Be Battalion
Sports
Page 5 • Thursday, March 4, 1999
gs ready for tourney
&M men take on Wildcats in first round
TERRY ROBERSON/The; Battalion
Sophomore guard Michael Schmidt looks for his shot
gainst the University of Oklahoma Feb. 24. The Texas
1^1 Men’s Basketball Team will face Kansas State
Ifversity in the Big 12 Tournament Thursday.
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Points leader:
Cortez Groves (10.0)
Rebound leader:
Tony Kitt (7.9)
Assists leader:
Chris Griffin (4.1)
BY SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN
The Battalion
It is that time of year again, the time of improba
ble game-winning shots and spectacular plays. It is
what is known to college basketball fans as March
Madness.
For the Texas A&M Men’s Basketball Team, their
postseason opportunity begins today as they face
Kansas State University at 6 p.m. in a Big 12 Tourna
ment first-round game in Kansas City, Mo. A&M is the
10th seed for the tournament, while KSU is the sev
enth seed. Although A&M defeated K-State in the
teams’ regular-season meeting, 79-74, Feb. 10 at Reed
Arena,
A&M coach Melvin Watkins said he feels tonight’s
game will be much tougher for the Aggies.
“I don’t know if (beating K-State) is that much of
an advantage at all,” Watkins said. “K-State probably
feels like they let one get away, and playing close to
home, the fan base is there for them.”
The Wildcats (18-11, 7-9 Big 12) are virtually
guaranteed of an NIT postseason berth and feature
an experienced lineup. Seniors Manny Dies and
Shawn Rhodes anchor a K-State frontline that leads
the Big 12 in rebounding, with sophomore forward
Tony Kitt leading K-State in rebounds with 7.9 per
game.
The Wildcat backcourt features leading scorer
Cortez Groves, a junior-college teammate of A&M
junior forward Paul Jacobs. Groves averages 10
points a game for KSU. K-State is coming off a road
loss at the University of Colorado.
The Aggies (12-14, 5-11 Big 12) are coming off a
road loss as well, at the University of Nebraska, 78-
59, Saturday. Aggie junior guard Clifton Cook, recently
named to the All-Big 12 third team, scored 21 points
for A&M. Senior guard Chris Clayton nailed seven
three-pointers for 21 points as well. In A&M’s first
game with K-State, senior forward Shanne Jones
scored 23 points. KSU coach Tom Asbury said Jones
is a major concerns for his team.
“We didn’t do a good job of containing Shanne
Jones in that game,” Asbury said.“He’s very versatile;
he scores in a lot of different ways. He is awfully
strong off the dribble.”
Asbury said the A&M game represents a difficult
challenge for his Wildcats because the Aggies outre-
bounded and outshot KSU Feb. 10.
“I didn’t see a lot of weaknesses (in the first
game),” Asbury said. “Chris Clayton has been shoot
ing the ball very well. Clifton Cook is a good shooter.
see Hoops on Page 6.
JASON LINCOLN/The Battalion
Junior Keven Kehlenbach competes in a dual meet versus Rice University earlier this year. The No. 13 Texas
A&M Men’s Swimming and Diving Teams will travel to Austin Thursday for the Big 12 Championships.
Men head to Big 12 finale
Swimmers, divers prepare for championships in Austin
BY JASON LINCOLN
The Battalion
With one of the most impressive
seasons in Texas A&M men’s swim
ming, the Aggies look to carry their
momentum into battle against the
University of Texas and Nebraska at
the Big 12 Championships in Austin.
The action takes place Thursday
through Saturday at the Jamail Texas
Swimming Center with the 13th-
ranked Aggies facing off against two
other top 15 teams.
Three members of the U.S. na
tional team will lead the Aggies in
their search to upset the Longhorn
dynasty. Seniors Jerrod Kappler and
Mark Naftanel along with junior
Devin Howard will be key players in
a powerful lineup for A&M swim
ming and diving.
They head into a conference meet
that has been won by UT since 1980.
During that same period, the Long
horns have only finished outside of
the top three in the NCAA meet
twice.
“We’re focused, and we know
where we want to finish up,” Kap
pler said. “The team is going for sec
ond or better.
“Nebraska is going to be tough,
but we have the quality of swim
mers to take Nebraska downtown
and hopefully break into the top 10
at NCAAs.”
The Cornhuskers are currently
ranked 15th with a lineup that con
sists of seven foreign athletes in a 10-
member squad. The Huskers have
not only an age advantage but also
an experience advantage over their
competition.
However, the Aggies’ level of ex
perience has risen from previous
seasons as they have gained more
experience against tougher and
more seasoned competition.
The team not only enters the
meet on a 8-1 dual-meet record with
their only loss coming from the
Longhorns, but also during a season
in which they were able to host and
compete in the U.S. Open and the
World Cup.
In 1997 the A&M men were 243
points behind the Cornhuskers,
putting the Aggies in third place.
During last year’s championship
they were able to narrow that gap to
59.5. This year they hope to overtake
Nebraska and complete their best
ever Big 12 finish.
A&M will rely on their sprints and
relays to get them the majority of
their points and use other events to
polish off their performance.
“Sprints have been our calling
card,” A&M coach Mel Nash said.
“Our depth at sprints is impressive,
and the quality in other events puts
us where we need to be. ”
Strong performances for the Ag
gies also should come from Canadi
an freshman Riley Janes, a member
of Canada’s national team, and ju
nior Eric Toth, who has emerged
from a kinesiology class to become
a mainstay for A&M sprints.
The Championships will be one
of the last chances for swimmers to
qualify for the NCAA meet, which
will be at the end of the month.
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