I
battalion
Page 11 • Thursday, September 3, 1998
Sports
mp
'heck out th
nor Stacy Sykora shoulders
gie volleyball hopes for 1998
frustration c. J
session,
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11 be complete
ii's statemeni
■ma Chavez, [
r'ashington f GRANT HAWKINS
pprov^ ofthr The Battalion
body isn’t ev
. “Him say. umbers could talk, the
isprematur: ireshof senior volleyball
yer Stacy Sykora could
Texas Nat. each Jesse Jackson, out-
ationComn ay teno and out-argue
licensingc: nerableJim Rome,
pectedtoi st year as a junior,
ierra Blatu a posted double-figure
late fall,"m n 23 matches. In six of
nselGeoft'C matches, the second-
AlljAmerican had 20
# »r mlore.
IAt*1CA <ora recorc ^ e ^ double
I/JL ' n hi 22 matches
beipg named team De-
. We’renotr.'e Player of the Year.
irisoners arc addition, the Aggie MVP
it they can :;d double-doubles in 20
anac has be tes, including three
e has beer aes In which she had
10 kills and 20 digs.
f, the map: r those who are not fa
st Texas he r with volleyball,
ie tiny tow: ,' numbers mean the
eeks, an In: on-and-white clad
ier 32 is fluent in the
lerties Uiiio: of volleyball,
mfairly on he is probably the most
tCLU of lev cally blessed player I
legitimate- ev ei coached,” Texas
diows ivh ■ volleyball coach Laurie
?lli said.
m Mills of L e 5-foot,10-inch senior
aether exam: m hig off a season in
rather than ' 1 she became the fourth
material in r hi A&M history to re-
js, and outdo All-American acco-
aponsorh: while leading the team
t ter from ofi -Sweet 16.
[or.MarvC st ' n g a 26-8 record
; the way, the Aggies
lying the a lec l |he season ranked
ed com rat in the nation.
r er it and p. :
wall.”
This year is a whole dif
ferent scenario for Sykora
and the team.
Only two starters return
from 1997, Sykora and junior
middle blocker Amber
Woolsey, and Sykora is the
only senior on the squad.
Sykora also had shoulder
surgery in March to repair
multi-directional instability
(MDI) that was causing severe
soreness in her shoulder.
Sykora was unable to
compete until practice start
ed on August 15.
With the surgery behind
her, Sykora and the team
can now focus on improving
on last year’s performance,
something that would be
difficult without her senior
leadership.
“My role is going to
change this year because,
being the only senior, 1
should have court experi
ence,” Sykora said. “My role
on this team is to pass on my
court experience.
“Last year everyone had
court experience. This year,
[that is] what we lack.”
Producing on the court is
where Corbelli believes
Sykora’s leadership will
speak the loudest.
“I expect her to play to her
maximum ability and maxi
mum intensity level,” Cor
belli said. “I think that is
where she mostly leads the
team, on the court.”
On the court, Sykora has
become one of the premiere
players in the competitive
Jake Schrickling/The Battalion
Senior Stacy Sykora and junior Amber Woolsey return in 1998 as the only seasoned veterans
on an Aggie volleyball team that finished its season in the NCAA Sweet 16 in 1997.
Big 12 Conference and is
considered one of the top
defensive players in the na
tion. Sykora takes pride in
her defensive play.
“Defense is my thing,”
she said. “I really love it. Of
fense gets more attention,
but defense is just as impor
tant because without a dig
you can’t have a set for the
hitter. I just like to make dig
ging part of the show people
come to see.”
see Sykora on Page 13.
McGwire learns to
enjoy historic race
MIAMI (AP) — Mark McGwire sat at a table in the postgame
news conference, wearing a satisfied smile and a sleeveless shirt,
leaning on arms strong enough to break a record.
Massive muscles help to explain McGwire’s prodigious pow
er, but the question persists: How can someone hit so many
home runs so far?
Skeptics keep trying to taint his achievements. The controver
sy over home-run supplements in his locker has faded, including
false rumors that he displays a photo of the Florida Marlins pitch
ing staff. So how about this:
Maybe it has become too
easy to hit home runs.
The issue came up
Tliesday night after McG
wire homered twice
against hapless Florida to
break Hack Wilson’s Na
tional League record of 56
home runs in a season.
Someone asked what this
year’s power surge says
about the state of pitching.
McGwire treated the
question like a hanging
curveball.
“Who cares?” the St.
Louis Cardinals slugger
said. “This is history, right?
If something great is going
to happen, why do we have
to critique it and say, ‘Why
did they do it? What’s
wrong with it?’ instead of
accepting what’s happening
and saying, ‘Hey, this is a great thing happening in America.’
“Just let it happen. Ride the wave. Enjoy it while it’s hap
pening. We don’t know if this will ever happen again.”
The man making history has developed a keen appreciation
for it. Tuesday’s show of force against the worst pitching staff in
the NL left McGwire only four home runs behind Roger Maris’
37-year-old major-league record of 61.
With 24 games remaining, McGwire was on a 67-homer pace.
But he has hit as many as 15 in September, and matching that
total this month would give him 70.
The race to surpass Maris is not over, however. Sammy Sosa
of the Chicago Cubs hit his 56th homer Wednesday. Ken Griffey
Jr. of the Seattle Mariners and Greg Vaughn of San Diego each
had 47 entering Wednesday’s games.
see McGwire on Page 13.
Two more for Mac
MIAMI (AP) — Mark McGwire
hit two homers for the second
consecutive night Wednesday
against the Florida Marlins, giving
him a career-high 59. He needs
just two more to tie Roger Maris’
37-year-old major league record.
McGwire homered in the sev
enth inning against Brian Ed
mondson and again in the eighth
on the first pitch from Rob Stan-
ifer. Each was a two-run shot.
The first, which landed
halfway up in the upper deck in
left field, was estimated at 497
feet, making it the third-longest in
the history of Pro Player Stadium.
His second homer 30 minutes lat
er was to left-center and traveled
an estimated 458 feet.
1600B S. College
Bryan 823-6111
Former Texas Aggie
RICK TREVINO
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