Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 7, 1997)
March? The Battalion Page 3 Friday • March 7, 1997 ggies head to Midwest to cage Mizzou Tigers By Jeremy Furtick The Battalion The Texas A&M Baseball Team 6,1-2) will get its first look at the Big 12 competition from the :mer Big 8 this weekend as they ;e the 850-mile trip to Columbia take on the Missouri Tigers (7-6, in a three-game set. The 12th-ranked Aggies will be ingin their second Big 12 series, g already lost two of three es in last weekend’s slugfest st Baylor. But in a non-confer- game Tuesday, the Aggies re- lunded to defeat third-ranked (14-3,3-0), 2-1 in Houston. Head Coach Mark Johnson said victory over Rice was a boost for Aggies, who had trouble holding s against Baylor. “Baseball is a beast for every- ne," Johnson said. “Beating Rice elped us, but we’ll continue the i to3rdFloi ire a Cajl ng at 6p. nett said 1-tilt, do; deal," Bi itina hasals Is Beausole; e show at tt looking Bryan —h i every shon ildn't give Terry sai do whatya ol. You caii ups and downs. It was a great learning experience to lose to Bay lor like we did on Sunday and then come back and beat Rice on the road.” Junior catcher Matt Garrick said the momentum from the Rice vic tory will benefit the team in the Mis souri series. “[Tuesday] night was huge for us,” Garrick said. “It’s really going to boost us and will carry us into this weekend’s series.” Missouri comes into the weekend unranked after falling out of Baseball America’s Top 25 on Feb. 24However, Missouri swept Kansas State last weekend to take the Big 12 Conference lead. “Beating Rice helped us, but we'll continue the ups and downs.” Mark Johnson A&M head coach Head Coach Mark Johnson said the series will be tough. “Everybody has an advantage playing at home,” he said. “It’s go ing to be hard for anyone in this conference to sweep a series.” Missouri is return ing most of its starters from a club that went to the regional play offs last year. “We don’t know much about Mis souri because they’ve never been one of our standard oppo nents,” Johnson said. “And no one we’ve played a lot in the past has much experience with them either.” Johnson said the A&M pitching rotation will remain the same with freshman Casey Possum (1-2, 3.03 ERA) throwing Friday and juniors Ryan Rupe (3-0, 3.86) and Matt Blank (3-0, 3.82) splitting the dou bleheader Saturday. Possum, who was ripped for seven runs in 3-2/3 innings last Friday against Baylor, came back to throw 12 pitches in the ninth Tuesday to save the Aggies’ one- run victory over Rice. Possum said Johnson did not say much to the pitching staff after the Baylor shelling. “All he said was for us to know the situation and be prepared to handle it,” Possum said. “He told us anyone could be asked to step in and do the job.” Possum said his struggles last week came from throwing his fast ball up in the strike zone. “I worked on my change-up mostly this week,” Possum said. “I have to get first-pitch strikes low in the zone and change speeds if I want to do well.” Ryan Rogers, The Battalion Junior Scott Sandusky avoids being tagged out on a lead-off double in the third inning against Baylor University. A&M Tennis A&M looks for third-straight in H.E.B. Championships By Sara Duesing The Battalion Traveling south to Corpus Christi this weekend, the Texas A&M Men’s Tennis Team (2-3) prepares for the three-day H.E.B. Collegiate Team Championships beginning today. The Aggies will face North Car olina State University in the first round of play in what Head A&M Men’s Tennis Coach Tim Cass said is the second-biggest tournament of the season next to the NCAAs. "We have our work cut out for us,” Cass said. “N.C. State has a good coach and I know their guys willbewell-prepared.” ■ * ■ ^ lustfive matches into the season, the Aggies have been preparing ertrappW I ^ emse ^ ves f'or the tournament with id “vat practices and matches. Af- moneyt said. 1 id art.” listinctiveo painter Pat miard Mant lintedarotiK softheartisii llion. ter winning against Michigan State University Wednesday and against the University of Arkansas on Mon day, senior Robbie Krause said the team has a definite advantage. “The match is the best practice you can get,” he said. “The guys are all now mentally fired up for this tournament.” In a team sport made suc cessful by the individual’s per formance, Cass said each player needs to be ready to go and take responsi bility. Although the season got off to a shaky start with three losses, Krause said the team’s confidence is back with the two lat est victories. “We know we can win,” Krause said. “And it’s always a huge plus Krause to go into this with a win under your belt. “This will be a test for the team mentally with back to back matches, but it will provide great momentum for the rest of the season.” The Aggies will face N.C. State first in doubles competition and then in singles. Krause said it is im portant to get off to a good start with doubles points. Cass said he wants to win this weekend, but he is focusing on goals for the entire season. “We have a younger team, so we want to focus on developing and growing with every match,” Cass said. After the tournament, the Aggies will return to College Station for a four-match homestand beginning next Thursday as Wake Forest comes to town. Lady Aggies begin homestand against Texas Tech By Sara Duesing The Battalion After getting two wins in sunny California last week end, theTexas A&M Women’s Tennis Team has returned home to jump back into conference play. The Lady Ag gies (7-1) host Texas Tech University Saturday at 1:30 p.m. at the Omar Smith Tennis Center. Feeling confident and ready, ju nior Monica Rebolledo said the team has been maintaining a posi tive attitude as it delves into the heart of the season. “We have been playing well,” she said. “The wins [against San Diego State University and the University of San Diego] were really good for us.” In the past, A&M has dominated the Lady Red Raiders and is expected to do the same this weekend. Last season, the Lady Aggies defeated Texas Tech in a 9-0 shutout. Head A&M Wo men’s Tennis Coach Bobby Kleinecke said Tech has improved recently, so A&M will have to be ready for a challenge. Kleinecke “They are more confident and feel like they can win some matches,” he said. “We’re taking them cautious ly but I feel like we’re still in control. “If we let up, though, it could cause a problem.” This match kicks off a four-game homestand in which the Lady Aggies will welcome Wake Forest, the University of North Carolina, and Florida State University. Rebolledo said the team needs to stay focused and prepared to start off well. “Tech does have a better team this year, so we have to go out and be ready to play.” Rebolledo said. “Every match is important and we need to play our best.” So far this season, the Lady Aggies have crushed their opponents in singles competition but have strug gled in doubles matches. Kleinecke said the team concentrated this week mainly on its doubles game as well as on its mental preparation. “We know we are going to have to work for it be cause it could go either way,” he said. “But still, I’d rather be in our shoes than in theirs.” Aggies host second Invitational ByNicki Smith The Battalion PM 5 PM TheTexas A&M Softball Team larely had the chance to enjoy its iree-game winning streak be- Y fore coming up against three teams ranked in the preseason lop 25 Poll March 2 at the NFCA Leadoff Classic. The Lady Aggies (6-11) have slumped into a three-game los ing streak but are hoping some I joodhome cooking and rest will be the mix they need to get to the top of their game this weekend as they host the Super 8 Motel Aggie Invitational II at the Lady Aggie Softball Field. Ohio State University, North ern Illinois University and LouisianaTech University will be Editor iris EDtt° R in Editor Editor itor )0N EoflO R he Division 01 :eedMcD°" a “ u; Intern' letAit JattalionU 01 call 8^' ’m. Mond 3 ? ip a singl® j $50 P erP and spring lidaysond ; 77840- ,M Univoi 5 ® in attendance for the double round robin tournament, which begins at noon today and ends at 3 p.m. Sunday. Head Coach Jo Evans said the Lady Aggies have more confi dence than they did when they hosted their first tournament two weeks ago. “We feel really good about our progress, and we feel we have a lot more momentum than before,” Evans said. “There are no weak teams in this tournament, so the more good teams we play, the more we will work to play to their level of competition. This time around we want to show our fans that we can play at a higher level.” Although 20th-ranked LouisianaTech (13-7) is the only nationally ranked team in the tournament, the Lady Buckeyes are coming in with a 7-4 overall record and five players batting over .400, while Northern Illinois is breaking even with a 4-4 record. Junior pitcher and designated hitter Trina Solesbee, who leads the A&M pitching staff with a 1.17 ear ned run average, said the key to success this weekend will be get ting the right hits at the right times. “We have improved im mensely since the last tourna ment and are doing better at ex ecuting when we need to,” Solesbee said. “Our hitting has really come around, but we need to work on our getting crucial hits when we need them. This will help us make all of the little things work as a whole, which will hopefully bring wins.” Lady golfers head west for Invitational By Lara L. Zuehlke The Battalion The 15th-rankedTexas A&MWomen’s Golf team heads west today to tee off against the nation’s best golfers at the Spartan Invitational in Fort Ord, Calif. The 54-hole tournament, hosted by San Jose State University, will provide some stiff competition for fire Lady Aggies. All 12 teams competing are ranked in the Rolex Collegiate Golf Rankings top 50, including No. 1 Ari zona State University, No. 2 Stanford University, No. 3 Arizona University and No. 4 Duke University. Junior Aurora Kirchner said the Ag gies are not worried about the tough playing field, but they want to learn from their opponents. “This is a really strong field and it’s small, because there’s only 12 teams playing,” Kirchner said. “I don’t think playing against better teams puts pressure on us, because you either get better or learn from the experience.” Representing A&M will be fresh man Anna Becker, juniors Isabelle Rosberg, Jamie Hullett and Kirchner and sophomore Jennifer Emmons. Hullett leads the team with an aver age score of 76.73 for the season, plac ing her 17th on the Rolex Individual Rankings. Becker, averaging 78.56 for the Aggies, is ranked No. 54, while Kirch ner comes in at No. 93, averaging 81.87. A&M Head Coach Jeanne Suther land said the Spartan Invitational will be challenging because the Lady Ag gies have never played the course. “It’s hard to prepare for it (the tour nament), but we also don’t have any bad feelings,” Sutherland said. The Ags are coming off a third - place finish in the Texas A&M Bookstore/ Monica Welsh Memorial tournament. “We were disappointed that we fin ished third in our tournament, because we were on our home course,” Kirchn er said. “We haven’t started off as well this semester as we’d hoped, but I think things will pick up at this tournament.” Sutherland said the tournament could be a turning point in the Lady Aggies’ season. “We haven’t played well this spring, so if we can do well and beat some of the teams there, we will be in a better position,” Sutherland said. “We want to be playing the best teams right now, because we have the ability to do it. ” After this weekend’s showdown, the Lady Aggies will head to Austin to play in the Betsy Rawls Longhorn Classic March 14-16. Extended Weekend Survival Tool (Optional toothbrush) Preserve Texas wildlife. Make Laredo your migrating destination this spring break. Laredo and Nuevo Laredo are teeming with great hotels, fabulous clubs and restaurants that make excellent resort areas for those who love to preserve our wild life. Come and enjoy! Call 1-800-361-3360 iLffl Laredo Convention and Visitors Bureau Mexican Sports Cap / — Hot Dog High energy food group Beard Found on males only, also is a fashion statement AH Terrain Party Suit Doubles up as blanket Catsup Stains Common on party species | High Tech Ventilation Duct Dance Floor Adhesive Flavor not important MSC Barber Shop Serving All Aggies! Cuts and Styles All Corp Cuts $7. Regular cuts start at $8. Six operators to serve you: Theresa - April - Marti Hector - Jennifer - Cecil 846-0629 Open: Mon. - Fri. 8-5, Sat. 9-4 Located in the basement of the Memorial Student Center rtjttsea £>tvee/ 6 $xiU==* Cloud 5ix Live from Houston, Cloud Six performs your favorites from The Cure, Pavtd Sowie & Fleetwood Mac. Wednesday-Saturday 9pm*No Cover POST OAK MALL 693-6429
