The Battalion
Monday
November 20, 1995
At a
Glance
Spouts Bum ps
Barone suspends Ali
from basketball team
Texas A&M Head Basketball
Coach Tony Barone suspended
sophomore forward Waseem Ali
Saturday for violating team rules.
Ali was penciled in as the Ag
gies' starting small forward for the
1995-96 season after averaging 2.5
points per game as a freshman last
year.
"The issue is unresolved so I will
not comment further on the situa
tion," Barone said.
Wente, Corbelli garner
SWC yearly honors
DALLAS (AP) — The University
of Texas' Demetria Sance and Texas
A&M's Suzy Wente led the All-
Southwest Conference volleyball
team announced Sunday.
Sance was a unanimous selec
tion to the team and Wente was
chosen SWC player of the year, the
conference said.
Wente, a senior from San Anto
nio, currently ranks third in the
NCAA in assists per game with a
14.2 average. She holds the record
for assists in a single season in SWC
matches with 599 for the 1995 sea
son. Wente also holds the second-
place spot with 505 for the 1994
season. She recorded 76 assists or
more in three matches this year.
Texas' Lakisha Bledsoe was cho
sen as the SWC newcomer of the
year. The redshirt freshman from Ar
lington ranks third in the league in
hitting percentage (.292) and block
ing (1.19 per game).
Texas A&M's Laurie Corbelli was
selected SWC coach of the year.
Corbelli, who led the Lady Aggies to
the second round of the NCAA tour
nament in the last two seasons,
brings her team into the tournament
with a No. 1 7 national ranking.
Rockets wave forward
Alvin Heggs
HOUSTON (AP) — The Houston
Rockets on Sunday waived forward
Alvin Heggs, a team official said.
Heggs saw action in four games
with Houston, averaging 2 points
and .5 rebounds in 3.5 minutes. He
scored seven points Milwaukee on
Nov. 16.
The Rockets' active roster stands
at 11 with Tim Breaux eligible to
come off the injured list after Mon
day's game with Boston.
Spouts Roundup
NFL
Cowboys 34, Raiders 21
Eagles 28, Giants 19
Packers 31, Browns 20
Colts 24, Patriots 10
Panthers 27, Cardinals 7
Lions 24, Bears 17
Steelers 49, Bengals 31
Falcons 31, Rams 6
Seahawks 27, Redskins 20
Buccaneers 17, Jaguars 16
Broncos 30, Chargers 27
Bills 28, Jets 27
Vikings 43, Saints 24
Chiefs 20, Oilers 13
NHL
Philadelphia 3, Vancouver 2
Buffalo 6, Ottawa 0
Florida 4, Anaheim 3
San Jose 3, Chicago 2
Upcoming Events
A&M Volleyball
The Lady Aggies take on South
west Conference rival Texas tonight
at Hofheinz Pavillion in the final of
the SWC Tournament at 7:30 p.m.
A&M Football
The Aggies travel to Fort Worth
Saturday to take on Texas Christian
University in a 1 p.m. game.
A&M Men's Basketball
Tonight the Aggies continue their
exhibition schedule with a game
against the Conoco Oilers at G. Rol-
lie White Cojiseum at 7 p.m.
NFL Football
Thursday: Cowboys vs. Chiefs
Sunday: Oilers vs. Broncos
Everything works in Ags’ 56-14 rout
□ The A&M Football Team
exploded for 28 points in the
first quarter.
By Nick Georgandis
The Battalion
Yes, it was a joke.
The competition, that is, provided
by Middle Tennessee State University
against the Texas A&M Football Team
Saturday in the Aggies’ 56-14 rout of
a victory.
A&M scored early and often against
the overmatched Blue Raiders, building
up a 28-0 lead in the first seven minutes
of the game, then cruising to the easy
victory.
“It was a good start for us,” A&M
Head Coach R.C. Slocum said. “You hate
to get in games with teams like this that
just hang around. Teams like this come
in all fired up, and if you let them hang
around, then they start thinking, ‘Hey,
we can play with these guys.’”
The Aggie offense gave the Blue
Raiders little time to think about any
thing — scoring on the second play of the
game when quarterback Corey Pullig
hooked up with Albert Connell on a short
screen pass that Connell turned into an
electrifying 61-yard touchdown reception.
A&M’s “Wrecking Crew” set the tone
for the MTSU offense on the Blue
Raiders’ first possession of the day.
On the first play from scrimmage for
MTSU, A&M junior linebacker Keith
Mitchell barreled through the Raider
line to sack quarterback Mark Quinn for
a nine-yard loss. Quinn’s day only got
worse as the Aggies sacked him 10 times
— one short of the A&M all-time record.
“We tried to come out and make a
statement early,” Mitchell said. “We
weren’t too worried about the score. We
just wanted to get something on every
single snap.”
The first MTSU drive ended with a
40-yard punt that was returned by se
nior Ray Mickens 32 yards to the A&M
42-yard line. On the next play, junior
tailback Leeland McElroy danced and
weaved his way 58 yards for a touch
down, giving the Aggies a 14-0 lead at
the 12:14 mark in the first quarter.
Neither the Aggie offense or defense
let up after grabbing the quick lead. Two
drives later, Mitchell deflected a Quinn
pass into the waiting arms of senior
linebacker Reggie Brown, who rumbled
22 yards for a touchdown.
Brown, who enjoyed a magnificent
game with eight tackles, an interception,
a pass broken up, a quarterback sack
and a forced fumble, said he was pleased
with the team’s effort.
“Overall, we played pretty well,”
Brown said. “There was no letdown, and
we didn’t underestimate them.”
The defense accounted for 21 of the Ag
gies’ points Saturday. In the second quar
ter, junior defensive lineman Pat
Williams scooped up a Quinn fumble and
returned it 47 yards for a touchdown with
just two seconds left in the half.
After scoring its first touchdown,
MTSU attempted an onside kick with
1:30 left in the third quarter. But plans
went awry when redshirt freshman line
backer Dat Nguyen recovered the kick
at the MTSU 46-yard line and returned
it into the end zone for his first career
touchdown.
“We were ready for a kick (onside),”
Nguyen said. “I suddenly saw a big, old
seam. I was on Cloud Nine. I never ex
pected to score on a kickoff. I only saw
the kicker, but I used my speed to get
around him.”
The Aggies capped off their biggest
scoring day in two seasons when junior
quarterback Stormy Case threw the first
touchdown pass of his career — a 12-
yard pass to Aaron Oliver on a fourth
down with five minutes left in the game.
Despite the general lack of competi
tion, the Aggie offense continued to im
prove itself for its run at the final South
west Conference crown.
In all, A&M compiled 455 yards of
offense — with McElroy leading the
way with 118 yards and two touch
downs on 17 carries. Pullig continued
to polish his game, completing ll-of-23
passes for 191 yards and one touch
down. Pullig also achieved his first
rushing touchdown of his career — a
two-yard dive that put A&M ahead 42-
0 in the third quarter.
The win marked the final non-confer
ence game in SWC history. The Aggies
face Texas Christian University Saturday
in Fort Worth, then close the 1995 season
against Texas at Kyle Field on Dec. 2.
With the new bowl alliance, if the Ag
gies win the SWC, they will play the los
er of the Florida-Florida State game
Jan. 1 in the Sugar Bowl.
SHane Elkins, The Battalion
Senior quarterback Corey Pullig slips into the end zone in the third quarter of A&M's 56-14
win over Middle Tennessee State Saturday. It was Pullig's first career rushing touchdown.
SMU KOs Aggie Soccer dreams again
Stew Milne, The Battalion
Sophomore forward Bryn Blalack (left) and junior forward Yvette Okler battle for the ball with
an SMU defender in the game that ended in a loss for the Lady Aggies.
□ The Aggie Soccer Team was de
feated Saturday by the Mustangs
2-1 in the NCAA Tournament.
By Philip Leone
The Battalion
In a clash of Southwest Conference titans
on Saturday afternoon, the Texas A&M Soc
cer Team was defeated 2-1 by the Southern
Methodist Lady Mustangs in the second
round of the NCAA Championships at
SMU’s Wescott Field.
Down 1-0 at halftime, SMU rallied with
two second-half goals to beat the Lady Ag
gies for the third consecutive time this sea
son and extend its 1995 unbeaten streak.
The loss ended A&M’s first-ever trip to
the NCAA playoffs and brought its overall
season record to 18-6.
Junior forward Kristen Koop gave the
Lady Aggies the early lead when she
knocked home a misplay by the SMU goal
keeper with just under nine minutes to play
in the first half.
SMU’s Erin Poole mishandled the ball af
ter charging out of the goal and allowed
Koop, the only Aggie near the goal box, to
easily register A&M’s only score of the day.
After failing to capitalize on several first-
half scoring opportunities, SMU got on the
board when sophomore forward Danielle
Garrett tied the game with barely a minute
gone by in the second period.
The goal proved particularly frustrating
See Soccer, Page 8
Smith, Aikman more than enough for Cowboys’ win
□ Dallas broke its one-
game "losing streak"
with a 34-21 win.
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) —
Who needs Deion Sanders on
offense? Certainly not the Dal
las Cowboys.
Emmitt Smith ran for three
touchdowns and Troy Aikman
threw a 17-yard scoring pass to
Michael Irvin as Dallas provid
ed yet more proof of the NFC’s
continuing superiority with a
34-21 win Sunday over the
Oakland Raiders.
With Sanders adding a key
interception, Dallas rebounded
from last week’s thrashing by
NFC rival San Francisco. After
that humbling 38-20 loss. Cow
boys owner Jerry Jones vowed
Sanders would see much more
action this weekend.
But Sanders made only a
cameo appearance on offense,
getting body-slammed by Rob
Fredrickson after a 1-yard gain
on an end around.
Dallas began a week in
which it will face the AFC’s two
best teams by battering the
Raiders. Oakland played the
second half without quarter
back Jeff Hostetler, who rein
jured his left shoulder on a hit
by Chad Hennings.
The Cowboys (9-2) host the
Kansas City Chiefs, who have
the NFL’s best record, on
Thursday. The NFC has won
11 straight Super Bowls, with
the Los Angeles Raiders
the last victorious AFC team
in 1984.
Vince Evans had touchdown
passes of 24 yards to Tim Brown
and 16 yards to Kerry Cash as
the Raiders (8-3) pulled within
31-21 early in the fourth quarter
after trailing by 24 points in the
third period. Harvey Williams
had a 7-yard TD run for Oak
land in the first half.
The Raiders, who were pe
nalized 13 times for 113 yards.
lost at home for the first time
since moving back to Oakland
this season.
Smith, who gained 111 yards
on 29 carries, had touchdown
runs of 13, 4 and 4 yards. Irvin
had seven catches for 109
yards, the ninth game this sea
son he has gone over 100 yards.
Aikman was l9-of-24 for
227 yards.
After Irvin’s scoring catch,
Sanders returned his intercep
tion 34 yards to set up Smith’s
first 4-yard TD run. Sanders
held the ball aloft during
the return and showed the
same bravado that made him a
fan favorite in San Francisco
last season.
Williams’ scoring run com
pleted an 82-yard drive and
pulled Oakland within a touch
down, but Chris Boniol kicked a
26-yard field goal to give Dallas
a 17-7 halftime lead.
Ags move to
15th; Texas
ninth in AP
| □ Northwestern
moved up to fourth.
(AP) Nebraska, Ohio State
and Florida remained 1-2-3
; in The Associated Press col- ;
; lege football poll Sunday,
while Northwestern moved
up one spot to No. 4.
Nebraska (10-0), which
I didn't play Saturday, received i
; 44 first-place votes and 1,529 |
i points from a nationwide me-
' dia panel.
Ohio State (11-0) got 13
i firsts and 1,477 points after ;
i beating Indiana 42-3. Florida |
(10-0), which downed Vander-
bilt 38-7, received five firsts
and 1,458 points. ■
Northwestern (10-1) ;
passed Tennessee (9-1) in the
rankinge after the Vols strug
gled to beat Kentucky 34-31.
Northwestern concluded its ;
regular season with a 23-8 ;
; victory over Purdue.
Tennessee was fifth, fol
lowed by Florida State (9-1), !
; Notre Dame (9-2), Colorado i
; (9-2), Texas (8-1-1) and ;
Kansas State (9-2).
Florida State beat Mary- |
land 59-17, Notre Dame ;
I defeated Air Force 44-14, ;
Colorado topped Kansas i
State 27-17, and Texas beat ;
TCU 27-19.
Notre Dame and Colorado :
; each moved up one notch,
Kansas State fell three places .
; and Texas rose one spot.
Kansas was 11th, followed
by Oregon, Virginia Tech,
Penn State, Texas A&M,
i Auburn, Southern Cal, Michi- ;
: gan, Virginia, Washington, Al- ;
I abama, Syracuse, Arkansas,
i Clemson and Miami.
Kansas rose four places af- ;
; ter beating Oklahoma State ;
' 22-17, Oregon jumped four
notches after downing Oregon
; State 12-10, and Virginia :
Tech soared seven spots after
defeating Virginia 36-29. i
Penn State and Auburn
• each moved up five spots. ;
Penn State beat Michigan
; 27-17 and Auburn defeated ;
Alabama 31-27. I
: :