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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 17, 1997)
The Battalion Page 7 Thursday • April 1 7, 1997 I u.:.: I 111: Sportswriter Tiger Woods deserves credit for skills not color W hat PGA rookie phe- nom Tiger Woods ac complished last week end in the Masters tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club was simply breathtaking. Wood's performance was one of those special moments in sports which captivates the hearts of golf fans and non-golf t’»Jfans alike. People across the country lidt: who had ii never watched fop or cared to watch a golf tour nament tuned in to watch a his torical moment. The fourth leg of the Masters grabbed a 40-percent share Sun day, the highest ever for any tele vised golf event. With the mystique and aura that surrounds Augusta, home of » tllE the most prestigious tournament eS t, t on the PGA tour, the media cov erage has never before been fo cused solely on one individual. The media spin always has been centered on the difficulties of fast lC(l i] greens and narrow fairways, those in the hunt and on the leader board. Commentators cir cled like hawks, preying on those who fell victim to the challenges | noi; Bofthecourse and the pressures in a major tournament. With all the record-breaking numbers Woods posted, too of- IcieU iw it Jamie Burch Senior speech communications major i Woods should be 'recognized and praised for his accomplishments as a golfer and as a person, not as a black man. ten the first commentary on his feat is that Woods is the first black man ever to win a major. What does such a statement say about the media and society as a whole? Woods should be recognized and praised for his accomplish ments as a golfer and as a person, not as a black man. The truth be known, Woods is not black. His father is an African-American who married a native of Thailand. Doesn’t that make him an Asian- African-American? Sadly enough, there are still to day, in 1997, several courses in the United States where Woods would not be allowed to play because of the color of his skin. So the fact Woods won a major tournament in a sport which has not always ac cepted and in some instances still does not accept, African-Ameri cans is noteworthy. But shouldn’t the media focus more on the ac complishments of the person and not the color of his skin? See Burch, Page 10 R-E-S-P-E-C ; is* ii si Larry Wade overcomes back injury to dominate his event By Jeremy Furtick The Battalion espect” is an interesting word when used in the .context of collegiate sports. Respect from teammates, coaches or opponents usually is earned by outstanding perfor mance in competition, a category most representative of athletics. But there are other aspects of gaining respect th^t encompass more than just excelling in the athletic arena. Larry Wade, a junior hurdler on the Texas A&M Men’s Track and Field Team, dominates his compe tition on the track, but also has the respect and admiration of his coaches and teammates for the per son he is, not just the athlete. Assistant Coach Abe Brown, Wade’s hurdling coach, picked one word to describe his 1995 All-American. “Loyal,” he said. “Larry is loyal to himself, his coaches and most im portantly his team.” Loyalty, as Brown describes it, was probably the most instrumen tal attribute in helping Wade reach the level of performance he did in 1995, cope with a 1996 season-end ing injury and fin ally return to com petition three weeks ago. Expectations for Wade were not extremely high when he entered A&M in 1993, but he did not take long to eclipse expectations of the hurdler’s ability, Head Coach Ted Nelson said. Wade had a good freshman year, but came of age his sophomore year. He began by winning the 110-meter hurdles at the Southwest Confer ence Outdoor Championships be- “ Larry’s better now than I thought he would ever be when he came to Texas A&M.” Ted Nelson A&M head coach fore going on to the NCAA Outdoor Championships where he exploded for a 13.41 mark, good enough to set the all-time A&M and SWC records and rank him as the fifth all-time fastest collegiate performer in the 110-meter hurdles. “Larry’s better now than I thought he would ever be when he came to Texas A&M,” Nelson said. “In his case now, he can be as good as he possibly wants to be.” After finishing 1995 with his in credible performance, Wade was primed for an even better junior year. But at the end of the 1996 indoor season, Wade was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his back, causing him to miss the 1996 NCAA Indoor Championships and the 1996 out door and 1997 indoor seasons. Wade’s loyalty experienced its greatest test during this period. “[Sitting out the season] was terrible; I hated it,” Wade said. “I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy. The worst thing to have to do is to see your teammates need you during a meet because they know you could score some points to help the team win. And seeing people win races that I had beat the time in.” But Wade did not let the injury dampen his spirits. He continued to train and do everything he could to stay in shape without actually hur dling. Brown said it was that work which allowed Wade to return so spectacularly three weeks ago at the Texas Relays. “He was still strong and flexible, his endurance level was up and he was physically and mentally pre pared to do what he did,” Brown said. See Wade, Page 10 Carter next in line to carry on hurdling legacy a— k il^1y -“a liPft sirm A I By Chris Ferrell The Battalion Derek Demere, The Battalion Freshman hurdler Chimika Carter ties her shoe before practice Tuesday. A dynasty is not established overnight. The torch must be passed from one individ ual to another, without a drop-off in the level of success. The Texas A&M Track Team has established a dynasty in women’s hurdling. Last weekend at the Texas A&M Invitation al, freshman Chimika Carter showed she is ready to take the torch and carry it into the 21 st century. Carter turned in a wind-aided 13.42 time in the 100-meter hurdles, the 12th fastest time in the nation this year, putting her in line to com pete at the NCAA meet in May. “[I was] not expecting it at all,” Carter said. “My goal was to run a 13.6. You never know what the future holds. I hope [I can carry on the legacy].” Hurdle Coach Abe Brown said Carter has put herself in a position to emerge as the next of A&M’s great track athletes. “That’s the way it has to be,” Brown said. “That’s how tradition works. If we are going to stay strong, someone has to take the torch. We have had great hurdlers going back to Rosa Bak er and of course now with Anjanette (Kirkland) and (Rosa) Jolivet. People like Chimika are step ping up, and we also have Adrien Sawyer, and she’s only a junior.” The major change in her running came two weeks ago at the Texas Relays. “Her confidence started at the Texas Relays,” Brown said. “She hit the ninth hurdle in her race and ended up finish ing eighth with a 14.3, but that’s when I really noticed her confidence.” While Carter’s success has come earlier than anticipated, Brown said he never doubted her ability. “She, in my mind, was the darling of the state track meet,” Brown said. “She was second in the long jump and won the triple jump and the high hurdles.” Helping Groesbeck High School to a 3A state championship, Carter earned All-State honors. Her 13.1100-meter performance as a senior was the second fastest time in the state. “You never know what the future holds. I hope (I can carry on the legacy.)” Chimika Carter Freshman hurdler “I started running in junior high when we did everything,” Carter said. “I also played volleyball and basketball. I started enjoying it (track) once I started winning as a sophomore. “I never realized I was good until I started getting letters and phone calls from around the country.” Her list of prospective colleges stopped at A&M. Its strong tradi tion as a track powerhouse and the opportunity to pursue a top- notch education were simply too much for her to pass up. Brown said Carter, a four time Academic All-District performer in high school, put education very high on her list of priorities. “It (our past success) did make a difference, but I think Chimika was more interested in her studies,” Brown said. “Once we convinced her she could get a top ed ucation at Texas A&M, I don’t think she had any hesitation.” And the Aggies have no hesitations about the future with Carter, who is set to lead them into the next millennium. Social and Economic Development Through Devotion to God: THE SWADHYAYA MOVEMENT The Templeton Prize for outstanding efforts to bring man closer to God was recently award ed to Rev. Pandurang Shastri Athavale. Previous award-winners include Mother Theresa and Billy Graham. Athavale received the award for leading a movement called Swadhyaya, meaning “self-study” for the past 40 years. The movement, which encourages people to contribute to their communities as a form of devotion to God has transformed a hundred thousand Indian villages into self-sustaining and self-reliant communities, affect ing the lives of nearly 20 million people. IT*! ZsilM mj... A lecture/discussion and slide presentation led by Dr. Betty M. Unterberger Department of History Tuesday, April 22, 1997 7 pm • Koldus 110 INDIA ASSOCIATION RELIGIOUS STUDIES PROGRAM - /k Persons with disabilities please call 845-151516 infofrri us of your special needs. We request notification three (3) working days prior to the event to enable us to assist you to the best ot our .ihilu ic^ ATTENTION: TEXAS A&M Class of 1997 join us at Senior Bash SHADOW CANYON THURSDAY, APRIL 24 Doors open at 8 p.m. ^ Have a Boot scootin’ good time! j utoring- 725B University Drive FOR THE WEEK OF TICKETS GO ON SALE APRIL 21 - 24 MONDAY 4 PM MON Apr 21 TUES Apr 22 WED Apr 23 THUR Apr 24 5-7PM CHEM 101 CH CH REVIEW REVIEW 13 14 CH 1-4 CH 5-9 7-9PM RHYS 202 CH 41,42 CH 43,44 REVIEW CH 24-27 TEST #1 MATERIAL REVIEW CH 28-32 TEST #2 MATERIAL 9-11PM CHEM 102 CH CH REVIEW REVIEW 27 28 CH 15,16 CH 17-18 11 P-1 A RHYS 218 CH 13 CH 14 CH 19 REVIEW TEST #1 ,#2 MATERIAL