January 24'
Sports
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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
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