Sports
Page 7 • Friday, February 26, 1999
<M ggies prepare for season finales
lOleHVf men travel to Lincoln to face University of Nebraska
lollars.
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MIKE FUENTES/rin: Battalion
guard Chris Clayton will play his fi-
gular-season game for the Aggies
theA&M men face the University
[Nebraska Saturday.
BY SANTOSH VEN KATARAIVIAN
The Battalion
The Texas A&M Men’s Bas
ketball Team travels to Lincoln,
Neb. for the season finale to
morrow afternoon against the
University of Nebraska. The
game is set for a 12:45 p.m. tip-
off and will be televised live by
ESPN Plus.
The Aggies (12-13, 5-10 Big
12) are coming off a home win
over the University of Okla
homa while Nebraska (17-11,9-
6 Big 12) has dropped three
straight conference games.
Both teams are preparing for
the upcoming Big 12 Tourna
ment in Kansas City, Mo. A&M
could finish ninth, 10th, or 11th,
while the Cornhuskers will like
ly finish as the fifth or sixth
seed.
Nebraska will be playing its
final home game of the season
at the Bob Devaney Sports Cen
ter. The Huskers are led by se
nior forward Venson Hamilton,
a candidate for Big 12 Player of
the Year. The 6-foot-10 Hamilton
is in the top 10 in the Big 12 in
scoring, rebounding and
blocked shots. His 15.6 points
per game is good for sixth-best
while his 10.6 rebounds per
game lead the conference.
Hamilton also is a candi
date for All-Defensive honors.
as is teammate Cookie Belch
er. The 6-foot-3 Belcher leads
the league in steals with 3.0
per game, one spot ahead of
A&M junior guard Clifton
Cook. Nebraska redshirt fresh
man Cary Cochran is the best
three-point shooter on the
team, having made a team-
high 38 percent.
Nebraska lost its last game
on Wednesday at Kansas State
University, 62-45. The Huskers
were held to 17 second-half
points. Hamilton scored 15
points and had 10 rebounds in
the first half but only managed
three points and three rebounds
in the second.
The Huskers are 9-5 at home
and have won five out of their
last six in Lincoln. Nebraska has
been to post-season play the last
eight seasons under coach Dan
ny Nee.
The Aggies’ win over Okla
homa was the third straight win
for A&M in its season home fi
nale. A&M has never won in
Lincoln, dropping all three con
tests there. The 24 points by ju
nior guard Jerald Brown at Ne
braska on Jan. 11, 1997 were the
most ever scored by an Aggie
player against Nebraska.
A&M lost last year’s meeting,
75-58, in College Station. Guard
Michael Schmidt scored 15
points while forward Shanne
Nebraska
Points leader:
V. Hamilton (15.6)
Rebound leader:
V. Hamilton (10.6)
Assists leader:
Cookie Belcher (4.7)
Jones scored 10 points in the de
feat. Nebraska has won both
meetings between the schools
in the Big 12 Conference.
The men’s basketball team
had four players named Acad
emic All-Big 12 this season,
tied for the best in the confer
ence. The four players are ju
nior Jason Boeker, sophomore
Aaron Jack, sophomore
Michael Schmidt, and fresh
man Andy Leatherman.
Boeker and Jack were
named to the first team while
Schmidt and Leatherman re
ceived honorable mention.
Jomen host Colorado Buffaloes in final home game of season
BY TRAVIS HARSCH
The Battalion
:he Texas A&M Women’s basketball team
be looking to stop a couple of streaks
Inst Colorado on Saturday at 2 p.m. in the
| Same this season at Reed Arena,
he Aggies have not won a conference
[eat home this year and have also dropped
it straight, with their last win coming on
[27 in Manhattan against the Kansas State
, Jcats.
mspwill 6 are never satisfied with losing,” A&M
' n^riiAM 1 Pe §8' e Gillom said. “We want to win
nparticberv game.”
he game will also be the final regular-sea-
contest for seniors Brenda Beard, Kerrie
ecruitmtytson and Kim Tarkington, who will be
AdminisW re(:l before the game,
manRsy 6 Aggies (7-18, 2-13) will play in the Big
rch Pai' i >* ournam ent next week in Kansas City, and
5pOItali® 8 ° int0 the tourney as the number 12
s, Serfff;. w iH most likely play Oklahoma in
:e j flunc ^ although Baylor or Nebraska
ortOC L S ', de int0 the hhh spot depending on the
eGr#l hlSWeekend -
i fart At Alexander was named to the first-team
innnla»®n? 1llC All-Big 12 team this past week, one
rproanis® 1 ^ t 'f , ° P la y ers selected who had a 4.0
, 0 L: 0 P'' l °more Brandy Jones was named to
I empuiehonorable mention list.
. . j s com ing off a 95-69 loss to the Soon-
lScK fmilL t ^° rrnan on Wednesday. The Aggies
gra n Eit ° S u 0re in the final 3:15 of the first half,
Eng Mr t shootin g over 50 percent from the
sWe ,Mh_T° Vers were again an Achilles heel
ess coi; irn Aggies, as the Sooners converted 15
tl \f tEle ^ rSt * nto a point lead
Colorado
(13-12,6-9 Big 12)
Points leader:
Linda Lappe (10.8)
Rebound leader:
Britt Harshorn (5.9)
Assists leader:
Linda Lappe (3.8)
Pi
;an
“That was just an old-fashioned butt-kick
ing,” A&M coach Peggie Gillom said. Prissy
Sharpe had 23 points, well above her average
of 18.5 per game, and 11 rebounds, again bet
tering her season average of 9.2.
Oklahoma lost to the seventh-ranked Texas
Tech Red Raiders on Sunday at home despite
a balanced attack. The Buffaloes were led in
scoring by Nikki Weddle with 16, Linda Lappe
with 14 and Kami Carmann and Melody John
son with 12 points apiece.
Lappe leads Colorado in scoring, averaging
10.8 points a game and is also tops in the as
sist column with 3.8 an outing. Britt Harshorn
leads the Buffaloes on the glass, with 5.9
boards a contest.
MIKE FUENTES/The Battalion
Sophomore forward Prissy Sharpe looks for an
open teammate against Baylor University.
oftball team heads to West Coast for tourney
Texas A&M Softball Team will
P 0 California this weekend for
JfCSB/Easton Invitational
fJt^Barbara.
ex#
BY BEN WESTBROOK
The Battalion
The Texas A&M Women’s Softball
Team will head west this weekend to
compete in the UCSB/Easton Invita
tional in Santa Barbara, Calif. The
women will look to improve their 10-4
record and rebound from last weekend’s
2-3 showing at the Aggie Invitational.
The softballers will try to compensate
for the loss of their lead off hitter and
leading base stealer, Hollee Hayden,
who is out for approximately six weeks
after breaking her arm last weekend
during the win against Penn State.
Coach Jo Evans said the
women will be facing some
tough competition
this weekend,
MIKE FUENTES/The Battalion
“All **
of the teams
in this tournament
are good. Virginia has
good pitching. Santa Barbara
is a good hitting team, and Cal Poly is
very athletic,” Coach Evans said. “We
will be really tested, and each team will
throw something different at us. We
know we are going to have to play well
in order to do well.”
Amy Mining and Jordana Barrack will
handle pitching duties for A&M this
weekend. The pair have combined for a
0.87 earned run average this season.
The women will be looking for more
run support for the two pitchers at the
tournament. The Aggies boast a .305
batting average, while their opponents
have posted a .222 average, but they are
having trouble getting the hits when
they need them.
“Offensively we continue to hit the
ball well, but we just need to get more
timely hits,” Coach Evans said.
The women will begin tournament
play at 9 a.m. against Virginia, who is 4-
2 on the year. Virginia, like A&M, has
faced No. 24 Illinois-Chicago, losing to
them 14-2. A&M lost to ICU 3-1.
Next up for A&M will be 3-6 Cal Poly,
who are being outhit .286 to .257 this
season. Cal Poly’s pitchers are posting a
whopping 4.80 ERA for the year.
The final team to face A&M will be
host UCSB. UCSB is 5-5 on the year and
have already played and defeated an
other Big 12 team, Texas Tech.
Evans said good pitching and good
defense are key for A&M.
“We want to get solid pitching all
the way through the rotation. The
pitchers need to hit their locations
and mix up the pitches,” Evans said.
“We need to be more consistent on
defense and do our best to play error
free. It is important for us to play with
confidence.”
TERRY ROBERSON/Tiii Battalion
Junior Lisa Dingwall and the Texas A&M Women’s Tennis Team will
try to bounce back from last weekend’s loss to the University of
Houston when they face Texas Christian University Friday.
Women’s tennis to
take on TCU, OSU
BY JASON LINCOLN
The Battalion
The Texas A&M Women’s Tennis
team will start off a grueling week
end of some of their toughest com
petition yet this spring, when they
face Texas Christian University on
Friday. The Aggies look to recover
from their first loss of the season at
the University of Houston where the
Cougars handed them a 5-4 loss.
The women’s team remains a
dominant force in the Omar Smith
Varsity Tennis Center, holding a 4-
0 record on its home courts. The
doubleheader will put a strain on
that record as the Aggies not only
will be fighting for Big 12 ranking
as they face Oklahoma State on
Saturday, but will be battling TCU
which defeated the Cougars earlier
in the season.
Both teams rely on being con
sistent throughout the singles line
ups, with no weak links in the low
er ranks. The teams follow up with
strong doubles play, which has
been A&M’s weakest point early in
the season.
“It is going to be a tough week
end,” coach Bobby Kleinecke said.
“We’re going to have to play better
at every position.”
Saturday’s match will feature
the Aggies’ second Big 12 oppo
nent in a repeat of last year’s 8-1
victory for A&M. Against TCU, the
Aggies scraped away with a 5-4
win with every point a struggle.
“There is always a good rivalry
between the teams,” Kleinecke
said. “Year in and year out, it is al
ways a very competitive match.”
Against Houston the Aggie
women showed strong resilience
and powerful play against the top
of a strong Cougar team. Lisa Ding
wall and Martina Nedorostova won
in singles Tuesday in wins that kept
the Aggies in the match to the very
end.
“We’ve been playing good at the
top of the line-up,” Kleinecke said.
“It is a great addition to the match
and helps us a ton.”
The tennis begins at 3:30 p.m.
Friday against the Horned Frogs,
with the match against the Cowboys
starting at 1:30 p.m. Saturday.
Men’s Tennis Team to battle
University of Miami Saturday
STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS
The No. 14 Texas A&M Men’s
Tennis Team will travel to Coral
Gables, Fla. on Saturday to take
on the University of Miami at 10
a.m.
The Aggies had last weekend
off after traveling to Oklahoma
two weeks ago and defeating the
University of Oklahoma and Ok
lahoma State University, moving
their record to 4-0 overall and 3-0
in Big 12 play.
Saturday’s match against the
Hurricanes will feature the Ag
gies’ first ever No. 1 ranked dou
bles team — sophomores Du-
mitru Caradima and Shuon
Madden.
The doubles tandem won the
Rolex National Intercollegiate In
doors tournament in Dallas,
which is the third leg of the col
lege tennis grand slam.
The match will be a home
coming for Madden, who is from
Venezuela but played high-school
tennis in Miami.
The Aggies defeated the Hurri
canes last year in a match played
in College Station.