The Battalion
Sports
^dnesday • January 21, 1998
Women’s Basketball hosts Oklahoma, goes for first Big 12 win
By Michael Taglienti
Staff writer
The Texas A&M Women’s Basketball Team con-
mes its two-game homestand in a Big 12 battle
ith the Oklahoma Sooners at 7 p.m. at G. Rollie
hite Coliseum.
The Aggies (4-10, 0-4) are comingoff a 68-52 home
ss to the Iowa State Cyclones. In that game A&M had
mble stopping ISU forward Jayme Olson whose in-
leloutside game gave the Aggies fits all afternoon,
she scored a team-high 26 points in the win.
Tie Aggies will be facing a similar player in OU’s
ading scorer Phylesha Whaley. The 5-foot-10-inch
phomore forward leads the Sooners in scoring with
1.8 points per game, and shooting 48 percent from
:yond the three-point arc. This game is a rematch of
the Jan. 3 game in Norman, which the Sooners won
84-76. In that game, Whaley scored 30 points and
pulled down 10 rebounds.
A&M, the youngest team in the Big 12, is trying to re
main upbeat after an 0-4 start in Big 12 play. Coach
Candi Harvey said the team’s confidence is a huge con
cern. Right now, the team is still learning how to make
the little plays that mean the difference between win
ning and losing.
Despite the team’s struggles, Harvey said she saw
reason for optimism in the ISU game. Against the Cy
clones, Harvey said she was happy with the improve
ment she saw in A&M’s defense. The Aggies put forth a
commendable effort and held ISU four points below its
scoring average for the season.
“I think we brought the shot clock down to zero
maybe five or six times, and we haven’t done that in a
long time,” Harvey said.
On the offensive side of the ball, the Aggies contin
ued to struggle with their shooting. On the year, the Ag
gies are shooting only 40 percent from the field.
Tonight, they will face a team that is also having prob
lems putting up points. OU is shooting only 39 percent
from the field, and averaging 67.4 points per game.
OU (6-9,2-3) is coming off a 97-84 victory over Texas
in Norman, which improved its record to one win bet
ter than all of last season.
Tonight's game pits two of the top young players in
the Big 12 against each other. OU’s Wlialey squares off
with Texas A&M’s supersoph Prissy Sharpe. Sharpe con
tinued to prove she is worthy of All-Big 12 considera
tion, with 18 points and 12 rebounds against ISU. On
the year, Sharpe is averaging 15 points, and 10.8 re
bounds per game.
JAKE SCHRICKLING/The Battalion
Forward Jennifer Burrows guards an ISU player Saturday.
fTexas A&M Track and Field Teams poised for golden season
Texas A&M
athletes on
PHOTO COURTESY: SPORTS INFORMATION
Track and Field Coach Ted Nelson has a talented group of
his hands as he heads into the 1998 indoor season.
By Michael Ferguson
Staffwriter
When people around the state
of Texas think about track and
field, they typically do not picture
it taking place in indoors. High
school athletes in this state rarely
compete in such a facility, if at all.
Combined with the fact that the
majority of the athletes at Texas
A&M are recruited from Texas, the
indoor college season is new to
most of A&M’s competitors.
These factors provide for quite a
rude awakening, and somewhat ex
plains the lackluster performance of
the track teams in the indoor cham
pionships lastyear. Texas A&M coach
Ted Nelson alluded to this very fact.
“Tr aditionally, we have not been
a good indoor team,” Nelson said.
“We don’t work out on an indoor fa
cility, so it makes it a little hard to go
up and compete against those peo
ple who work out everyday in those
indoor facilities.”
However, with the outdoor sea
son not beginning until March, in
door must be the focus. With the
quality of athletes returning more
experienced from last year’s team in
addition to several new faces, the
Texas A&M Track and Field Teams
should enjoy much more success
than it has in the past.
Leading the men’s team will be
seniors Larry Wade, Billy Fobbs and
a host of others. Wade was forced to
sit out last year’s indoor season be
cause of an injury, but is healthier
than ever and will be a welcome ad
dition to the team while on his
quest for a national championship.
“I think this indoor season will
be totally different from last year,”
Wade said. “We’re a much more
mature team.”
Fobbs did compete lastyear but
was admittedly not at full strength
at the start of the indoor season
beacause of an illness. Fobbs allud
ed to last year’s results and how the
Aggies might improve on them.
“Last year wasn’t acceptable to
the athletes or the coaches,” Fobbs
said. “From a personal standpoint,
I’m just going to take it one meet at
a time; one race at a time.”
He should lead the cast of sprint
ers, including junior Michael Price,
who returns with last year’s best
A&M marks in the long jump and
the 200-meter dash. His time in the
200 qualified him for Nationals.
Rounding out the solid core of
sprinters is junior Toya Jones, who
returns with 1997 A&M indoor bests
in the 60-meter dash and the triple
jump. The return of senior Michael
McKinney, who should contribute
greatly in the 200 and 400, will also
be a welcome addition after missing
last season because of an injury.
Leading the Aggie men in dis
tance running will be junior Scott
Lengefeld, who returns with the
best 3,000-meter run of A&M’s
1997 indoor season, and senior
James Menze, who posted the best
5,000-meter mark. Sophomores
Jon Nance and Richard McDonald
should excel in the pole vault this
season after completing a 1-2 fin
ish in the Sooner Invitational this
past weekend. Junior Mike
Lowrance continued his success in
the shot put by bringing home the
gold from Oklahoma last week
end, and should continue to do
well all season.
The women suffered several
tremendous losses from last season,
including All-American Rosa Jolivet,
Donyale Canada and Anjanette
Kirkland. However, the team should
rebound strongly courtesy of out
standing athletes like senior Adrien
Sawyer, whose blistering time in the
60-meter hurdles last weekend al
ready qualified her for Nationals at
the end of the season.
Sawyer excels at the hurdles and
competes in the long jump and the
triple jump, where she qualified for
Nationals a year ago. She did admit
that the loss of the three outstand
ing women will hurt.
“It’s going to affect us is one
main race, and that’s the mile re
lay,” Sawyer said. “They’re the best
quarter-milers, so we’re going to
have to find some girls on the team
to make up for that.”
The list of candidates to replace
the stars that have since moved on
is certainly an impressive one. In
addition to Sawyer, sophomore
Chimika Carter is certainly at the
head of the list. She will compete
mainly in the long jump, triple jump
and hurdles, but might see action
elsewhere as well. Also on the list of
impressive sprinters is junior Det-
rich Clariett, who also competes in
the long jump and triple jump.
Junior. Kelli Schrader set the
school record in the weight throw last
season, and is off to a quick start this
season. Running the mid-distances
will be sophomore Ann Dwyer and
senior Ceci Hudson, who finished
with the top two A&M times in the
800-meter ram lastyear. Hudson also
competes in all of the jumps.
Junior April King will compete in
the 200 and the 400, where she held
the top school time in the 1997 sea
son. She has also been part of the
1,600-meter relay team in the past.
Rounding out the cast of women is
junior Farah Banks, who will com
pete in the 200, long jump, and the
triple jump.
“I’m looking forward to having a
more competitive indoor team than
we’ve had in the past,” Nelson said.
With the caliber of athletes com
peting this year, both new and old,
track and field fans should expect
nothing but the best from this tal
ented group of people.
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