Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 1, 1998)
Battalion Sports Page 7 • Tuesday, December 1, 1998 vercoming the heartbreak den’s basketball team returns home after loss to Oral Roberts 3YSANT0SH VENKATARAMAN The Battalion The Texas A&M Men’s Basket- ill [Team returns to action tonight T% 7p tn. in Reed Arena against the ai\!ersity of Alabama. Tpe Aggies, 3-1, dropped ieir first game of the year in a ;ajt-breaking overtime thriller, 1-36, at Oral Roberts Universi- last Saturday. B fOral Roberts connected on the mje-winning three-pointer with — retecond left in overtime to break 186-86 tie. fTlie Aggies lost despite some lelgame heroics by junior guard lifton Cook. Cook hit a 25-foot true-tying three-pointer with 5.2 ;conds left in regulation to knot tecontest at 78. I; In overtime, Cook hit another ante-tying three-pointer with 19 kinds left to tie the score at 86 eflre Oral Roberts prevailed with more managemr b st - secon d shot. Cook finished ijor, sprints across pt 25 points, on Monday. Culif|i en * or forward Shanne Jones walk-on tryouts fl ec l i n another solid effort with and seven rebounds. ERIC NEWNAM1 Junior forward Paul Jacobs had a 10-point, 10-rebound effort while junior forward Jerald Brown added 14 points. The game was a bittersweet homecoming for sophomore for ward Aaron Jack, a Tulsa native and former Oklahoma high-school first- team all-state performer. Jack had six points and five re bounds and fouled on a critical three-point play in overtime with 1:57 left. A&M shot 54 percent from the field including eight for 13 from three-point range, but they al lowed the home team to hit 11-of- 25 three-pointers which ultimate ly led to the defeat. Turnovers were once again a problem for the Aggies as they com mitted 19 in the game, with 12 com ing in the first half. Alabama, from the powerful Southeastern Conference, is a team in transition much like A&M. The Crimson Tide have a new coach in Mark Gottfried who is coming off a successful three-year stint at Murray State University, where he led the Racers to the f citizei* rown: Winning bowl game remains Longhorns’ top goal "age and dedicalic: Jinan said peopli dilations as Wit ielp to police oia t does happenwi special,” he sail. ;aid this is onlytl 's Commendatioi y the police depi t it [William’sassS and beyond the tizen,” Fleegers# ; said he simpl? Right was right I award for his effoi t happened,” Fleeger] sh land. That was i for me.” EARS NCAA Tournament the past two seasons. Alabama is led by the in side-outside attack of junior center Jeremy Hayes and senior guard Brian Wiliams. Hayes is the Tide’s leading shot blocker, and he averaged 14 points and 12 rebounds in the final six games of last season. Williams is a big-time scorer who averaged 16.1 points per game last year, including a 28- point night against the University of Kentucky. The point guard spot is held by senior Chauncey Jones, who aver aged 9.9 points per game and tallied 109 assists last season. The Crimson Tide have won four games in a row at home after dropping their season opener at Ohio State University and are now 4-1 on the young season. Cook said if the Aggies are going to win they need to relax. “We need to focus more. When we go out, sometimes we try too hard.” Cook said. “We need to set tle down and get better execution.” Alabama won last year’s meeting in TUscaloosa, 81-64. A&M Rec Center hosts World Cup BY JASON LINCOLN The Battalion With more than a dozen Olympic medalists highlighting the beginning of one of the biggest weeks in swimming to en ter the United States, the World Cup competition at the Texas A&M Recreation Center Natatorium today is sure to be the fastest, and most competitive in the world. The American team competing in the World Cup dur ing the next two days will consist of the finest swimmers in the world, including world record-holder, Olympic gold- medalist and two-time world champion of the 400-meter individual medley, Tom Dolan. Dolan said he is impressed with College Station’s facilities and said the pool is “phenomenal” from a swimmers standpoint. “It is a great pool, and every swimmer can appreciate it,” he said. “Beyond that, this is, if not the best pool, one of the best that all these guys will swim in during the whole World Cup season.” Most of the American team and swimming base consists of collegiate athletes that do not have the training leisure of foreign professionals who dedicate their lives to the sport. “When it comes down to WORLD CUP USA S W 1 S/V M 1 M c; ROBERT MCKAY/The Battalion Junior guard Jerald Brown floats a shot over a member of the Australian All-Star team. BRANDON BOLLOM/The Battalion &M senior linebacker Dat Nguyen wrestles down Longhorns nning back Ricky Williams in the annual rivalry Nov. 27. AUSTIN (AP) — Eight wins and Ricky Williams’ career rushing title are not enough to make the University of Texas Longhorns’ sea son complete, coach Mack Brown said Monday. A bowl victory, however, would do the job. “We don’t want our guys to be satisfied with the year,” Brown said. “A bowl win is very im portant to us. It would be very easy for this team to go from 4-7 to 8-3 and say we’ve had enough, the year’s over, we can relax and enjoy the bowl. “It’s really important that we win the bowl game. That will carry some momentum into spring practice and into our start next fall.” Exactly which bowl No. 20 Texas (8-3,6-2 Big 12) will play in will not be determined until after Saturday’s Big 12 championship game between No. 2 Kansas State and No.' 10 Texas A&M. Bowl matchups will be announced Sunday. The Longhorns are the favorites to play in the Cotton Bowl, probably against former Southwest Conference rival University of Arkansas. Other possibilities are the Holiday or Alamo Bowls. Longhorns fans would surely flock to the Cotton Bowl in Dallas or the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio. And Williams, who is considered the favorite for the Heisman Tfophy after breaking the Division I-A career rushing record, is from San Diego, home of the Holiday Bowl. Brown said he has no preference where to play. “You used to be able to sit around and call some people and get some involvement,” he said. “Now you’re even encouraged by the conference office not to call; in fact, you’re told not to call. “I’ve already been reprimanded once in the last couple of weeks. I don’t think I’m going to be calling anybody,” he said, referring to a Big 12 punishment for questioning the officiating in a 42-35 loss at Texas Tech. Texas has not won a bowl since beating North Carolina, which was coached by Brown, in the 1994 Sun Bowl. The Longhorns are 4-12 in bowls since 1977. “I haven’t won a bowl game since I’ve been here,” senior linebacker Dusty Renfro said. “To win one of those would mean a lot.” Also Monday, Williams was named player of the year by the Walter Camp Football Foun dation. Camp winners have taken the Heisman trophy 26 of the previous 31 times, including the last seven. Williams is the first Texas player to.win the Walter Camp award. Earl Campbell, Texas’ only Heisman winner, was beaten out for the Walter Camp award by Notre Dame’s Ken McAfee in 1977. The Walter Camp award is voted on by Divi sion I coaches and sports information directors. Voting was completed before Williams ran for 259 yards in Friday’s 26-24 victory over A&M. That effort allowed him to set the NCAA Di vision I-A career rushing mark of 6,279 yards. He also holds major-college career records for all-purpose yards (7,206), rushing touchdowns (72), points (452) and yards per carry (6.2). the race,” Dolan said, “Amer icans race harder, are more w<< competitive and are stronger than anyone in the world.” Because the American team is comprised mainly of stu dents, Dolan said their attitude is more down-to-earth, and the swimmers view these races as “humili-busters” in preparation for the Sydney Olympics. A&M is the third stop of 12 sites on the 1999 Series Sched ule. This will conclude the Cup’s Americas tour before head ing to Asia and Australia for the second zone. Stops on the series include Rio de Janeiro, Beijing, Sydney and Paris. The U.S. Team will participate in all the events, but each athlete will only participate in a few. There will be clusters travelling to different regions gaining standing for the United States in its first cup appearance. With the United States competing for the first time dur ing 1999 and also preparing for the 1999 Pan Pacific meet, this is proving to be a big year in the U.S. Team’s prepara tion for the 2000 Olympics. SPORTS IN BRIEF Aggies earn NCAA tournament bid against Temple University Friday The Texas A&M Volleyball team wrapped up the regular sea son with an 8-game win streak, earning a bid in the NCAA Championship tournament. With'wins over teams such as No.3 University of Nebras ka and No.15 University of Colorado, the Aggies concluded the season with a record of 20-8. The Aggies will travel to the University of Southern Califor nia to face the Temple Owls (22-9) Friday, Dec. 4. “We have been playing great lately, and we are on a roll,” A&M coach Laurie Corbelli said. “We are playing with a lot of determination, and it is a real confidence booster to look back and see how far we have come over the last few weeks.” This marks the Aggies’ sixth consecutive appearance in the NCAA tournament. QoCderx National Honor Society General Meeting Tuesday, December 1st 8:30 p.m. MSC292B Winter in Aggieland Presents the 15th Annual STf if u an strove >_yone _ For com December 3rd & 4m 10:00am to 5:00pm in the MSC Come find unique, handmade crafts from over 80 vendors and Mother’s Clubs. Hosted By MSC HOSPITALITY For more information cal! 845-1515 f Persons ■with disabilities piease cail 845-1515 to inform os of your /EL special needs. We nequest ncstifkatjon three (3)-wcrking days prior Vyv to the erect to enable as to assist yon to the best of our abuitses. JJL Tr i 4 I £ 4 IMPORTANT MEETING^ ON 170 HOUR RULE YOU ARE INVITED TO JOIN TAMU OFFICIALS AND STUDENT LEADERS AT A STUDENT FORUM TO DISCUSS THE NEW 170 HOUR RULE WHICH WILL BECOME EFFECTIVE IN THE FALL OF 1999. LEARN HOW THIS NEW LEGISLATION MAY AFFECT YOUR TUITION BILL NEXT YEAR. THURS., DECEMBER 3, 6:00 P.M. 707 RUDDER I PET PARADISE | Recommend Science 'Diet / ■ Hill’s 1104 C Harvey Rd. College Station 693-4575 1873 Briarcrest Bryan 774-PETS | PET PfiRfiDISE i 15 % Off 1 * Not valid on dog or cat food, PET PARADISE | Science Diet $2 Off : l Expires Jan. 1, 1999 Expires Jan. 1, 1999 [ Complete a 16-week course in just 9 days at Alvin Community College's Holiday Stud iSm-ji Student Counseling etptine, rttremtrtt 'fire you a aood listener! Vo you like to help others? fire you a responsible and committed person? ©Volunteers Heeded© to begin service in the Spring. Training Class will be January 11-16, 1999. **INTERVIEWING NOW** Applications available in Room 104 Henderson Hall. For more information call Susan Vavra at 845-4427 ext. 133. Tcni A&M Univenity hu i ttrang iratitutiorai commitment to tht principle of drwsity in ail ims. In that spirit, adimsion to Texas A&M UrmnrtY and any of its sponsortd program is open to ~ ** 1 1 *■ t regaro to i all qualified individuals without r > arqr subgroup, dais or stereotype.
