^'">1 The Battalion
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Page 7
Tuesday • October 1, 1996
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medsrud
nd White
eadline week
nen
the
lex
Ross Hecox
jlleyball Notebook
W
as A&M Vol
leyball Team
defeated the
University of
Oklahoma
last Friday, it
extended its
winning
eak to seven matches. In the
o teams’ history, A&M owns
0-1 record over the Sooners.
When the Lady Aggies
opped their first game against
:Sooners, it was only the third
^“■ae this season they’ve lost the
I ening game of a match.
™A&M improved its record to
J-2, and is 2-0 in the confer-
ice with victories over OU
id the University of Texas.
■
Jromi
A
Some Gulf vessw*
severe MS*#
bouts e! nauKis**
Going for the kill
Junior outside hitter Kristie
aedsrud reached the 1,000 ca-
irkill milestone with 23 kills
rsus Oklahoma. She is only
e seventh Lady Aggie to reach
emark and trails all-time kills
iderCheri Steensma by 477.
It’s a really neat accom-
(ishment for me,” Smedsrud
“I didn’t realize I was get-
igclose (to 1,000 kills) until
ielast match.”
Force in the Middle
Senior middle blocker Page
bile was named Big 12 Volley-
illPIayer of the Week for her
erlormance against Texas and
klahoma. She recorded 13 kills,
iila .400 hitting percentage,
adinade four solo blocks
apt the Longhorns, and
sled 17 kills for a .448 efficien-
on Sunday. Over the past
tee matches, White hit .464 to
ing her hitting percentage up
.328 for the season.
Head Coach Laurie Corbelli
idWhite has been more of a
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cts the head. Bulyl-rutite®* 1
Is vapors and droplets older* 1
ds and provides a seal forsW*
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total covering of the body.
Jetmological Board, AP research
ting AID
r thinks she’s in a®
otect herself,” he® jy,
ton Marx of the#
i Center in
tee in the middle because of
r effort and team strategy.
“Early in the season she was a
tie nervous about the new
:es (on the team) and the new
s,” Corbelli said. “We have
en trying to get the ball to her
ore, and because of her atti-
.1 progesterone ft. [| e she’s made adjustments
hen a low doseol at have worked in the team’s
the AIDS virus , or 51^ worked really hard.”
pnas.
tonkeys with tte-
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aking it easier + ^
esearchers said I ^ ou s ^ e hl “ e !' start t ln g
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study will bent 1
Right side Platoon
Junior outside hitter Jennifer
gs mean forpe®!
ries, maker of 1 ' 1
iv the research.
WORLD!
lainst Oklahoma. She hit for a
!3 percentage with seven kills,
r assists and 12 digs.
[Corbelli said despite Wells’
jtong play, she will still pla-
on the right side position
^ th Wells, Strickland, and ju-
or Brooke Polak.
“[Which person plays] de-
inds on the state of the team
id who the opponent is,” Cor-
isaid. “I don’t know that
ere will be a definite starter
the rest of the season.”
Inside the numbers
The Lady Aggies are hitting
v season, averaging 16.60
Us per game and 2.74 blocks
r game as a team, as opposed
opponents’ .159 average,
•46 kills and 2.22 blocks.
The team’s remaining 18
atches are against Big 12 op-
inents. The Lady Aggies will
ay six of their next eight
atches in G. Rollie White Coli-
Um, then will be on the road
ven matches out of their final
A&M is 5-0 at home.
VanderWoude kept on defensive
The junior middle blocker
won A&M Defensive Player
of the Year honors last
season.
By Jamie Burch
The Battalion
W hen eavesdropping on a conversa
tion at an average sports bar, one
might hear several fat guys weigh
ing the merits of perennial NBA shot block
ers Wilt “The Stilt” Chamberlain and Kareem
Abdul-Jabbar over a beer and a stogie.
In a similar setting in Aggieland, the
topic of conversation might center around
junior middle blocker Cindy Vander
Woude, the Texas A&M Volleyball Team’s
blocking specialist.
Tim Moog, The Battalion
Junior middle blocker Cindy Vander
Woude ranks seventh on the all-time
A&M career block list with 296. •
VanderWoude began her career as a vol
leyball player and block specialist in high
school after growing up watching her two
older sisters play. VanderWoude, a native of
Escondido, Calif., was a three-year high
school letterman while leading her team in
blocks and kills.
In 1993, VanderWoude played for the
San Diego Club 17 Red team with current
Aggie teammate Kristie Smedsrud. Both
players helped lead the team to a regional
championship and a fourth-place finish at
the UC Davis Festival.
VanderWoude said she enjoyed play
ing with and against Smedsrud while in
high school.
“It was fun,” VanderWoude said. “We
(myself and Smedsrud) competed a couple
of times in high school and then we were
together on the club team. It was neat
coming (into A&M) already knowing some
body. It helped a lot with the transition
into college.”
VanderWoude brought her stuffing abil
ities to A&M the following year. As a fresh
man, VanderWoude played in all 33 match
es, led the team in blocking, and ranked
first in the Southwest Conference with a
1.50 block average in SWC matches.
VanderWoude also ranked third on the
team and tenth in the SWC with a .242
hitting percentage. Halfway through her
freshman season, VanderWoude earned a
starting role and went on to start 17
matches. In just her second start of her
career, Vanderwoude posted 17 kills, in
cluding 10 in the first game, versus then
No. 21 Duke.
Senior middle blocker Page White said
that VanderWoude made vast improve
ments throughout her freshman year.
“She came in and was already a strong
player,” White said. “She polished up what
she already knew. She improved a lot on
her quickness in the middle and on her at
tack. Her blocking and digging are big as
pects of her game. She’s done really well.”
VanderWoude’s role increased last sea
son. She started 26 of 30 matches her
sophomore year, playing in 107 of 109
games and was named to the All-SWC sec
ond team and All-SWC tournament team.
Leading the team for the second con
secutive year and finishing third in the
SWC with 1.20 blocks per game, Vander
Woude was voted A&M Defensive Player of
the Year. She broke into the top 10 of the
A&M career records tfc* total blocks, block
solos and block assists.
After her award-winning season, Van-
derWoude took a step backward with a left
knee injury. During the offseason, she had
surgery to repair the patella tendon of the
left knee. Instead of spending time honing
her skills on the court, VanderWoude had
to devote hours of rehabilitation to
strengthening the damaged knee.
VanderWoude said that her knee is not
100 percent.
“It’s doing okay,” VanderWoude said.
“I’m not as strong as I need to be. But it’s a
different kind of pain. The knee aches
rather than stings, so that’s good.”
Off to a slower start this season, Vander
Woude said she worries about the knee.
Despite the hindrance, VanderWoude has
started every match this season and leads
the team in blocking once again with a
1.25 average. Ranked fourth in the Big 12 in
blocking, VanderWoude has led or tied for
team-high honors in blocks in 7 of 13
matches, and has led the team in digs in
three matches.
VanderWoude currently ranks seventh
in A&M career records for total blocks
(296) and block assists (241) and is eighth
in block solos (55).
A&M Head Coach Laurie Corbelli said
she feels that VanderWoude’s knee has
hampered her effectiveness.
“I think it has started her off a little
slower,” Corbelli said. “She’s a little weaker
than before, which hinders her offense. I
think it’s affected her negatively, but she
hasn’t looked at it that way. She’s trying to
overlook the pain and weakness. But with
that type of injury, you have to wonder ‘can
I still play at this level?”’
Following the season, VanderWoude will
marry her fiance Rick Lothspeich. Once
the fall semester ends, she will have nine
days before her wedding on December
28th in California.
VanderWoude said that teammates
Smedsrud and Jennifer Wells plan to at-
Stew Milne, The Battalion
Junior middle blocker Cindy Vander
Woude blocks a spike in a game
against Alabama Sept. 1 4.
tend, along with Corbelli.
For now, VanderWoude said that Cdr-
belli has told her she is not to think about
her wedding.
“Coach (Corbelli) said I’m not allowed to
think about it,” VanderWoude said. “She just
wants me to concentrate on volleyball.”
When her volleyball and college days
are behind her, VanderWoude said she
plans to teach special education at the ju
nior high or senior high school level.
“I want to teach adaptive P.E.,” Vander
Woude said. "I’d like to work with the
handicapped. I did some of that with my
volleyball team in high school, and that’s
what got me interested in it.”
After long playoff drought, Rangers thinking big
Sportswriter
Jeremy Furtick
Senior journalism major
A fter enduring 25 long, gruel
ing and disappointing sum
mers, the resilient Texas
Rangers and their playoff-hungry
fans have finally made it.
The American League Western Di-
vision-champion Rangers, post-sea
son newcomers, open their best-of-
five Divisional Playoff Series tonight at
Yankee Stadium against professional
sports’ most successful franchise, the
Eastern Division-champion New York
Yankees.
The Rangers, an underrated,
overachieving squad, will be making the franchise’s first
post-season appearance in its 25-year history. The Yan
kees, winners of 22 World Series championships, will be
making their 39th trip to the post-season.
Sounds like a practice round for the Bronx Bombers,
doesn’t it?
Don’t be so sure.
Rough Road
Yankee pitching staff ace David Cone (7-2, 2.86 ERA),
after missing four months of the regular season with an
aneurysm in his pitching shoulder, will start Game 1
against John Burkett (5-2, 4.06 ERA), the Rangers’ late-sea-
son acquisition from the Florida Marlins.
This match up does not look good for the Rangers. In addi
tion to their 2-4 record at Yankee Stadium this year, Cone owns
a 4-2 lifetime record against the Rangers with a 1.09 ERA.
Game 1 goes to the Yankees, but then things get interesting.
Game 2 on Wednesday will be more to the Rangers’ liking,
featuring probable American League Cy Young Award-win
ner Andy Petitte (21-8, 3.87 ERA) and Rangers’ right-hander
Ken Hill (16-10, 3.83 ERA). The Rangers have dominated left-
handed starters this season, going 25-14 while pushing their
opponents’ ERA to 6.56.
The left-handed Petitte is 2-1 in three starts against the
Rangers this season, but owns a 7.56 ERA. Ken Hill went 2-
2 against the Yankees this season, and earned one of their
two victories in New York.
The Rangers come away with a victory in Game 2 and a
split at Yankee Stadium.
Home, sweet home
The series shifts to The Ballpark in Arlington on Friday,
where the Rangers were one of two American League
teams to post 50-win home records, including a 5-1 mark
against the Yankees this season. The Rangers will start 25-
year-old lefty Darren Oliver (14-6, 4.66 ERA) against Jimmy
Key (12-11, 4.68 ERA), another left-handed starter who felt
the wrath of the Ranger bats in 1996.
Key went 0-2 with a 8.71 ERA in his two starts against
the Rangers this season, while Oliver won his only start
against New York, giving up two earned runs in eight in
nings on July 31 at The Ballpark.
The Rangers win Game 3 to set up the series clincher in
Arlington on Saturday.
After having his two top lefties roughed up in Games 2
and 3, and also facing elimination, Yankee manager Joe
Torre will probably opt to start David Cone on just three
days rest, rather than let the Rangers take a hack at Dwight
Gooden or Kenny Rogers, both of whom have been shelled
at The Ballpark this season.
The Rangers will start either Bobby Witt or Roger Pavlik,
who, unlike Gooden and Rogers, shut down their playoff
foes in the regular season, going 2-0 with a 2.40 ERA and 2-
1 with a 3.66 ERA respectively.
The Rangers defeat the Yankees in four games.
Surprising? It shouldn’t be. The Rangers are the
dominant team.
With the exception of their bullpen, the Rangers are
better position by position.
Behind the Plate
Pudge Rodriguez is the best catcher in Major League
Baseball. His defensive domination and potent bat will
AP Photo
Texas catcher Ivan Rodriguez congratulates pitcher
Bobby Witt after defeating Milwaukee 7-1, Sept. 8.
probably earn him his fifth consecutive Rawlings Gold
Glove and second consecutive Silver Slugger award. Joe
Girardi is good, but Pudge is in his own league.
The Corners
At first base, Tino Martinez is still trying to grow out of the
shadow of former Yankee great Don Mattingly, while Will
Clark has become the Rangers’ intangible leader on and off
the field. Martinez wins the statistical battle, but until Donnie
Baseball releases his hold on the Yankee faithful, Tino will
have to deal with that infamous New York scorn.
Wade Boggs has been generally accepted as the top
American League third baseman for the last decade, but
Dean Palmer has put up better numbers than Boggs in al
most every offensive category this season. Palmer collect
ed 163 hits along with 38 home runs, 107 RBI and 98 runs
scored compared to Boggs’ 156 hits, 2 home runs, 41 RBI
and 80 runs scored.
Boggs has the better batting average, but doesn’t he always?
Up the Middle
The Yankees boast the duo of Mariano Duncan at second
base and shoe-in Rookie of the Year Derek Jeter at shortstop.
Duncan and Jeter rank first and second on the team in bat
ting (.340 and .314 respectively) and have become a steady
double-play tandem.
The Rangers field two players that have spent 1996
resurrecting their careers. Second baseman Mark
McLemore and shortstop Kevin Elster have both had
banner seasons after spending most of the last three
years in back-up roles.
McLemore hit .290 while leading the team in stolen
bases (27) and committing only 12 errors, a team record at
second base. Elster hit 24 home runs and drove in 99 runs,
both career highs, while playing stellar defense.
This comparison is a toss-up, but gives a slight edge to
the Rangers and their overachieving middle infield.
In the Outfield
The Rangers have the trio of left fielder Rusty Greer,
centerfielder Darryl Hamilton and right fielder Juan Gon
zalez. The Yankees will field Tim Raines, Bernie Williams
and Paul O’Neill.
Gonzalez should be the American League’s MVP this year.
He is personally responsible for getting the Rangers through
July alive (winning AL Player of the Month with 17 home
runs and hitting over .400) and allowing them to make their
playoff run.
Even with Gonzalez, Greer is the heart of the team. His
teamwork and sacrifice set the standard his teammates
have followed all season. Hamilton finished 1996 without
making an error in centerfold, and also led American
League leadoff hitters in first inning on-base percentage.
Paul O’Neill (.302, 19 HR, 91 RBI) is a clear understudy to
Gonzalez (.314, 47 HR, 144 RBI) in right field and Greer (.332,
18 HR, 100 RBI) is a step ahead of Raines (.284, 9 HR, 33 RBI)
in left. The centerfold match up goes to Williams, despite
Hamilton’s solid defense. Williams has put up career num
bers this year, hitting .305 with 29 home runs and 102 RBI.
Designated Hitter
The Yankees will alternate Cecil Fielder (against lefties)
and Darryl Strawberry (righties) at DH to combat Mickey
Tettleton. This is a draw, with neither team having a domi
nant player at this position. Be aware though, any three of
these sluggers has the potential of blowing a game wide
open with one swing.
If the Rangers can get to the Yankee starters early to
prevent comeback attempts against New York’s overpow
ering bullpen, the Rangers will wake up Sunday morning
in the American League Championship Series.