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Sports
Page 7
Monday • March 3, 1997
cannot keep up with Big 12 powerhouses
’shomepag ■ ■
What’s
as not ew
and theovt
nnuchmo!
1 bird-v
^ more fami
ents,
ady Aggies miss third place
yone event, finish fourth
The team bronze medal in the
men’s Big 12 Swimming and Div-
jChampionships came down to
^ ^ i rlast race of the meet, the 400-yard
||Q testylerelay.
* Unfortunately the Lady Aggies
iished too hard, and disqualified
tobothpeo (inselves, opening the door for
insasUniversity to take third place
ft live here,
mid vvonde ; the team standings,
you graspaf though the Lady Aggies ended
jemeet in fourth place as a team,
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By Courtney Lyons
The Battalion
district t jyoff the meet
,advert, 4hal-2 placing
,, „ , - the 500-yard
ue h!°! 9?4«tyle on Thurs -
night. Junior
lacie Karnes took
tand freshman
lacy Evans took
econd, in a race
iere Karnes was
“It (being named
Big 12 Women’s
Newcomer of the
year) is such an
honor.”
Tracy Evans
Freshman freestyler
uc situation
>re near one
soit’sanop-!“ tchallen g ed b V
vantage of,’ ^ e ' dat aber hrst four laps.
1 “This was the first time in Texas
Mhistory that we have gone 1 -2 in
iconference meet,” Womens Head
Slimming Coach Don Wagner said.
The finish was not the end of
e medal winnings for Karnes
id Evans. Evans took a gold
medal on Saturday night in the
•jnA Memile, the same night in which
£vU Islie was selected by the Big 12
Coaches to receive the Women’s
mce Newcomer of the Meet award.
“Itissuchan honor,” Evans said.
“1 didn't even know they had that
award until they called my name.”
Karnes added to her stash of
st four of
ofthevic-
y, hospital
me twc
felled by
tion mus-
. Boys and
nee.
; celebrat-
is school
:eens gob-
ills before
like flies,”
cal techni-
en is used
and multi-
rght to the
) was felled
orities are
rn middle
are of drug
ley say the
losed were,
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on Saturday night by putting
on a burst of speed in the 200-yard
finals, shacking a field
which included several nationally
ranked competitors. Karnes came
into the race in eighth place after
the preliminaries, and took the win
at the top of the pool in lane one.
“1 did not do well in the prelim
inaries, but I had time to think
about it all day,” Karnes said. “I
could see my teammates cheering
for me near the end, and it got my
adrenaline going.”
Karnes’ time of 2:22 automati
cally qualified her for the NCAA Na
tional Meet next month.
Another Lady Aggie, freshman
Monica Stroman,
turned in an excel
lent race midway
through the meet on
Friday night, placing
second in the 400-
yard intermedley
race. For much of the
race, Stroman was
behind Texas’ Ari
adne Legendre, but
when the two swim
mers began the
■■■■■■■ 1 freestyle stint, Stro
man pulled ahead.
“I could see her (Legendre) un
derwater going into the breast
stroke,” Stroman said. “That moti
vated me, I really wanted to get her.”
The Lady Aggie divers also had
an excellent meet. Junior Jodi
Janssen placed third in the one me
ter springboard, and finaled in both
the three-meter springboard and
ten-meter platform. Her teammate,
freshman Danielle Guaneri, finaled
on the one-meter springboard and
then took the bronze in both the
three and ten-meter.
“I was hoping to final in all
three events,” Guaneri said. “I
was not expecting to do that well
on three-meter.”
See Lady Aggies, Page 10
Individual bests place Aggies
third behind Texas, Nebraska
“We’re in a good
place going into
NCAAs. I’m really
proud of where
we are.
Rogge Heflin, The Battalion
Junior Jodi Janssen finished third in the one-meter springboard and
made the finals in the three-meter springboard and the ten-meter platform.
By Courtney Lyons
The Battalion
Defending national champion
Texas and a Nebraska Cornhusker
team full of foreign athletes were too
much for the Texas A&M Men’s Swim
ming and DivingTeam this weekend.
The Aggies had to settle for
third place in the team totals at the
Big 12 Championships, edging out
Kansas University in the last relay
on Saturday night.
The Aggies started the meet
Wednesday night with a first-place
finish on the one-
meter springboard
from sophomore
Mark Naftanel,
and the team com
peted solidly from
that point.
Thursday night
brought a bronze
medal for sopho
more Jerrod Kap-
pler in the 50-yard
freestyle, an event
normally domi
nated by Long
horns. In an extremely fast race,
Kappler split the Longhorns up,
beating four of the six that com
peted in the finals.
“I’ve been trying to break 20 sec
onds for a while,” Kappler said. “It’s
not a mental block for me anymore.”
Kappler’s time was fast enough
to automatically qualify him for the
NCAA National Meet in Minnesota.
Friday morning began with
freshman Devin Howard making
the cut to the finals in the 400-yard
intermedley. This race was new for
Howard, and at the beginning of the
season he was not sure if he would
swim it at conference. However,
Howard did make the finals and
spent the rest of the day figuring out
a way to win a medal.
Robb Pantano
Senior backstroker
“After the prelims, I studied all of
their (the other finalists) splits,”
Howard said. “I knew I would be in
fifth or sixth place after the breast
stroke, so I’d have to run them down
in the freestyle.”
Howard gave an all-out sprint in
the last 100 yards and took second
in the race.
Fellow freshman Tim Camp
bell turned in an outstanding per
formance in the one mile on Sat
urday, winning the bronze in
15:20, a time that is a personal
best by 29 seconds.
“I was looking at
(Texas’) Younghouse
most of the time,”
Campbell said. “I was
trying to pass him.”
Campbell did pass
Younghouse near the
end of the race, com
ing in three seconds
ahead of him.
He was not the only
underclassmen who
was able to medal for
the Aggies. Senior
Robb Pantano closed
his last meet at home as a member of
the bronze-medal winning 400-yard
freestyle relay team. Pantano also fin
ished third in the 200-yard back-
stroke. In a race where Texas’ - Neil
Walker burned the rest of the field,
Pantano had a smooth, solid swim.
“I had already made the NCAA
consideration cut in the morning,
so 1 had no pressure,” Pantano said.
It was no surprise Naftanel was
voted Big 12 Outstanding Male Div
er by the coaches, since he swept
first place on every board. Despite a
performance on the 10-meter tow
er that was less than spectacular,
Naftanel still beat Texas’ David
Clark by almost 100 points.
See Aggies, Page 10
h&M's Kappler qualifies for NCAAs with career best time in 50-yard freestyle
By Dennis Ramirez
The Battalion
u
I!
f you don’t believe it, you are
not going to do it and if you
have any seeds of doubt,
they will grow up and kill you.”
These were the words of sopho
more Jerrod Kappler, after he qual
ified for the NCAA Championships
this weekend in the Big 12 Swim
ming and Diving Championships.
Kappler, a sprinter on the Texas
A&M Swimming Team, recorded a
career-best time of 19.80 in the
50-yard freestyle.
“At the beginning of the year, I
set high goals for myself, and one
of them included breaking 20 in
the 50-yard,” Kappler said. “As far
as the 100-yards is concerned, I
was looking for a faster time, but it
was the third day of the meet and
it still was a best time and good
enough to qualify.”
His time in the 50-yard enabled
Kappler to reach his goal and auto
matically qualified him for the NCAAs.
Teammate Robb Pantano ac
knowledged Kappler’s great perfor
mance and offered the secret to
Kappler’s success.
“He (Kappler) did phenomenal
ly, his times were great, especially
for somebody who had solid times
in high school, but are nowhere
near to where they are at now,” Pan
tano said. “His times are the top in
the country and compete with the
top four at NCAAs. He has been able
to accomplish this through hard
work and discipline and his willing
ness to improve.”
Kappler is always willing to learn
something new on his stroke and
make the necessary adjustments.
Head Men’s Swimming Coach
Mel Nash said this drive, coupled
with his experience at last year’s
NCAAs, will push him to new heights.
“As focused and conscientious as
he (Kappler) is in his training, he is
real aware of the process of what he
needs to do to prepare for the big
meet,” Nash said. “That will stand
him well going into the meet, espe
cially because he was there last year
and he has some experience swim
ming in it. He was the highlight at this
meet, and because he has matured,
he will only continue to get better and
better year in and year out.”
As far as Kappler is concerned,
he remains enthusiastic about
NCAAs, enjoys where he is and is
taking control of the mental aspect
of the sport.
“I like being in this position go
ing into the meet and I just want to
do better than what I have done so
far,” Kappler said. “On Tuesday
night, I had a dream that I swam
. 19.8 in the 50, and when I finished,
that is what I swam. That is the
whole mental aspect of the sport—
believing in yourself and knowing
that you will be successful — then
good things will follow.”
Based on a relatively short peri
od of full-time swimming, four-
and-a-half years, Kappler has
shown his talent.
See Kappler, Page 9
[on.-\
Bears claw their way back in bottom of ninth inning, 11-10
Derek Demere, The Battalion
Sophomore first baseman Steve Leonard just misses tagging Baylor's Jeff
Moore at first base at Olsen Field Saturday.
By Jeremy Furtick
The Battalion
If you tripped on something in
your front yard this morning widen
you left for class, chances are you
stumbled over a game ball from
the Aggie Baseball Team’s (12-6,1-
2) three-game weekend series
with the Baylor Bears (7-5, 2-1).
The two teams combined for a
sickening 60 runs on 75 hits, in
cluding 16 home runs and 14 oth
ers for extra bases — totaling a
batting average of .330 with a .608
slugging percentage. Needless to
say, it was a long weekend for the
19 pitchers who fell victim to the
shelling and even longer for the
Aggies who lost the bookend
games to start Big 12 Conference
play with a 1-2 record.
The fireworks started in Waco
Friday night with the Bears’ first at
bat and ended Sunday at Olsen in
their last. Freshman phenom
Casey Possum (1-2,3.14 ERA) took
the mound against Baylor’s Kris
Lambert in the series opener and
fell behind 3-0 after facing the
Bears’ first three hitters. Possum
hit Baylor’s lead-off man and gave
up home runs to the next two bat
ters. Seven-and-a-half innings
and 12 runs later, the Aggies
dropped their Big 12 opener, 10-5.
There were a few bright spots
for the Aggies during the loss. At the
plate, junior catcher Matt Garrick
blasted two home runs and a sin
gle, and collected three RBIs, while
senior outfielder Johnny Hunter
added a solo shot. Junior pitcher
John Sneed finished the final three
innings of the loss by striking out
seven and not allowing a run.
The series shifted to College
Station Saturday with over 3,500
fans in attendance cheering on
the Aggies in their first Big 12
home game. Junior Ryan Rupe (3-
0, 3.86) was on the hill for A&M
with Michael Bradford pitching
for Baylor. The Aggies jumped on
top 5-1, with four runs in the sec
ond inning highlighted by senior
shortstop Rich Petru’s two-out,
RBI double that drove in junior
second baseman Brian Benefield.
A&M added a run in the fourth
to go up 6-1, but Baylor came
storming back with three runs in
the top of the fifth, an event which
would become a reoccurring
theme during the weekend. But the
Aggies responded with another big
inning in the bottom of the fifth.
Freshman leftfielder Steven
Truitt ripped a one-out triple and
scored on sophomore center-
fielder Jason Tyner’s double. After
Tyner scored on a Petru fielder’s
choice, senior third baseman Ja
son Stephens singled to set the
table for Hunter, who smashed a
three-run homer to right-center.
The teams traded single runs in
the sixth and it seemed the Aggies
were comfortably rolling into the fi
nal innings of the game, when Bay
lor struck for six more runs includ
ing a two-out, three-run shot from
shortstop Preston Underdown.
That was all the Bears would
be able to muster as junior pitch
er Robert Keens shut the door in
the last 2-1/3 innings. Keens
earned the Aggies’ first save of the
season after escaping a bases-
loaded jam in the ninth.
Aggie Head Coach Mark John
son gave credit to Baylor’s resiliency.
“Every time we would get com
fortable, they would put more
runs up and force us to keep scor
ing,” he said. “I wanted to stretch
Rupe as long as I could and stay
■ out of our bullpen, but we finally
had to pull him.”
The Bears used five pitchers in
the loss, something Benefield said
had to be done.
“It was important for us to get
into their bullpen today since
they only used two guys [Friday]
night,” Benefield said.
See Baseball, Page 9