Wednesday • January 28, 1998
The Battalion
I"* O UTS
improved facilities, more depth put A&M in winning position
By Aaron Meier
Staff writer
Vhile students are just getting into the daily schedule
' ass* s for the spring semester, the men and women of
' is A&M’s Swimming and Diving Teams have been in
l ' swii ig over the winter break preparing for the Big 12
mpionships which are less than a month away.
ou Build It...
dter years of being housed in antiquated facilities,
jmming and diving teams are finally reaping the
ards of the new natatorium in the Student Recre-
nCenter.
den’s Coach Mel Nash, who had a hand in designing
^facilities, said the new pool has been a helpful factor
Writing.
We kind of hit a glass ceiling in the late ’80s and into
earlv ’90s,” Nash said. “I think we had gone as far as
xml (I go with the old facilities. Now we have been able
kyrocket with the new pool.”
fomen’s Coach Don Wagner said the pool represents
' d’s dedication to the swimming program.
'I think people see the pool and recognize the com
ment of the university to see the program grow,” Wag-
said. “We have tremendous support from our athlet-
_epartment and they want to do everything they can
levelop a top-five team, which is good compared to
ools that don’t commit to the non-revenue programs.”
^ash said he believes the Student Recreation Cen-
INatatorium houses one of the three fastest pools
in the nation.
“Most people seem to agree that it is at that level,”
he said. “We’ve had meets here with people going
their best times.”
Becoming a Leader
Even though the majority of swimming events are in
dividual in nature, leadership and team spirit are essen
tial components to building a nationally-ranked team.
Nash said this year’s team captains as well as other
members of the team have offered solid leadership dur
ing the season. Senior Kyle Marden’s experience as a
three-time All-American and junior Jerrod Kappler’s fo
cus in die pool has brought out the strengths in the team.
“More than just the captains, the whole team has
stepped up,” Nash said. “I mean some of the freshman
are leaders on the team either by example or just en
couraging other guys on the team.”
Wagner said he has worked on building a solid
base of leadership since becoming women’s coach
three years ago.
“We try to recruit leadership,” Wagner said. “Our
underclassmen are doing a good job of assuming that
responsibility.”
Quiet Waters Run Deep
With the opening of the Rec Center Natatorium and
several quality recruiting classes, the Texas A&M Swim
ming Teams are developing something they have been
lacking in past seasons — depth.
Wagner said the increase in quality is especially preva
lent this year.
“We’ve got good people in every event, and that has
n’t always been the case,” he said. “Last year and the year
before we had some big holes and this year, we have done
a lot to fill in those holes.”
Wagner said with four or five women demonstrating
strong potential in the backstroke, his medley relays have
potential to excel at the women’s Big 12 Championships
in Austin next month.
The backstroke is a competitive area for the men’s
team as well, the loss of Rob Pantano to graduation, Nash
said five men are vying for the chance to compete on the
200- and 400-yard medley relay teams.
“I’m not one for predictions, but whoever takes the
challenge can have a place on the relay,” Nash said. “We
could easily have a different backstroker on the 200 med
ley and 400 medley.”
The bonus of a deep breaststroke field with Marden,
sophomore Matt Rice and freshman Chris Sandt and
three good butterfliers leaves the prospects for the med
ley relays high.
Breaking the Surface
The Texas A&M Men’s and Women’s Diving Teams
have been experiencing success in the water also, but
starting from a higher vantage point.
The women have two experienced divers with se
nior Jodi Janssen and sophomore Danielle Guarneri
returning to the team. They are joined by freshman
diver Sarah Law.
Diving Coach Kevin Wright said the team competes
RYAN ROGERS/The Battalion
Senior Stacie Karnes will lead the women into the water.
against each other.
“The depth of having the girls that are competitive
with each other drives them on,” he said.
Although the women are enjoying a recent acquire
ment of depth to the team, the men are still left with only
one competing diver, Mark Naftanel. The freshman div
er Jessie Even had to redshiit due to a broken vertebrae.
Despite this lack of numbers, Wright said Naftanel is
holding up under the pressure and will be at the Big 12
Championships to defend his titles, especially in the IO
meter platform.
“He will be real hard to beat on the platform,” Wright
said. “I would be surprised if he didn’t win that (at the con
ference meet).”
jiggies limp into tonight’s game versus Colorado
jxas A&M forwards Calvin Davis, Aaron James out of action with injuries against stuggling Buffaloes
By Jeff Schmidt
Staff writer
The Texas A&M Men’s Basketball Team
4 0, 0-6) will take on the Colorado Buf-
Ses (8-8, 2-4) tonight at 7 at G. Rollie
ite Coliseum. The Aggies are coming off
1-62 loss in Stillwater to Oklahoma State,
ile the Buffaloes fell to Kansas State 78-
in their last outing. Colorado has a 2-0
d in the all-time series but has lost seven
ight games on the road this season. The
i'ies are still looking for their first confer
ee win of the season.
Colorado is lead by senior forward Ronnie
Gray and junior guard Kenny Price, who
(nes off the bench. Price leads the Big 12
in three-point field goal percentage at near
ly 45 percent. Price also leads the team with
a 13.5 points-per-game
average. DeGray is the
team’s leading re
bounder at 7.4 a game
and also chips in 12.7
points per game.
If the Aggies are to
win, they are going to
have to do it without
their top two power
forwards. Calvin Davis
is still out with an in
jury and Aaron Jack
strained a leg muscle in practice Monday.
Sophomore point guard Brian Barone also
has a broken thumb but will still play
against Colorado.
To combat the Buffaloes athleticism, the
Aggies will start a quicker, shorter lineup
with both Brian Barone and Steve Houston
at the guard spots and Michael Schmidt
and Shanne Jones at the forwards. Larry
Thompson will make his 22nd consecutive
start at center.
“We’re just trying to find somebody with
enthusiasm that might get us off to a good
start,” Coach Tony Barone said.
Colorado has had to fill holes this season
that have opened due to graduation and
defection to the NBA. The Buffaloes began
this season without Martice Moore, who
graduated, and Chauncey Billups, who was
the third overall by the Boston Celtics last
year, the highest selection ever for a Col
orado player.
“You had to gear a lot of things towards
him (Billups) and when you do that, he
made other players better,” Barone said.
“Without him, there’s a huge void in their
lineup and it’s tough to replace him.”
Other keys to the Aggies’ victory hopes
are being able to beat the Colorado press
and stay sharp the whole game, and not get
ting into the doldrums that have plagued
the team this year.
“You have to handle their press. They’re
very up-tempo in how they guard you. We
have to get 40 minutes out of our team.
That’s been the issue for us,” Barone said.
Aggie
Sports
Brief
from staff and wire reports
Women fall to KU
The Texas A&M Women's Bas
ketball Team lost to Kansas last
night 63-58 at the Allen Fieldhouse.
The Aggies were led by sopho
more Prissy Sharpe, who scored
14 points and grabbed 14 re
bounds, and junior Kim Tarking-
ton, who scored 10 points, col
lected 10 rebounds and dished
out seven assists.
TEXAS BEST MUSIC
CORY
ORROW
WITH SPECIAL GUEST
OWEN TEMPLE
IpVJd?
PLAYING THE PARTY MUSIC OF
JIMMY BUFFETT
SUGAR RAY • CHARLIE DANIELS
QUAD CITY D.J. • SIR MIX A LOT
THIS THURSDAY
A Dickson Production
Auditions
Singing Cadets
‘Ifie Voice of iftggieCand
CADpr s
Read faster. Retain more.
Guaranteed.
Sylvan Learning Center’s Quick Pace SM is the most complete reading
course available because it improves reading speed ond comprehension. In
fact, we are so confident that Quick Pace will produce results, it’s guaranteed
to improve your effective reading rate (words/minutes x comprehension) at
least 50%. Call Sylvan today to enroll in Quick Pace.
414 Tarrow, Suite B
846-4988
Sylvan Learning Center*
Better grades are just the beginnings'
www.educate.com
Reading* Writing • Math• SAT/ACT*Study Skills • Algebra
Cfmmwtwwmmm
Bo Surfing
Internet
Phene Book.
Your Area-Wide Phone Book has it all and more. Now you can
surf the new Area-Wide internet site and make those
last minute travel arrangements in our Travel section or just
cruise on over to our Classifieds section and pick out that new
dream car you've been wanting. Investing? Get the
latest in stock market information in our Business section. Or
for making those plans for your free time, check out our
Entertainment section and get the latest in movie
ticket information while making reservations for your favorite
restaurant. It's all here at AREA-WIDE.com. Your
phone book with a byte.
BRAZOS VALLEY l/A
Start Your Semester Off Right
with new
]<&] Disposable Contact Lenses
IllfA#
Rick Barganier, OD, tamu *85
located next to LensCrafters in the Post Oak Mall
696-7343
* $ 20 off eye exam, contact lense fit & follow up w/this ad.
Be Upwardly Mobile.
Imagine being pari of a select team that sets the pace for
the entire vertical-lift industry. At Bell, the opportunities are
wide open. See why so many top aerospace professionals
wouldn't work anywhere else. There's never been a better
time to get your career off the ground. To learn about
opportunities in Finance, MIS, Engineering as well
as other areas, send your resume to:
Bell Helicopter Textron Inc.
P.O. Box 901014, Dept. ER-IN
Fort Worth, Texas 76101
www.bellhelicopter.textron.com
Bell Helicopter
If
83'
Open to All Male Students
JAN. 20 - JAN. 30, 1998
Room 003 MSC (Downstairs) 845-5974
Please stop by for appointment
A Subsidiary of Textron Inc.
AREA-WIDE.com
©1998 BELL© HELICOPTER TEXTRON INC.
EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER M/F/D/V