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Sept. 1
Ripken: The shortstop has not
missed a game since 1982
Continued from Page 1
hurt, he played through it,”
teammate Rafael Palmeiro said.
Through it all, Ripken
showed up ready to play. And
play he did, game after game
after game.
“It’s untouchable. I don’t
think there’s anyone who has
the gall to approach a record
like this,” Baltimore outfielder
Jeffrey Hammonds said. “This
is Cal Ripken’s record, and it
will always be Cal Ripken’s
record.”
Haven’t we heard this be
fore? That’s what they were
saying in 1939, when Gehrig
pulled himself from the New
York Yankees’ lineup after a
stretch of ineffective perfor
mances at the plate.
Gehrig held the record for
56 years. Then along came
Ripken, who figured as long as
he was coming to the ballpark,
he might as well play. He’s
carried that philosophy with
him for 2,131 games, and now
he’s the proud owner of one
heck of a streak.
"It will never be broken,”
California outfielder Tim
Salmon said. “I still can’t be
lieve that’s Ripken out there
every day, because there are
so many things that can hap
pen in the course of a season.”
Baltimore rookie Mark
Smith missed a few games last
week after he got his finger
cut in a hotel air conditioner.
A few days before that, Orioles
outfielder Curtis Goodwin
split open his finger trying to
lay down a bunt.
Anything can happen. Rip
ken has had his share of aches
and pains, but nothing has
been severe enough to cause
him to approach his manager
and ask for a day off.
“To play with Cal and know
him, you can see that he is not
of the norm. He’s not a normal
person, physically and mental
ly,” Rene Gonzales, a former
teammate who now plays with
the Angels. “He does every
thing he’s supposed to, every
single day.”
Gehrig will still always be
known as the Iron Horse. Rip
ken has no nickname, but his
name has become synonymous
with persistence, integrity and
consistency. '
“Tonight I stand here over
whelmed, as my name is
linked with the great and
courageous Lou Gehrig,” Rip
ken said during the post-game
celebration. “I’m truly hum
bled to have our names spoken
in the same breath.
‘‘Some may think our
strongest connection is be
cause we have played many
consecutive games. Yet I be
lieve in my heart that our true
link is a common motivation
— a love of the game of base
ball, a passion for our team
and a desire to compete on the
very highest level.”
It is that philosophy that
has endeared him to his peers.
“The record which has been
broken today speaks volumes
about a man who never undu
ly focused on this achieve
ment, but accomplished it
through years of energy, in
credible inner resources and
an unflagging passion for the
sport,” teammate Brady An
derson told the crowd.
A&M dominates in ’95 opener
□ The volleyball team
takes three straight
games from Utah State.
By Tom Day
The Battalion
In its season-opening match
Wednesday night at G. Rollie
White Coliseum, the Texas A&M
volleyball team proved there is
room for only one team of Aggies
in Texas. The Lady Aggie netters
showed no mercy in dispatching
the Utah State Aggies in three
games, 15-7, 15-8 and 15-3.
A&M Volleyball Head Coach
Laurie Corbelli was pleased with
her team’s effort.
“For a season-opening match,
it was OK for us,” Corbelli said. “I
was really proud of the way we
kept our momentum. We only
had one downslide and that was
really pleasing to see.”
Capitalizing on the powerful
serve of Kristie Smedsrud, the
Lady Aggies blazed to an early
lead in the first game. The senior
outside hitter recorded three con
secutive aces and four in the
game.
“We’ve been working a lot on
serving in the last week,” Smed
srud said. “I was a little nervous
about it, so I kind of fed off mo
mentum and adrenaline.”
After a small lapse that saw
USU tie the game up at 7-7,
the Lady Aggies exploded for
eight straight points to close
out the game.
Corbelli said her team did a
good job overcoming typical early-
season miscues.
“Individually on defense, we’re
feeling good with the court and
ball-control, but as a team, we
had a few people out of position,”
Corbelli said. “We also made a
few hitting errors, but that will
happen early in the season on
any team.”
After taking the second game,
Corbelli emptied her bench in the
final frame. Freshmen outside
hitters Kim Tipton and Stacy
Sykora helped fuel a furious
A&M attack that put the match
away. Sykora recorded three
kills and a service ace in her
Lady Aggie debut.
“I was kind of scared to make a
mistake, but I was pretty com
fortable out there,” Sykora said.
“I love playing in front of crowds.”
Junior middle blocker Page
White paced the Lady Aggie at
tack with eight kills and four ser
vice aces while senior setter Suzy
Wente recorded 21 assists.
“It was great to get back in the
noise,” Wente said. “I love playing
in G. Rollie White, and we had a
lot of people here.”
With their first match behind
them, Corbelli said the Lady Ag
gies can look forward to playing
their next contest without too
much nervousness.
“We had some players that
were still a little bit tight,” Cor
belli said. “Getting back into com
petition and meeting expectations
is going to help their game a lot.
“Overall, I was happy I got to
see almost everybody on the
court. It was a great match for
us to evaluate areas that we
need to immediately work on.”
This weekend, the Lady Ag
gies head to Chicago, Ill. to play
in the Mizuno USA Cup.
On Friday, the team faces
the daunting task of taking on
Stanford University, the de
fending national champions
and current top-ranked team in
the country.
Evan Zimmerman, The Battalion
Texas A&M senior setter Suzy Wente sets the ball as sophomore middle
blocker Cindy VanderWoude watches during Wednesday night's game.
Goalie McConnell Aggies’ last line of defense
□ The sophomore com
piled an 11-2 record dur
ing the 1994 season.
By Tom Day
The Battalion
Stew Milne, The Battalion
Sophomore goalie Sunny McConell kicks the
ball upheld during Sunday's game vs. Marquette.
Preparation, teamwork, leader
ship: It sounds like the beginning of a
U.S. Army television commercial. Al
though Sunny McConnell is not en
listed in the Armed Forces, she incor
porates these elements into her style
of play. As the starting goalkeeper for
the Texas A&M soccer team, her suc
cess is dependent upon them.
“The team counts on her consisten
cy and leadership and the example
that she sets in training,” A&M head
coach G. Guerrieri said. “As far as
concentration and intensity, she’s
probably our most complete player.”
Last season, McConnell tallied an
impressive 11-2-1 record while allow
ing just 11 goals for a 1.01 goals-
against average. She posted a career-
high 78 saves while playing the most
minutes on the team.
McConnell said preparation is the
key to her success.
“I try to prepare myself mentally
before the game,” McConnell said. “I
visualize different types of shots and
see myself making those saves in my
mind. It makes things easier in the
game.”
Ranked fifth among South Region
goalkeepers last year, McConnell
credited solid team defense as her av
enue to success.
“The play of the defense is vital,”
McConnell said. “If the defense isn’t
playing well, it makes my job a lot
harder. When we all click together,
things run very smoothly.”
Guerrieri said McConnell’s leader
ship at goalie is as crucial to the team
as her solid play in the goal box.
“It’s a give-and-take system,”
Guerrieri said. “(The defense) is de
pendent on her to lead and communi
cate to them what they need to do,
and she’s dependent on them to do
what’s asked of them. One doesn’t
carry the other; she’s just one-quarter
of the defense.”
Playing one the toughest positions
in soccer, McConnell said there is lit
tle room for error.
“There’s a lot of pressure,” Mc
Connell said. “Generally, if you make
a mistake, a lot of the time it results
in a goal. Whereas if you make a
mistake or give the ball away in the
middle of the field, it doesn’t directly
result in a goal.”
“We try not to put pressure on our
keepers,” Guerrieri said. “We’re not
in a position where we have to de
pend on them to win games because
so much of our game is based on scor
ing and attack. We depend on Sunny
to keep us in games and make the
saves that are within her abilities.”
As a two-time GTE Academic
Achievement Award recipient, Mc
Connell works just as hard in the
classroom as one the field.
Guerrieri said that effort is expect
ed from all of his players, and that
the desire to excel is a main reason
for the team’s success.
“Our system is based on 100-per
cent effort,” Guerrieri said. “With
Sunny, we always get that effort.
She’s a great student that works well
with the team.
“She’s worked hard to get to the
level she’s at now.”
Preparation, teamwork and leader
ship: Like the commercial says, Mc
Connell is definitely all she can be.
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