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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 24, 1997)
January 24' Sports iV4*JT fTM | out- -Tm ftWl latrc 3d by the int ssed for mysc -the yell leade orry.” Aggies off to successful beginning Jeremy J urtic T he Texas A&M Track and Field Teams began indoor competition last Saturday with a pair of fifth-place finishes at The Houston Indoor Opener on the University of Houston campus. NCAA Provisional Qualifiers Two Lady Aggies took a big step in their attempts to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Champi onship being held in Indianapo lis, IN., on March 7-8. Seniors Rosa Jolivet and Donyale Canada posted times good enough to earn themselves provisional qualifications. Jolivet provisionally qualified for the 55-meter hurdles with a time of 8:53 in the 60-meter hurdle event, while Canada posted a “Most freshmen get uptight in their anticipa tion, but our kids didn’t seem to let any of that bother them.” Ted Nelson A&M Head Coach 7:48 mark in the 60-meter dash to provisionally qualify for the 55-meter dash in Indianapolis. Sixty-meter times are con verted to 55-meter times to de termine NCAA provisional qualifying marks. Aggie Personal Bests Three Aggies started the sea son by setting career indoor bests in their respective events. For the men, senior James Men- ze posted a second-place time of 15:21.08 in the 5,000-meter run whOe sophomore shot putter Mike Lowrance took third-place with a throw of 55-7. Senior Lau ra Keahey matched her career- best leap of 5-7 to nab third- place in the high jump. Aggie Freshmen Begin Adapting Texas A&M Head Coach Ted Nelson said he needed some freshmen to step in and fill a few holes on the men’s and women’s track teams. After the under classmen’s first NCAA competi tion there were no signs of great ness, but the freshmen did more than expected. ‘‘Most freshmen get uptight in their anticipation and fear of not doing well,” Nelson said, ‘‘but our kids didn’t seem to let any of that bother them. “There were no great perfor mances, but they showed some promise and that they aren’t scared of the competition.” basketball teams search for answers to their losses Aggie Lady Aggies By Sara Duesing The Battalion After a close game that ended in defeat against Kansas University Wednesday, the Texas A&M Women’s Basketball Team (7-9 overall, 1-5 in Big 12) prepares it self to shrug off the loss and face Kansas State Univer sity (9-6, 2-3). The two teams will meet Saturday night at 7 in Manhattan, Kan. Now seeking their second Big 12 conference win, Head Women’s Coach Candi Harvey said the team has been asking itself why the losses outnumber the wins. “We should have and could have won against Kansas,” Harvey said. “We’re asking questions and talk ing about what we should have done as a team but talk ing about it and getting it done are two different things.” Knowing that a win on the road is even more dif ficult to attain than one at home, junior center Kim Linder said the team needs to just focus on playing the best they can. “We haven’t done as well as want to on the road,” Linder said. “If we can correct our mistakes like re bounding and execution, we can go out and get a win.” Harvey said after such a physical game against KU, the Lady Aggies will have to step up and respond to the aggressiveness of their opponents. “We realized we played a special team, probably the Sykora joins Lady Aggies Texas A&M sophomore Stacy Sykora has added a third sport to her repertoire — basketball. Sykora, a standout outside hitter on the A&M Volleyball Team and member of the track team, nas decided to join the Texas A&M Women’s Basketball Team. “Ever since the Christmas break she has been here watching practice,” Harvey said. “We evaluated her when she was a senior in high school and thought there would be the ossibility of her wanting to play two sports, he is just a tremendous atnlete, who just wants a chance to play basketball.” Sykora, who is from Burleson, Texas, could become the second female to earn a letter in three varsity sports at A&M. Sykora will be with the basketball squad as they depart for Manhattan, Kan. today for a Big 12 game with Kansas State Saturday at 7 p.m. Amy Dunlap, The Battalion Senior guard Lana Tucker tries to avoid the trap by a Kansas defender Wednesday night at G. Rollie White. most athletic team, in KU, but we performed well,” Harvey said. “We did get pushed around and if the of ficiating is going to allow that, we’ll just have to adjust and execute when we can execute.” The Wildcats, who are ninth in the Big 12, defeated Iowa State University Wednesday and are looking to reach the .500 mark in the Big 12 rankings against A&M. Harvey said the Lady Aggies need to improve on ex ecution and consistency in order to win. “[Kansas State] has a good defense and is well-bal anced,” Harvey said. “They’re undefeated at home and they usually keep their opponents to a low score. See Lady Aggies, Page 8 Track and Field head for plains Tim Moog, The Battalion Members of the A&M Track Team practice in front of Reed Arena. By Jeremy Furtick The Battalion Water the horses, hitch-up the wagon and get ready for the drive to Oklahoma. The Texas A&M Men’s and Women’s Track and Field Teams will make the second stop on its trip to the NCAA Indoor Championships as they blaze a trail to Oklahoma City tomor row to compete in the 23rd Annual Sooner Indoor Relays. After kicking off the indoor season in last weekend’s Houston Indoor opener, the Aggies are looking to continue to improve on their indoor events. Last year in Oklahoma, junior Adrien Sawyer set an A&M indoor record in the triple jump with a mark of 41-6. She said the record has not crossed her mind while preparing for this year’s meet. “We all have our individual goals, either written down or in our minds,” Sawyer said. “But we com pete as a team. I can’t worry about things like (the record).” The Aggie newcomers experi enced their first taste of indoor competition in Houston last weekend. Texas A&M Head Coach Ted Nelson said this meet will pose another new experience for the underclassmen. “We’re going to a different kind of track,” Nelson said, “(It is) a 160- meter track. Our newcomers were introduced to indoor competition last weekend in Houston, but com peted on a 200-meter track.” In addition to the shorter track, the Aggies will be compet ing on unfamiliar ground. “Oklahoma has a board surface, not the all-weather surface we are used to,” Nelson said. “It’s going to be a real shock to the men and women who’ve never ran on that type of surface before.” One of A&M’s main indoor ques tions was the ability of their indoor short-sprinters. Last weekend in Houston senior sprinter Donyale Canada helped ease those worries. Canada finished fifth in the 60-me- ter dash, but was only seven-hun dreds of a second out of first place. She also qualified provisionally for the NCAA Indoor Championships. Nelson said the Aggies have some momentum now for the in door season. “We were very competitive in Houston,” he said. “We showed some promise in events we were concerned with, and also displayed a the kind of positive attitude that will bring us suc cess throughout the season.” A&M will be competing in a field which includes the Houston Open er men’s and women’s champions University of Texas, Baylor Univer sity, the University of Oklahoma, University of Texas at Arlington, North Texas, Texas Christian Uni versity, and Rice University. The competition should be stiff, but sophomore shot putter Mike Lowrance said he prefers the challenge. “It’s more fun to compete in meets like that,” he said. “It forces you to perform better.” Page 7 Friday • January 24, 1997 search for wins Aggies battle Kansas State for first conference win Saturday By Matt Mitchell The Battalion After being swept away by a red and blue tornado Wednesday night, the Texas A&M Men’s Bas ketball Team is happy not to be in Kansas anymore. But a little bit of Kansas will follow them home as the Aggies return to the friendly confines of G. Rollie White Coliseum to take on the Kansas State Wildcats Saturday after noon. Tipoff is slated for 12:45. The Aggies (6- 9, 0-5) will be looking to break an eight-game losing streak as well as gain thieir first Big 12 Confer ence win. One thing is certain, with K-State also winless in confer ence play, some one is going to replace that goose egg with a one. Despite tough losses to Baylor, Ne braska and Texas, the Aggies have been in position to win close games. Freshman guard Brian Barone said it is just a matter of getting over the hump with a win for the Aggies to right themselves. “We are good enough to contend in this league, we just have to prove it to ourselves,” Barone said. “We’re still a young team, but we’re getting better as the season progresses.” Improvement is the key, and af ter showing flashes of brilliance against Texas, the Aggies are anx ious to continue their string of fine performances at home. Kansas State (7-8,0-5) has won all four previous meetings against the Aggies. The most recent was during the 1993-94 season, a 63-54 win. This will be the first time the Wildcats have visited College Station. The Wildcats return seven letter- men and three starters from last sea son, led by junior guard Mark Young, who averages nine points and five re bounds a game. But gone are the top two scorers fi om last year’s 17-12 club that finished tied for fourth in the Big Eight with a 7-7 con ference record. The Wild cats also were invited to the NCAA Tourna ment, but lost in the first round. With a game looming Tuesday with 15-3 and the 18th-ranked University of Colorado Buf faloes, the Wildcats could be caught looking past the Aggies. Lunch with Barone Texas A&M Head Coach Tony Barone will buy lunch for the first 500 students ar riving after 11:15 a.m. Satur day Jan. 25 prior to the Kansas State game at G. Rol lie White Coliseum. Barone will treat these 500 students to a hot dog, chips and a soda. He will eat with the students and tell them the strategy of the game. “We’re still a young team, but we’re getting better as the season progresses.” Brian Barone Freshman guard A&M battles national champion Longhorns By Courtney Lyons The Battalion The sky is dark. Driving around the city looking for a place to eat dinner. After turn ing a corner, someone notices a big “No. 1” is lit up in orange on the bell tower in the middle of campus and no one is hungry anymore. The town is Austin, it is March of 1996, and the University of Texas Men’s Swimming and Div ing Team has just added another national championship to its col lection of titles. Now it is almost a year later, and the Texas A&M Men’s Swimming and Diving Team is going down to Austin for a dual meet with the re turning champions — a prelude to the Big 12 Championships. Even though several members of Texas’ championship team are no longer with the team, the Longhorns are not to be dis missed. They are also considered contenders for the Big 12 crown as well as the national title. “They have a great freshman class,” A&M Men’s Swimming Coach Mel Nash said. “They are definitely in the hunt.” This weekend’s dual meet will put the Aggie team to the test. Nash said he is looking to this meet to measure where the team stands going into the last stretch of the season, with only five weeks remaining until the Big 12 conference meet. He said the team has had time to rest from their extensive road trip to Hawaii and Califor nia, and should be ready to han dle the competition. The meet will contain a short order of events which will fea ture sprints. The dual between the two rivals will also put the steadily improving Aggie 200- meter freestyle relay up against a tough Longhorn team. “The freestyle relay has been a pleasant surprise this year,” Nash said. Over at the diving wells, A&M’s senior Wade Diederich and sophomore Mark Naftanel will battle Texas on the boards, taking on their Longhorn coun terparts in a rematch of Decem ber’s Texas Invitational. See Swimming, Page 8 3+ part-til^ he corner of the College le. A mini' l. forfulhime n : it at: Learn to Race! 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