ay •
Decembet; I
The Battalion
izos Valley Fite
he Seventh Ann,
a 2-mile run/*:
BTC
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Page 7
Friday • December 6, 1996
,:30 p.m., startii
)n of University
liege Avenue,
course as tii
information,
•64-3424.
ub: Meet in frorl
statue at 2:45;,
caroling at
-
Sports
Briefs
_jes fall to North
S'SJ'fp® Eagles, 84-78
jllye at847-021E iENTON — The Texas A&M
| H’s Basketball Team’s sea-
tudents Associon-opening winning streak
I be held at8a as snapped Thursday night,
jnty Jail. ActivitieL
riunion services
leet at St.
lee Lee at 764:
it 846-5717 ford
is a Battalions
non-profit stUM
rents and acft
iuld be submil
as the North
Texas Eagles
came back to
beat the Ag
gies 84-78.
A&M jumped
out to a 50-
42 advantage
at halftime,
but watched
the Eagles
outscore
three days in &
ired run date.item by 14 in the second half,
ines and notit: “I thought we wore ourselves
and will notbfBin the f irs t half,” A&M Head
. If you haveaniiach Tony Barone said. "I’m a
se call the ne»itle disappointed in that. The
L3. nfe was OK, but our shot selec-
)n was too quick.”
Bhe Aggies were paced by
nativesoffc>i hol ™ re fo ; ward l ; alvi "
i) wereeiectedf j! s 20-pomt, six-rebound
den.body;rfj for " nance ’ wh ' la J“ nior
Iv said A o nders0n and f^shman
identsenatorssifIf d Br0 »n chipped in 18
, Dints apiece.
ttion and moveW.. y ^ w ^ „
Hit was a tough game,
m V! ni ; prone said. "I thought we
1 'l 3 1 layed well at moments. They
d Pee StapliS iade it to h on us with thei y r
1 cy on Mint, aps and presses in the sec-
N ' , _ r . nd half.”
nl\lJLSi he Agg ' es return t0 aCtion
’ ' gainst Southeastern Louisiana
epresentatm.i G Ro|||e white Co , iseum Sat .
non Morse* t7 p.m.
Bill.
5111 outlined a Ur. _
since the Unit: >wimmers, divers
an official polid
iave busy weekend
-"I The Texas A&M Men’s and
j/omen’s Swimming and Diving
earns will split up this weekend
s the women’s swimming team
nd the diving squad travel to
iustin, while
ons
sess
5 quality
>urses
ersion 3 ' wee 'hc
men s
. , ,, dimming
«ew High Scho^ hegds to
rt Program
ian Antonio.
Both diving
|C|Uads, along
iversily of Poris Jith the
, Box $-4
Suite 1463
k 10165
14
44
//www.aupL
r@aup.fr
/omen’s
■mming
earn, will Nash
ojmpete at
he Texas Invitational Friday
hrough Sunday. The men’s
swimmers will complete their
jornpetition at the U.S. Open
’ ^ohay and Saturday.
ZrTZ’irZ'nBWomen’s Head Coach Don
H Utnf/agner said his 25th-ranked
MER STUDE^ 90 * is lo °hing to have a good
ALUMNI GEN 1 * 16 at the meet -
c ™ This should be a fun meet,” he
id. "Well challenge a lot of peo-
and I think we will perform well.”
In San Antonio, the men’s
imming team will be racing
[ainst a stiff field.
“This is an excellent opportu-
ly for our team to get some rac-
in against very good competi-
n,” Men’s Head Coach Mel
if you do not qualify J Tpsh said. “Some of the top
onferredwithless»|i mmers j n country, includ-
. I’DsiofjontheS,.- 4 some post-graduate swim-
lers, will be in the pool.”
stration or transcript .
A&M signs seven
an Aggie ,im»»l 6X3S PTOSPeCtS
requirements: ~ ~
. „ , Texas A&M Baseball Head
■ity tudentinfomt k gch Mark Johnson announced
on or transcriptbKT 6 early signings of seven Texas
ttospects Wednesday.
The recruits will all be freshmen
in the 1997-98
er 6, 1996
;nts:
-edit hours
(A passed course,
i A&M University,
iniversity and si
eeks) as a full-W
M University if youf^
a ‘‘Letter of Con#
i, with the seal.rt
season except
pitcher Kyle
Holle, who is a
junior college
transfer. Among
the freshmen
are pitchers
Clancy Possum
from Waco and
Chris Sea reel I a
from League
City, outfielder
tylan Holt from Mesquite, catch-
/infielder Brent Howell from
erne, infielder Brady Minyard
|om Beaumont, and outfielder
(ustin Trimmier from San Antonio.
“This is a good start to our re-
jntsafterthe r cruiting,” Johnson said. “All of
nencement,'these young men are outstanding
people as well as good baseball
payers. We’re pleased they have
gned in the early period, and of
Pourse, we will have to wait and
see on the major league draft
next summer.”
15,1996.
9 to complete
he event youls
5 and Februs'
I order form 3
Youthful Ags ready to take giant leap
By Matt Mitchell
The Battalion
Youth and athleticism can be
an explosive mix on the basketball
court, and that is something Tony
Barone is counting on. He’s got a
lot of both on his hands as the
Texas A&M Men’s Basketball Team
enters the 1996-97 season.
Head Coach Barone and his
charges are gearing up for what
could be a breakthrough year for a
program that has been frustrated in
recent years by uneven play and
the absence of consistent scoring.
The Aggies will look to capitalize on
several key additions, as well as
more experienced veterans, to take
the next step towards becoming a
major college basketball program.
Barone has landed one of the top
Stew Milne, The Battalion
Freshman Shanne Jones and junior
Tracey Anderson swarm an lllinois-
Chicago guard at G. Rollie White.
recruiting classes in school history for
the second straight year, and while
the faces have changed, the talent
level has undoubtedly risen.
Senior Tracey Anderson takes
over point guard duties for the
departed Kyle Kessel, who left the
team to concentrate on his pro
fessional baseball career with the
New York Mets. Anderson is the
team’s top returning scorer this
year, and brings quickness and
defensive abilities to the team’s
quarterback position.
Also returning at guard is the small
but explosive senior Derrick Hart,
who shot a team-leading 38 percent
from 3-point range last year, connect
ing on a school-record 74 bombs.
Incoming freshmen Steve
Houston and Brian Barone have
also made an immediate impact
at the guard position, providing
quality minutes off the bench.
Houston is a physical player who
can bang inside and defend taller
players on the perimeter.
A&M's front court is solid as
well, with big, physical players
able to roam the paint at will. Ju
nior Dario Quesada brings a
feather-soft shooting touch and
strong rebounding skills to the
table, and will team up with
sophomores Calvin Davis and
Brad Strieker to form a formida
ble inside game for the Aggies.
Davis is a fearsome shot blocker
and intimidating defensive pres
ence, while Quesada can score
from virtually anywhere, from the
baseline to beyond the arc.
A&M’s forward rotation may be
among the most talented in the Big
12. Newcomers Jerald Brown, Larry
Thompson and Shanne Jones have
already played major minutes this
season and look to be a major fac
tor in the Aggies’ success.
Brown not only has the ability
to play any position on the floor,
but a deft shooting touch and
ability to create off the dribble
which could create headaches for
opposing teams. Jones and
Thompson are do-everything,
workhorse players with a lot of
intensity and emotion.
“I think our backcourt has made
plays when they had to make plays,”
Barone said. “I think our frontcourt
has been about the same. We have
not put together the front and back-
court yet, and once we do that, we’ll
be a much better basketball team.
“We just want to get better
every day, and that’s been really
pleasing with this team — they’ve
gotten better every practice and
every game.”
Improvement is the key, and is
indeed necessary for the Aggies
to compete with the upper-eche
lon teams they will face this sea
son. Games against Clemson,
Texas-El Paso and Princeton
loom before the new year, and
the Big 12 Conference is loaded
with talent. In addition to home
and away contests against their
fellow South Division members,
the Aggies will venture to Kansas
on Jan. 22 to meet Jacque Vaughn
and the Jayhawks, the current No.
1 team in the country.
“It’s a tough league,” Barone said.
“I think we know what we’re getting
into and the players know what
they’re getting into. I don’t think
there’s any question that it’s the high
est level of basketball you can play.”
A&M is still a relatively young
team and will rely on several new
comers to provide quality minutes.
Their crunch-time execution must
improve, as evidenced by their los
ing seven of their final 11 games
last season in the final 30 seconds.
But the aforementioned youth will
be an asset as well, as the Aggies
boast a much more physical lineup
than last year and should be vastly
improved in the rebounding and
perimeter shooting departments.
This time, youth may indeed
be served.
Rony Angkriwan, The Batfalion
Freshman Steve Houston brings the ball upcourt in the
Aggies' game against Illinois-Chicago at G. Rollie White.
Volleyball ready for round two
By Sara Duesing
The Battalion
After a roller coaster regular season with more
than its share of ups and downs, the 15th-ranked
Texas A&M Volleyball Team now finds itself in a
steady, successful rhythm as it works its way toward
its goal — the elite eight.
Coming off a victory against the University of
Arkansas-Little Rock Wednesday night, A&M ad
vances to the second round of the NCAA Tourna
ment where it faces No. 7 Michigan State Univer
sity Saturday at 6 p.m. in East Lansing, Mich.
The Spartans (24-6 overall, 18-2 in the Big 10
Conference), who were given a first-round bye, are
entering their third Big Dance with a six-game win
ning streak and a .288 hitting percentage.
“I know they [MSU] have a very well-trained
team, both offensively and defensively,” Head Coach
Laurie Corbelli said. “Their weakness is the pressure
they have on them. They can’t lose since they’re try
ing to repeat a Final Four performance.”
The goal the Lady Aggies set at the beginning
of the season was to go further in the NCAA tour
nament than last year, when they reached the
Sweet 16 before falling to the University of Flori
da in three games.
“Our goal is to make it to the elite eight,” ju
nior setter Farah Mensik said. “We’re very capable
of that, especially because of the way we played
[against UALR].”
In the two teams’ last face-off, the Lady Aggies
eliminated the Spartans in the first round of the
1994 NCAA Tournament, 3-1, in College Station.
Maintaining the same game strategies, Corbelli
said the team needs a peak performance to defeat
MSU this time, with accurate passing and defense,
deceptive setting and strong attacks. Excitement
Lady Ags hope to
end losing streak
Ryan Rogers, The Battalion
Junior Kristie Smedsrud prepares for a dig in the first
round of the NCAA Tournament at G. Rollie White.
and energy will no doubt also help.
“It felt really good to win Wednesday,” junior
middle blocker Cindy VanderWoude said. “I’m real
excited because we came off strong after playing Ne
braska and really played well as a team.
“We had questioned ourselves for a little bit and
now we’re playing to win rather than playing and be
ing afraid to lose.”
With a victory Saturday, A&M would roll into the
third round and face the winner of the Minnesota-Long
Beach State matchup Dec. 12.
By Jamie Burch
The Battalion
The Texas A&M Women’s Basket
ball Team (1-2) will head east this
weekend to compete in the Brown
Classic, a four-team, double-elimi
nation tournament, in Providence,
R.I. The Lady Aggies play Marshall
University (2-2) Saturday at 2 p.m.
With a win, A&M would play
in the championship match
against the winner of the
Brown-Bucknell game on
Sunday at 2 p.m. A loss
would vault the Lady
Aggies into the con
solation game Sun
day at noon.
The Lady Aggies are
coming off a 74-71 loss
to Southern Methodist
University Wednesday
night. Although A&M never
led in the game and trailed by as
many as 18 points for much of the
second half, the Lady Aggies cut the
double-digit deficit to two points
with just under one minute remain
ing. But A&M sophomore guard
Kerrie Patterson missed a despera
tion 35-foot shot at the buzzer
which would have sent the game
into overtime.
Head Coach Candi Harvey
said she was impressed with her
team’s resilience.
“We’re disappointed that we did
n’t win the game,” Harvey said. “But
being 18 down with four freshmen
and a sophomore on the floor and
coming back to make the run we
did was a tremendous statement
for this young team.”
A&M’s Saturday opponent, the
Thundering Heard of Marshall, is
led by sophomore forward Kristina
Behnfeldt’s 18 points and 10.8 re
bounds per game. Marshall, fresh
off a 67-52 victory over Moorhead
State, is shooting 85 percent from
the charity stripe.
The Bucknell Bisons (4-
2), riding a two-game
winning streak, are led
by sophomore forward
Kim Delfs. Delfs is aver
aging 17.2 points and
7.8 rebounds per game.
The host, Brown
University (2-3), supplies
quite an offensive threat.
Sophomore guard Vita Redding
leads the Lady Bears with a 23.2
scoring average. Brown fortifies
its attack with junior forward Liz
Turner, who leads the team with
7.8 rebounds and 18.4 points per
game.
Harvey said she’s looking for
the Lady Aggies to continue
their progress.
“We just need to learn from
[Wednesday] night’s experience,”
Harvey said. “If we consistently
improve, than we’re going to be a
The Battalion’s 1996 Staff Picks
The Match-Ups
Tom
Day
Kristina
Baffin
Jamie
Burch
Sara
Duesing
Jeremy
Furtick
Colby
Gaines
Ross
Hecox
Matt
Mitchell
Dennis
Ramirez
Nicki
Smith
Consensus
#3 Nebraska vs. Texas
Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska
Neb: Homs learn how they play up North
#4 Florida vs. #15 Alabama
Florida
Florida
Florida
Florida
Florida
Florida
Florida
Florida
Florida
Florida
Florida: No goodbye present for Stallings
#6 BYU vs. #20 Wyoming
BYU
BYU
Wyoming
BYU
BYU
BYU
Wyoming
BYU
BYU
BYU
BYU: Cowboys get WAC-ed.
#22 Army vs. Navy
Navy
Navy
Army
Army
Navy
Army
Navy
Army
Army
Army
Army: Cadets all they can be
Cowboys at Arizona
Cowboys
Arizona
Cowboys
Cowboys
Cowboys
Cowboys
• Cowboys
Cowboys
Cowboys
Cowboys
Cowboys: Buffin loves 'Lectric Leeland
Jacksonville at Oilers
Oilers
Oilers
Jacksonville
Oilers
Oilers
Oilers
Oilers
Oilers
Oilers
Oilers
Oilers: Houston feels right at 'home'
Denver at Green Bay
Green Bay
Denver
Green Bay
Green Bay
Green Bay
Green Bay
Denver
Green Bay
Green Bay
Denver
Green Bay: Broncos slip on frozen tundra
Carolina at San Francisco
San Francisco
San Francisco
San Francisco
San Francisco
Carolina
San Francisco
San Francisco
San Francisco
San Francisco
San Francisco
49ers: Panthers show true expansion colors
San Diego at Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh: Chargers need jump start
Philadelphia at Indianapolis
Philadelphia
Philadelphia
Philadelphia
Philadelphia
Philadelphia
Philadelphia
Philadelphia
Philadelphia
Philadelphia
Philadelphia Philadelphia: Shows how smart we are
Kansas City at Oakland
Kansas City
Oakland
Kansas City
Kansas City
Oakland
Kansas City
Kansas City
Kansas City
Kansas City
Kansas City
Kansas City: Raiders, Davis need new city
Minnesota at Detroit
Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota
Detroit
Minnesota
Minnesota
Detroit
Detroit
Minnesota
Detroit
Minnesota: Norris division lowdown
Last Week
7-5
7-5
8-4
8-4
8-4
6-6
7-5
8-4
7-5
7-5
73-47: Title up for grabs with 2 weeks left
Cumulative
105-51
96-60
95-61
103-53
101-55
100-56
100-56
99-57
99-57
98-58
996-564: Burch, Buffin locked in duel