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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 9, 1998)
A2322 1598:Sept.- ports Page 9 • Wednesday, September 9, 1998 I Show-Stopper on may be the best net-minder in the Big 12 to a 3-1 reco: ournei ? Aggies'te ?y will be er jst ol (he lea: - id based oc itches, they ha as they ma:; ‘nt Team. Sykora lead; Is and 41 dii ; 5.4 kills a c' Woolsey is sf kills wilh 36,: AARON COHAN The Battalion niejWilson is not just an- r face in the crowd at is one of the nation’s best rs in Division I soccer. iad along the way was not nedbut it also was not s on[ the athletic, young ilson, a junior from Mem- n., plays soccer with an stinct for goalkeeping, her taller-than-average ilson has defended the it were her own territory, taught at a young age though technique does have to first keep every- of the net,” said Wilson, /ilson, that has been her (she baffles opponents by g their shots every chance ■ver, the Tennessee product id not come to A&M. Wh eeling with current A&M :oach G. Guerrieri was a f fate. .ympic Developmental Pro- jional team selected her as >er. Wilson and Guerrieri he to meet. At the time, i was goalkeeper coach for mal team. m and Guerrieri developed working relationship on the IER field. Wilson said it was a premium deal entering a program headed by a well- known coach. Now in her third year at A&M, Wilson has accomplished about everything that one player could do in a soccer career. Her freshman year was filled with honors. In her first year, she earned Big 12 Rookie of the Year, First-Team All Big 12, and Soccer America All- Freshman Team honors. Guerrieri said he knew he had a gem guarding his team’s goal. “She is one of the most out standing all-around goalkeepers I have ever seen,” Guerrieri said. During her sophomore year, Wil son commanded the box with a Central Regional low 0.71 goals against average. She earned First Team All- Big 12 Honors and was elected to first team honors from both Soccer Buzz and the NSCAA All Central Regional Team. Wilson demolished the school record for GAA in a single season, and has posted 16.5 shutouts, which is a record to which she con tinues to add. “I feel that my biggest achieve ment here is that I have improved mentally since I was a freshman,” Wilson said. “It means more than the numbers.” With the mental readiness that she has accustomed herself to, Wil son is able to prepare better for games. Wilson said she sees her mental lapses as her only downfall out on the field. “I love seeing action in the games, but sometimes when I be come lackadaisical in games where there isn’t a lot of action, I can get out of focus,” Wilson said. The pressure that she tends to deal with comes oddly enough from these smaller games where the action isn’t big, rather than the larger games. Wilson and her defenders co-ex ist like beer and pretzels; you can not have one without the other. “We have the best defense in the Big 12,” Wilson said. “I don’t see the ball terribly too much because of my defense.” The defenders that try to keep the opposition off Wilson’s back feel the same way. Junior Ashley Fendley said Wilson is the best. “Melanie is the best keeper in the air,” Fendley said. “She helps solidify our back line.” Wilson said she is looking to dominate the Big 12 teams along with many others this season. She said she wants to break even more records and set the stan dard for top goalies in the nation. With a little less than two sea sons to go in her college career, Wil son has her sights set on becoming the best goalkeeper around. Mike Fuentes/Tuk Battalion Texas A&M goalkeeper Melanie Wilson shut the door on the University of New Mexico on Monday. The Aggies won 7-0 with Wilson’s shutout. is third, 'hether w or nc SEE % 3ARU- sor led from Page8 addition to her offense, her game is nsively and personality oriented that going to be taking on a lot of other 3 well. I think she is ready and capa- eading this group. (Amber) Woolsey N-en through the program and been h the drills.” gjjmtributors i^jh only two returning starters from last /F team, the Aggies will depend heavily itributions from sophomore Heather McWhirter and freshmen Michelle Cole and Jenna Moscovic. McWhirter has 20 digs and one block in the young season. Cole is third on the team with 29 kills and her 25 digs is second best on the team. Her 3.63 kills per game is also second. Moscovic has 20 digs and her 108 assists leads the team. She is averaging 15.43 assists which also leads the team. “We have so many young players,” Cor- CORBELLI belli said, “who are so eager and hungry to learn more and get on the court. Although there is a lot of youth, there is also enough experience and talent that it will be exciting to see how we make it all come together.” Power Ball The Aggies have made the most of their opportunities on the opening serve. A&M has 19 aces so far to only six by their oppo nents. They are averaging almost two aces a game. The Aggies are also doing a good job on the defensive side of the ball. A&M has 177 kills to their opponents’ 158 and the Aggies have 164 digs to 147. They are averaging 17.7 kills a game and 16.4 digs a game. The Aggies have also blocked three shots in their first three games. “Because we are so physical and our speed is there, I think we are going to be a fine defensive team,” Corbelli said. “I think defensively we are going to be very good.” Robert Hollier is a senior journalism major SPORTS IN BRIEF Aggies sweep SWT to notch 3-1 record The No.19 Texas A&M Volleyball team improved its record to 3-1 Tuesday night by defeating South west Texas State University 15-6, 15-8,15-13. The Aggies were led by se nior outside hit ter Stacy Sykora who recorded 14 kills. Summer Strickland and Heather McWhirter led the de fensive effort with 16 and 12 digs, respectively. A&M travels to Ann Arbor, Mich, this weekend to compete in the Michigan Tournament. The Aggies open their home schedule Sept. 15 against the Houston Cougars. STRICKLAND Aggies sweep SWT to notch 3-1 record HOUSTON (AP) — Place-kicker Cindy Wright has made it into the record books again. Wright, the first girl to join West- bury High School’s football team, last Thursday became the first girl in the Houston Independent School District to score in a football game. “It’s pretty cool. It’s something to be proud of,” Wright said. The senior kicked an extra point in Westbury’s 28-8 win over Jones High School. Other girls have played football in HISD, but none has scored. For the past 10 years, soccer has been Wright’s game. Then last spring her soccer coach asked her to try kicking for the football coach, after the Rebels’ only kicker graduated. She tried out with other soccer players, hitting field goals from 25, 30, 35 and 40 yards. “She hit it from 40 yards dead center,” coach George Campbell said. “I told her if she wants to play, I have a uniform for her.” 5L tPOBtiT] •ON YO EIVER! OIL CM IT TRUCKS Any Uakt’l king the RE in November? 2 reasons yOU should take The Princeton Review now Oil & 1 € a? 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