•According lo a recenl ICR study.The Princetnn Bevievi is not affiliated will Princeton Univeraty or GMAC. y 20, Monday * July 20,1998 The Battalion PORTS recruiting ass ranked From staff and wire reports According to Soccer Buzz magazine, the ias A&M soccer recruiting class of eight ncoming freshmen ranks seventh national- Ilmong Division I-A schools and tops in ■ Central Region. J"Recruiting is the lifeblood of a pro- jgram " A&M soccer coach G. Guerrieri said. "Itkcvps talent coming in, butthe talent that flyon have attracts talent. B 1 think if you look at what it was that at- ed the No. 7 class in the country, it was the tact that we play a high level of soccer." ■According to the web magazine, the Ag gies reached the top with the late signing of Amber Childers, who finished high school a year early to play collegiate soccer like her teammate Nicky Thrasher. ■Childers combines with National Pool player Michelle Royal and standouts Angela Barker, Cameron Chorn, Anne Tamporello, Laiirie Lovoi, Jodie Mitchell and Jaimie Mar- "den to form a stellar rookie class. ■ "We've had the newcomer of the year the last two years in this conference (Big 12)," Guerrieri said. "1 don't know if that trend will -,4 continue, but 1 know I am very comfortable with the kids we have coming in. |T/ B"! know I've got a smile on my face all day long and so do the rest of the coaches be cause we know it's going to be a year that can really be fun and rewarding." ■ A&M and Nebraska, whose class was irftnked 10th nationally and second in the re gion, were the only two Big 12 Conference schools listed among the top-25 classes. Cowboys’ LaFleur looks for bigger role in 1998 ■ WICHITA FALLS, Texas (AP) — Tight end David LaFleur was the forgotten man in 0 (the Dallas Cowboys offense last year. He is just hoping that in new coach Chan Gailey's wide open offense, there will be some plays de signed for him. "I'm very opti mistic about this sea son," LaFleur said, a first round draft pick two years ago out of Louisiana State Uni- I f I Airman versity. "Last year was s tW earnin g experience for me. Now, I'll be in an offense a lot like the one we had in college. InJBhink they'll get the ball to me particularly I ■linebackers pick me up man-to-man." ■ Gailey, the former Pittsburgh offensive jcoordinator known for his inventiveness, ; said he is counting heavily on the 6-foot-6, j'JQ'Pound LaFleur to contribute this year. |0 J “David's development is very important to , us this season," Gailey said. "We look for him to make a big jump in production from lastyear ^ ^ oes / ^ will really help our offense." ■will LaFleur mostly blocked for the Cowboys lastyear and did that well. In one game, he . ad five pancake blocks. rB LaFleur showed his promise against Wncinnati in a late-season game when he C^ght his first NFL touchdown passes on j|osses of 13 and 12 yards from Troy Aikman. ^ “I think I showed in that game what I'm ppable of doing," LaFleur said. "It's a mat- ' of working on the same page with Troy Bid having him get confidence in me." Aikman says that will be no problem. I think David is going to work well in fiis new scheme," Aikman said. "He is tall ipd makes a great target. I think we'll be go- Pg to him much more this season." Red Raider Reckoning Texas Tech could face NCAA additions to self-imposed sanctions after official decision is made Montford HOUSTON (AP) — Texas Tech allowed a receiver to play after learning of an NCAA memoran dum sug gesting he was im properly readmitted to the uni versity in 1995, ac cording to newly re leased documents examined by the Houston Chronicle. Texas Tech knew about an NCAA memo written by a se nior official in the membership services department weeks be fore the Red Raiders played their Dec. 29, 1996, Alamo Bowl game, the newspaper reported last week. However, the Lubbock school allowed junior Malcolm McKen zie to play, and McKenzie con tinued playing last season, catch ing 42 passes for 462 yards and two touchdowns. His eligibility is among several possible rules violations under re view by the NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions, which heard the Texas Tech case last April in Cleveland. School officials expect a decision to be announced by month's end. The school already has imposed three years' probation on its athlet ic program, including substantial scholarship cuts in six sports. The NCAA committee could add to Tech's punishment. Texas Tech Chancellor John T. Montford said school officials did n't believe they were bound to re act to the memo because it was not an official rules interpretation and because the university thought it was doing nothing wrong. "I can tell you there may have been wrong decisions made at the time, but I believe they were good- faith decisions based on evidence and advice of counsel," Montford said. "I don't think there was any flagrant disregard of a memo or anything like that." The memo was part of a case summary prepared by the NCAA enforcement staff prior to the hearing. It was released June 23 to re porters who have been requesting it under the Texas Open Records Act for the previous two months. The McKenzie situation was one of several allegations sub mitted by the NCAA to Texas Tech in an official letter of inquiry last October. The letter accused the school of widespread mistakes in 18 areas. Rampant errors in academic certification and financial aid dis tribution uncovered by an inter nal audit accounted for two of the 18 matters covered in the NCAA letter. Texas Tech agreed with many of the allegations in a response made public April 14, but disputed the charges related to McKenzie. McKenzie, suspended for aca demic reasons in the spring of 1995, was readmitted because he ■ The Battalion file photo The Texas Tech University football team already faces a self-imposed three-year probation period for NCAA violations. The NCAA will decide whether further sanctions are needed for the Malcolm McKenzie situation. made an A in American History during a San Antonio College summer school course. McKen zie only earned a B, but a San An tonio College professor agreed to raise the grade if he did extra credit work during the fall. McKenzie needed the A for readmission to Tech. When McKenzie didn't com plete the assignment, Thomas M. Settles, the San Antonio College professor, sent a letter to the Texas Tech registrar's office in December 1995 complaining he'd been "conned" by McKenzie and Tech coaches who promised to help the player do the extra-credit project. The NCAA contends McKen zie received special treatment for his athletic status and that Texas Tech failed to act when confronted with evidence of possible infractions. San Fransisco’s Bronson grieves for Jasper murder victim Byrd Astros topple Giants in 12 th STOCKTON, Calif. (AP) — The shocking racial killing in Jasper, Texas, that rocked the state and the nation hit San Francisco 49ers reserve safety Zack Bronson on a personal level. "I was bom and raised in Jasper, Texas, and in my 24 years, I never heard anything like this. All we can do is pray nothing like this ever hap pens again," Bronson said softly, speaking after the team's sweltering training camp workout Sunday. Bronson knew the slain man, James Byrd Jr., as a family friend. Byrd, a 49-year-old African-American man, was murdered June 7 when he was tied behind a pickup truck and dragged several miles to his death. Three young white men were arrest ed in the racially charged killing. "I grieve for his family," Bron son said. "May his soul rest in peace. I feel racism can be in any city you go to. Unfortunately it happened in my hometown. "All I can say is Jasper is really not like that. It's a wonderful place to live. If I had a choice where to raise a kid, that would be my No. 1 choice. The main thing is for all of us to come together and learn from this and live in peace." Bronson, a three-time NCAA Division II All-American at Mc- Neese State, made the 49ers roster as an undrafted free agent last sea son and appeared in every game. He recalls meeting Byrd at family gatherings during his college years and last saw him in May when Byrd sang at the home of friends. "He could really sing," Bronson said, whose father was especially close to Byrd. "He sounded a little bit like A1 Green." Bronson also returned to Jasper, a town of about 8,000 peo ple, about two weeks ago and he said the sadness in the communi ty remains palpable. "Everything was kind of flat around there," he said. "Every body is in grief. But the case is in the best hands right now. It's in the hands of the law." Sociologist Harry Edwards, a 49ers consultant and one of the few people in the organization in whom Bronson confided about the incident, said he's encouraged by Bronson's words. "Zack has wrestled with this," Edwards said. "He's deeply affected and angered by it." HOUSTON (AP) — When Derek Bell fell be hind 0-2 in the count to Robb Nen with the bases loaded in the 12th inning Sunday, he knew exact ly what to look for. "I knew Nen wasn't going to throw one in the dirt with the winning run on third," Bell said. "I figured he'd try to get me to chase one. He gave me a fast ball away, but it was up a little bit and I got the bat on it and punched it through." Bell singled home Bill Spiers with one out, sending the Giants to their fourth consecutive loss and eighth defeat in their last nine games. The Gi ants' 1-8 mark is their worst for a nine-game road trip since 1992. Spiers doubled with one out in the 12th off Nen (6-2) and Craig Biggio was intentionally walked be fore Ricky Gutierrez walked. Bell, hitless in his four at-bats, lined a single up the middle. "That was a tough pitch to hit against one of the toughest relievers in the game," Houston manager Larry Dierker said. "It's a little surprising. You don't often do that off someone like Nen." Nen declined comment after the game. Doug Henry (5-2) pitched the 12th for his first win against his former team. He pitched in 75 games for the Giants last season. "Early in the year it meant more to me but now they're just another team," Henry said. "I'm over any anxiety of wanting to beat my former teammates." The Giants held Houston scoreless for 10 consec utive innings after the first, but San Francisco hitters were 0-for-ll with runners in scoring position. "We had opportunities in almost almost every in ning," San Francisco manager Dusty Baker said. "We just couldn't get that two-out hit. That's the way this road trip has gone. Hopefully now that it's over that will be the end of it. "When breaks go against you it's like a snowball rolling downhill. I think we're at the bottom of that hill now. Hopefully now we can go back home and start our way back up." Moises Alou went 3-for-5 with a three-run homer for the Astros. Barry Bonds homered and Rey Sanchez had three hits for the Giants. Trailing 3-0, San Francisco scored three runs in the fourth. Bill Mueller led off with a single and Bonds fol lowed with his 20th homer, a shot off Pete Schourek. One out later, Charlie Hayes hit his sixth homer. Alou hit a three-run homer in the first inning off Giants starter Mark Gardner after Bell and Jeff Bag- well drew two-out walks. Alou's homer, his 23rd, matched his career-high set last year with Florida. After Alou's homer, Gardner retired 18 of 22 be tween the first and eighth innings, and allowed only three hits — all singles — during that span. He al lowed three runs and four hits in seven innings. Schourek allowed three runs and five hits in five innings 2 reasons why YOU should take OUr course a ou II score more Princeton Review student's GMAT scores improve an average of 80 points*. With an average final GMAT score of 590, TPR students significantly out-score students from other GMAT prep courses. There are Few guarantees in liFe . . . We're one of them. If you're not happy with your score, we'll work with you-at no additional charge. Class starts on July 25th and space is LIMITED TO 15 STUDENTS. CALL TODAY! . Call or visit us at 409.696.9099 www.review.com THE PRINCETON REVIEW £12 Dive int® ^ummerll^l u/ith the MSC Virsu©il Arts Committee! Field Trip t© Historic G@ilvest 1 -800-KAP-TEST www.kaplan.com *LSAT Is a registered trademark of the Law School Admission Council.