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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 7, 1996)
bruary 7,1956 hat the Assoc- although he are beneli- the loan pro be one of hii in the short 1 not needs ’d be more in ships.” i on Universi- larships, stu- :t the Finan- icated in the ome in fora sir I.D. cards, y, rather than write a died ' said, xp ending Ag- ipus, When- s are in the aundry facili- alls and copy ing C. Evans accept Aggie sakers Tim let will dis- rker Posi- , and Sum- es.” Call nk at 694- nation. association: cs will host [ to discuss ight’s topic is Lee 764- lion service student and vities. Items io later than e of the de cation dead- not events What's Up. ions, please 45-3313. The Battalion Vednesday : ebruary 7, 1996 GLANCE Groff reveals changes to 1996 schedule Texas A&M Athletic Director Wally Groff announced an updated 1996 football schedule complete with times for home games. "As of today, our schedule is firm as far as dates are concernec," Groff said. "The times are still subject to change to accomodate television, but our dates will not change." Aug.24 at BYU 11 .am. Sep. 14 at USL TBA Sep.21 NORTH TEXAS 4 p.m. Sep.28 COLORADO 2:30 p.m. Oct.5 LA. TECH 4 p.m. Oct.12 at Iowa State TBA Oct.19 KANSAS STATE 1p.m. Oct.26 TEXAS TECH 1 p.m. Nov.2 at Oklahoma State TBA Nov.9 at Baylor TBA Nov.16 OKLAHOMA 1 p.m. Nov.29 at Texas 10 a.m. Mavericks' Kidd best in NBA for the week NEW YORK (AP) — Jason Kidd of the Dallas Mavericks, who aver aged a triple double in three games, was selected Tuesday as NBA player of the week. Kidd led the Mavericks to a 2-1 showing last week by averaging 27.7 points, 10.7 rebounds and 10.7 assists. He also shot .517, making 30 of 58 attempts — including 14 of 24 from 3-point range — and aver aged 3.3 steals. The Dallas guard ranked third in steals, fourth in scoring and as sists and 19th in rebounding for the week. Hill drops out of All- Star Dunk Contest NEW YORK (AP) — Grant Hill of the Detroit Pistons withdrew Tues day from the Slam-Dunk competi tion, part of the NBA's All-Star weekend in San Antonio. ) Hill has a sore right wrist as the result of an injury in game Jan. 29, the league said. He will start in Sunday's All- Star game, however, according to the league. Hill led all players in fan bal loting, which determined the starting teams. Tagliabue faces skep tics in Congress talk an i? t ’s ith WASHINGTON (AP) — NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue faced a skeptical, sometimes hostile House Judiciary Committee today and asked for a change in federal law that would make his job more powerful. Court interpretations of antitrust law, and the $50 million pricetag of losing the court case filed by Raiders owner Al Davis, have made football owners reluctant to fight teams that want to change cities, Tagliabue said. "Right now we are powerless in this area because of the antitrust un certainties,'' he testified. The committee, which includes some lawmakers opposed to any changes in the law and some that want to make more dramatic changes than Tagliabue favors, stacked the hearing to give priority to cities that have lost or fear losing their professional football teams. It also made Tagliabue take his turn after the committee heard an emotional, heartfelt plea from an or- ange-shoed, bone-bearing fan from Cleveland's "dawg pound." SCORES ROUNDUP NBA Magic 112, Kings 102 Spurs 109, Hornets 102 Cavaliers 91, Celtics 73 Suns 106, Bulls 96 Bucks 114, Mavericks 11 Lakers 99, Nuggets 78 Rockets and Sonics 18 UPCOMING EVENTS Men's Basketball The Aggies will host Texas Tech Saturday at G. Rollie White Colise um in Southwest Conference action. Women's Basketball The Lady Aggies travel to Waco tonight to play the Lady Bears of Baylor University. Women's Tennis The Lady Aggies begin the spring ^ason today at 1:30 p.m. when 'hey host the North Texas Eagles. Sports Red-hot Lady Ags seek redemption in Waco □ The Texas A&M Wom en's Basketball Team is riding a three-game win ning streak. By Kristina Buffin The Battalion The Texas A&M Women’s Basketball Team (13-7, 4-3) has become a runaway freight train over the last three games and looks like it is not slowing down anytime soon. The Lady Aggies hope to con tinue extend their win streak against the Baylor Bears at the Ferrell Center, tonight at 7 p.m. “We are playing there, so it will be tough,” junior guard Lana Tucker said. “Last year, we lost there and it hurt our season. We need to play our game and not get caught up in their game. Baylor likes to push the ball, so we have to stop their transition game and have to be ready.” Defense has been the reason that the Lady Aggies were able to recover from their uncharac teristic three-game slump. In the Lady Aggies’ 63-55 win over Southern Methodist University Sunday, A&M held the Mus tangs to a .282 field-goal per centage. Senior guard Bambi Ferguson had a career-high nine rebounds. “I try to be consistent,” Fergu son said. “I’m working on little things like blocking out. I’m fo cusing on rebounding and areas where I can help the team out.” The win against SMU was a confi dence boost for the Lady Aggies because the Mustangs swept A&M last year. The win also helped the team get things back on track. “I think our confidence has been boosted,” A&M Women’s Head Coach Candi Harvey said. “SMU gave us a huge standings and emotional boost. We got that monkey off our back when we beat them.” Now that the monkey has been lifted, the Lady Aggies say they are ready to pull it together for the last six Southwest Con ference games of the season. “After the three-game losing streak, we didn’t have half of the confidence we needed to win,” Tucker said. “Now we want to keep it going. We are fired up to get into the SWC Tournament and win.” Last year, the Lady Aggies lost to the Bears 83-67 mainly because of rebounding. A&M has "We realize that it is impor tant to take it one game at a time. We need to focus. De fense wins." — Candi Harvey Head Womens Basketball Coach this costly lost in mind and re fuses to look past Baylor. “We are not looking past to Tech,” Harvey said. “Our loss last year was costly. We realize that it is important to take it one game at a time. We need to fo cus. Defense wins. We held our last three opponents to only a .310 field-goal percentage. That is getting it done.” Cory Willis, The Battalion Texas A&M senior point guard Lisa Branch drives to the basket during Sunday's win over SMU at G. Rollie White Coliseum. The Defense Never Rests □ Lana Tucker was the Lady Aggies' 1995 Defend er of the Year. By Philip Leone The Battalion What does junior Lady Aggie guard Lana Tucker have in common with Elvis Presley? Well, she does not look, sing or dress anything like “The King”, but in her three seasons at Texas A&M, Tucker has gained a reputation for “‘takin’ care of busi ness in a flash.’ Just ask her back- court teammate. “Night in and night out, you can count on Lana Tucker to hustle her tail off and take care of her business on both sides of the court,” senior guard Lisa Branch said. “She’s not want you’d call a standout or flashy type of player, but she does all the in tangibles. She does all the little things. That’s why she is so success ful on and off the court.” Success is nothing new for Tuck er. During her three seasons as a starter at Duncanville High School, Tucker helped lead the Pantherettes to an unbelievable 109-4 record. As a senior, she averaged 13.3 points and 3.7 steals per game on her way to being named to the Texas Associ ation of Basketball Coaches’ All- State second team. But according to Tucker, her fond est memory of playing basketball at Duncanville was being coached by the legendary Sandra Meadows. Mead ows, who passed away two years ago after a long fight with cancer, is Texas’ all-time winningest girls’ high School basketball coach. “Coach Meadows was everything that I want to be,” Tucker said. “She worked hard, she loved what she was doing and she had such a great way with people.The main reason we were so successful at Duncanville was that the team didn’t ever want to let her down. She was that kind of lady.” It did not take long for Tucker’s winning ways to make an impression at A&M. She received immediate playing time as a freshman, playing in all but one of the Lady Aggies’ 31 games that season. As a full-time starter in 1994-95, Tucker’s tenacity as a sophomore helped her grab 38 steals and earned her the team’s Best Defen sive Player Award at the end of season. See Tucker, Page 10 Evan Zimmerman, The Battalion Junior guard Lana Tucker competes in a layup drill during practice last week. □ Calvin Davis is fifth in the SWC in blocked shots. By Kristina Buffin The Battalion After four of the five starters in Tony Cory Willis, The Battalion Freshman forward Calvin Davis goes up for a shot during Saturday's win over SMU. Barone’s starting lineup graduated last year, the Texas A&M Men’s Basketball coaching staff was look ing for a good defensive player to fill the void left by the departure of Tony McGinnis. Luckily for the Aggies, they found a gem just down the road in Killeen in freshman forward Calvin Davis. Unlike many athletes, Davis does not have an inflated ego. His actions are based on whatever helps the team as a whole. He is not looking for personal success, only team awards. “I have been happy with my play,” Davis said. “I have one goal: to contribute anything to the team, whether I start or come off the bench.” At Killeen High School, Davis earned first-team, all-state honors after averaging 22.8 points, 13.3 re bounds and 3.3 blocked shots. “His shot blocks equal easier bas kets on the other end,” A&M Head Coach Tony Barone said. “Although he is not that big, he is intimidating because of his long, skinny arms and his great jumping ability. He has a nice package.” In addition to A&M, Davis was also recruited by the University of Arizona, Oklahoma State Universi ty, the University of Colorado and the University of Texas. “I liked the coaching staff, and that was the main reason I chose A&M,” Davis said. “I also wanted to stay close to home, but the decision was mostly based on the staff. “I knew last year that a lot of people would be graduating and that new players would have a chance for playing time.” So far this season, Davis has shown why he was so highly recruit ed. He started his first game against McNeese State on Dec. 20 and had a career-high 22 points. Davis is shooting 52 percent from the field and 69.6 percent from the free-throw line. “Calvin, for the minutes he plays See Davis, Page 10 Tennis team kicks off □ The Lady Aggies will be gin play against North Texas today at 1:30 p.m. By Stephanie Christopher The Battalion Although the cold weather would beg to differ, the Lady Aggie Tennis Team will begin the 1996 spring sea son today by hosting the University of North Texas Eagles. The match will begin at 1:30 p.m. at the Omar Smith Tennis Center. The Lady Aggies say they are going into this match extremely self-assured of themselves. They hope to exceed their record from last year when the team finished second in the Southwest Conference and 30th in the nation. The team to beat appears to be the Lady Longhorns of the University of Texas, who finished first in the nation last season. Senior Wilson Pate said UT could be beatable this season because of key losses. “I believe that we will play Texas better this year because they lost their top two players last year,” Pate said. “In order for us to beat them, we will have to play really hard and be fo cused.” Pate said the team’s main goal is to be ranked in the Top 25 this year and be invited to the NCAA tournament. “We have been practicing hard for the last three weeks, and I feel that we should do really well,” Pate said. “If we want to accomplish our goal, we must come prepared and ready to win.” Although the big lure this year is beating Texas, Head Women’s Ten nis Coach Bobby Kleinecke said the Lady Aggies must be wary in confer ence play. “Texas is going to be our biggest competitor,” Kleinecke said. “But we must not forget Baylor, SMU and Rice. They all have good teams, and we must be prepared for every situa tion.” '— Kleinecke said he is ready for to- ’96 season day’s match to start. He said his team has been practicing very well, and he is ready to see where they stand. “Today’s meet is a nonconference meet, but I am really excited to get things kicked off,” Kleinecke said. Kleinecke said his team can beat the Eagles, but too much confidence can sometimes hurt a team. Since this is the first meet, he said he going to try different things with his lineup. “We will be going in today’s meet trying a new style,” Kleinecke said. “I want to get a feel for how my team will respond.” In order for the Lady Aggies to ac complish their goals both today and for the season, Kleinecke said that playing well is the main element. Kleinecke said the team’s accom plishments will be the determining factor, but they must not fall apart when they have a bad meet. “Success depends on how you bounce back from a loss,” Kleinecke said. “We must get off to a good start, and I am really excited about getting things going against North Texas.” Photo Courtesy of Texas A&M Sports Information Department Junior tennis player Julie Beahm warms up during prac tice. The Lady Aggies begin play today at 1:30 p.m.