Thursday
September 14,1995
SPORTS
Kansas expects big
turnaround against TCU
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Two
weeks into the college football season,
Kansas' plan to cure its passing ills has
met with mixed success.
The jayhawks' aerial game is revi
talized, with more passes for more
yards and touchdowns than since
1992. But the rushing attack, long a
staple of Glen Mason teams, has fall
en from No. 8 in the nation a year
ago to No. 8 in the Big Eight.
Texas Christian University, which
meets the Jayhawks in a 7 p.m. kickoff
Thursday night in Lawrence, could like
ly see a very different offense from the
one the Horned Frogs beat a year ago in
Fort Worth, Texas.
TCU's most vivid memory of Kansas
is a strong running game in which June
Henley alone netted 118 yards.
"I'm not pleased with the running
game right now," said Mason, whose
Jayhawks are 2-0 and bidding for na
tional attention. "We've spent a lot of
time on our passing game and it took
away from the running game."
NBA trio booted from
Waffle House
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — NBA play
ers Gary Payton, Jason Kidd and Brian
Shaw were kicked out of a 24-hour
restaurant after waitresses accused
them of being threatening and shout
ing obscenities.
Shaw conceded his group of eight
people, which included Kidd of the
Dallas Mavericks and Payton of the
Seattle SuperSonics, was talking and
laughing loudly during a 4:30 a.m.
stop at the Waffle House restaurant.
But he said waitress Marty Sharp was
aide to him first and ordered the group
to "shut up."
"She was nervous because we were
allblack, coming in at (4:30) in the
morning," Shaw said. "We were
laughing and talking loudly. I told her
logo ahead and call police. We
weren't doing anything wrong."
Police asked the group to leave the
restaurant and they complied. Police
spokesman Mike Holloway said a tres
pass warning should have been writ
ten, and Sharpe said she still wants a
guarantee the players can't return.
The Battalion
Sports
Tipton makes quick mark at A&M
□ The hard-hitting
freshman has made a
smooth transition to
the collegiate level.
By Lisa Nance
The Battalion
Freshman Kim Tipton is
looking to make a name for
herself in her first year on
the Texas A&M women’s vol
leyball team. The 6-foot out
side hitter from Arlington has
begun making her mark al
ready by completing the tran
sition from high school athlet
ics to the collegiate level with
surprising ease.
“Kim has done a super job
(on making the transition),”
A&M Head
Coach Lau
rie Corbelli
said. “In the
preseason,
in practice,
she was
probably
the most
prepared
freshman.
Nothing
shook her,
she was
right there with all the drills.
She was really complete.”
Tipton, who was a three-
year starter at Arlington
High School, admits playing
at the college level is differ
ent from what she was used
to in high school.
“The only thing that is re
ally different is that the pace
of the game is a lot faster,”
Tipton said, “The speed and
level of intensity are a lot
greater also.
“The coaches ask more of
you than in high school.
“The level has totally
changed, you hit harder, you
have people hitting harder at
you and you have to put up a
stronger block.”
Tipton possesses a variety
of shots, including a sharp
angle shot, down the line
shot, and a change-up that
will allow her to make an im
mediate contribution to the
team.
At Arlington High, she was
a three-time, first-team All-
District selection and was
voted District 8-5A’s Most
Valuable Player for 1994. As
a senior, she set a school
record with 444 kills and
posted 59 block shots, 92
block assists, 189 digs and 44
aces in her final season.
After her standout 1994
season. Tipton was named to
the all-
state sec
ond team
by both the
Texas Girls
Coaches
Association
and the
Texas
Sportswrit-
ers Associ
ation, and
"In the presea
son, she was
probably the
most prepared
freshman."
— Laurie Corbelli
A&M Volleyball Coach
was selected to play on the
TGCA West all-star team.
Her experience in high
school has helped her to make
a solid impact as a freshman.
“Her most immediate con
tribution as a freshman has
been her ball control and her
knowledge of the game,” Cor
belli said. “In the recruiting
process, she was identified as
one of the best ball handlers
and is a very smart player.”
In addition to her high
school play, Tipton played
club ball for the Mid-Cities
Black. Her team took first
place at the 1994 Tour of
Texas, a statewide tourna
ment of semipro teams.
As a club player, she was a
three-time, all-tournament
selection at the Tour of Texas
and was also named to the
all-tournament team at the
1993 Lone Star Classic.
Tipton, who is now back in
full force after an injury to
her quadricep, is ready to be
gin competing for a starting
position.
“I want to see a lot of play
ing time,” Tipton said. “I
want to work hard for a spot.
If it’s not a starting role, I at
least want to go in a few
games. Right now, Andrea
(Williams) is playing right
side, so we’ll be competing.”
Corbelli said that Tipton
will see some playing time as
a freshman, especially on de
fense.
“I used to think her
strength would be her power
behind the net, but now I
think it’s her back row,” Cor
belli said. “It’s a lot stronger
than I thought it would be,
and she will probably be one
of our key passers. We usual
ly receive with three players,
and she’ll probably be in at
one of those three positions.
She has a very good feel for
the ball.”
Tipton, who saw some play
ing time against Utah State,
said that she was scared but
was glad to get the jitters out
of the way.
Tipton credits the veterans
of the team for making her
transition a smooth one.
“We all get along so well,”
she said, “The upperclassmen
really make us feel like we
belong. They really help us
out a lot.”
Tim Moog, The Battalion
Lady Aggie freshman Kim Tipton works on her jump serve during a re
cent A&M Volleyball practice.
4k-
A&M faces tough road in North Carolina
Plan to keep Oilers in
Houston takes downturn
HOUSTON (AP) — Attorneys trying
to settle a Houston Oilers lawsuit
came to court armed with smiles and
confidence only to exit a judge's
chambers Wednesday a little gray
around the gills.
After failing to resolve the issue of
the Oilers' lease at the Astrodome,
U.S. District Judge Lynn N. Hughes
gave the football team, the city of
Houston, Harris County and As
trodome USA until late Wednesday to
come up with a resolution.
The 4:30 p.m. deadline passed
without an agreement.
So the lawyers will be back in court
Thursday morning — this time with
their clients, including Oilers owner
Bud Adams, Houston Mayor Bob
Lanier and Astrodome manager Dray
ton McLane Jr.
Officials on both sides were to have
approved a tentative settlement
knocked out by attorneys Monday
night so that Hughes could sign a final
consent decree.
Player reps approve
NBA labor deal
□ The volleyball will
play North Carolina,
Duke and LSU this
weekend.
By Tom Day
The Battalion
They may have been the de
fending national champions and
the No.l ranked team in the
country, but to the Lady Aggie
volleyball team, the Stanford
Cardinal was a victim.
A&M’s five-set victory over
the nation’s top-ranked team
last weekend sent a clear mes
sage to its future opponents:
Look out.
“Hopefully (the win) got us
a little more respect national
ly,” A&M Head Coach Laurie
Corbelli said. “For those who
think it was a fluke, we’re
planning to prove it wasn’t for
the rest of the season.”
Lady Aggie setter and
team captain Suzy Went©
said the team not only over
came Stanford’s powerful
play, but a little prematch in
timidation as well.
“With their height advan
tage and the way they were
hitting balls in warm-ups, we
were intimidated,” Wente said.
“But we went out
there and executed,
and it all came togeth
er. (The win) gave us
a lot of confidence.”
The win was one of
the most important
and dramatic in Lady
Aggie history.
It was also A&M’s
first win over a
ranked team since
their defeat of Michi
gan State last season
in the first round of
the NCAA Volleyball Tourna
ment.
The Aggies went on to lose
to fourth-ranked Ohio State in
the next round.
Corbelli said the team can
always refer back to the Stan
ford victory during the season
if the team suffers a drop off.
“It gives us a reference
point for our confidence level
and our ability,” Corbelli said.
“At any point during the sea
son we have doubt or we’re
lacking motivation or inspira
tion, we can always
look back to the Stan
ford match.”
One of the keys to the
Lady Aggies’ win was
the play of outside hitter
Andrea Williams. The
senior led the team in
digs and kills against the
Cardinal.
“She was completely
unstoppable,” Wente
said. “Their players
looked totally frustrated.
Everything she hit was a
“Andrea was out of this
world,” Corbelli said. “I had
never seen her practice or com
pete that way for that long of a
time or at that high of a level.
She has really raised the expec
tations she has of herself this
season.”
The Lady Aggies will need
more of the same solid play
from Williams this weekend
as the team embarks on a
three-game road trip to North
Carolina.
On Friday, A&M will travel
to Chapel Hill to take on North
Carolina.
“North Carolina is a big,
strong, offensive team and
we’ll have be careful of their
size and ability at the ne.t,”
Corbelli said.
On Saturday, the Aggie net-
ters head north to Durham to
play Louisiana State and Duke.
“LSU is young and spirited
and probably one of the most
athletic teams we’ll see this
season,” Corbelli said. “Duke
is in a rebuilding year and
may be down, but when you’re
the visiting team, it’s always
tough.”
Last weekend against Stan
ford and Illinois, the Lady Ag
gies built commanding two-
game leads, only to lose their
composure.
That problem cost the team
a victory against Illinois, and
is something Williams said
the team will need to improve
on this weekend.
“We need to learn to start
strong and stay strong
through the whole match,”
Williams said. “We need to
work together from the begin
ning, keep our momentum go
ing and not dwell on mistakes
that we’ve made.
“I think that will be a real
plus for us this weekend.”
Corbelli said the team is
meeting its early-season ex
pectations.
“I really believe we are at
the point where we thought
we’d be,” Corbelli said. “We
realized early in the season
that we were going to be
quicker and a little bigger,
and we’d have a lot of spirit.
That’s showing in our play
right now.”
kill.”
CHICAGO (AP) — NBA player
representatives today approved a
deal that should ensure labor peace
for six years, needing only the ex
pected final approval from team
owners.
The vote was 25-2 in favor of the
deal, with a three-quarters vote
needed for approval. Boston and
Sacramento cast the dissenting votes.
"It looks like we're going to play
ball this season," Shawn Bradley of
the Philadelphia 76ers said. "The
vote went well."
"We're happy we can go for
ward," Bulls player rep Steve Kerr
said after the 35-minute meeting.
"The vote was overwhelming."
NBA deputy commissioner Russ
Granik said he hoped the owners
would approve the deal by Friday.
"We will promptly submit the
deal to the owners for ratification,
and we hope to have their approval
by Friday afternoon," Granik said in
a statement. "We would be able to
lift the lockout and resume normal
operations on Monday, September
18."
There is at least one other poten
tial impediment, that from Sacra
mento's Mitch Richmond.
Richmond, who attended the
meeting, has filed a charge with the
National Labor Relations Board
questioning whether players were
coerced during their decertification
vote in the past two weeks. The vote
was counted Tuesday.
A&M soccer team ready to turn back Tide
Stew Milne, The Battalion
Texas A&M sophomore midfielder Sonia Ibanez kicks the ball past
Marquette's Danielle Henion at the Aggie Soccer Complex.
□ The Aggies are
ranked 14th in the
nation.
By David Winder
The Battalion
When the Texas A&M soccer
team steps onto the field of the
Aggie Soccer Complex this Fri
day, it will be playing the Uni
versity of Alabama.
When the Crimson Tide
steps onto the field, they will
be playing the 14th-ranked
women’s soccer team in the na
tion.
After upsetting fifth-ranked
William & Mary and losing to
fourth-ranked Duke University
2-1, the Aggies moved up from
No.19 to No.14 this week in
Soccer America.
The jump gives the Aggies’
their highest ranking in the
program’s history and is the
first time the Aggies have been
ranked in the Soccer America
poll.
The onlv other Southwest
Conference team ranked high
er than the Aggies is Southern
Methodist University, which
checks in at No.9.
“Now, we have to keep win
ning and moving up in the
rankings,” forward Yvette Ok-
ler said. “We’ve got No.6 Mass
achusetts and ninth-ranked
SMU (Southern Methodist
University) coming up.”
But before the Aggies start
playing the rank
ings game, they
have to play Alaba
ma.
“We expect them
to come out and
play us straight up,”
A&M Head Soccer
Coach G. Guerrieri
said. “We feel we
will have a lot more
team speed than
they will.
“It should be a
pretty good match-up in that
we will be looking at mostly
A&M’s attack mentality com
pared to Bama’s defensive pri
orities and their ability to
counterattack. ”
Alabama is 1-2 this season,
with its only win a 2-1 victory
over the University of Georgia.
Ashley Kirkland leads the
Crimson Tide with two goals.
“We’re going to have to dic
tate the speed of the game,”
A&M midfielder Allison Buckley
said. “We can’t play at their
speed.”
The Aggies are 3-1 this sea
son with victories
also over the Univer
sity of Arkansas and
Marquette Universi-
ty
Junior forward
Kristen Koop leads
the team with seven
goals followed by
sophomore forward
Bryn Blalack.
“We came into our
first game a little bit
lax,” Guerrieri said.
“We have to dictate the pace of
the game and keep possession of
the ball for the majority of the
match. That in itself will deter
mine the outcome of the game.”