no matter what obstacles one
might come up against, hard work and dedication
will enable you to overcome those obstacles.
At a time when athletes are trying not to be
role models, and others are not worthy of that dis
tinction, Montana will be remembered as an ath
lete and a good role model.
He epitomizes hard work and perseverance. As
piring athletes look to him as one who never quit
and gained the success of which he was deserving.
Kristina
Buffin
Sportswriter
It is hard to believe that a man
who has won four Super Bowl
rings was once cut from his high
school team. Montana’s coaches
believed that he lacked both arm
strength and athleticism.
Additionally, while he had a suc
cessful career at Notre Dame, pro
fessional scouts did not really see
him as a NFL type quarterback. He
was picked in the third round behind prospects
Jack Thompson and Steve Fuller (who?).
But Montana proved them all wrong.
The numbers speak for themselves. In 1982,
Montana set a NFC record with five consecutive
games in which he had 300 or more passing
yards. In 1988, Montana set a Super Bowl record
with 357 yards passing in the 49ers’ win over the
Cincinnati Bengals. Montana is fourth in career
passing yards (40,551) and touchdown passes
(273) and second in quarterback rating (92.3).
At Montana’s news conference,
over 20,000 fans chanted, “One
more year,” but while another year
of Joe would be ideal, Montana re
alized that the time had come.
Football was no longer fun but a
job. It would be a disservice to fans
to play because he felt he had to
not because he wanted to.
Although Montana’s retire
ment was a celebration of a great career, a dark
cloud loomed over the ceremony. The question
was, “Is Joe going to retire his number as a 49er
or a Chief?”
The answer seems simple, his 49er number
should be retired.
All of Montana’s accomplishments came as a
49er. He won four Super Bowls, three Most Valu
able Player awards and various passing titles.
When running back Roger Craig retired last
season, he was a Viking. However the 49er owner
ship picked him up as a free agent and signed him
to a small contract, then Craig retired. The same
should be done for Montana.
It would be extremely strange to see a num
ber 19 hanging at Arrowhead Stadium, consid
ering Montana only spent two seasons there. It
would be like Chris Webber retiring as a Golden
State Warrior.
If anything, the 49ers should have seen a situa
tion like this coming. When they traded Montana
for a first round draft pick, they should have includ
ed a clause in the trade that when Montana retired
the 49ers retained rights to retire his number.
Montana has said that if he coaches it will be
tee-ball but even if he departs the world of foot
ball, his mark has been left. He was an athlete
who did not succumb to the greed and selfishness
that is pervading the world of sports.
Even if Montana’s number is not retired as a
49er, in my mind and in the minds of San Fran
cisco fans every where, he will always be a 49er.