le Battalion
Sports
Page 5 • Monday, March 29, 1999
s!
en finish record 10th
it national swim finale
STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS
us, there is n
fee to enjoy!
ors. believe i
NASH
n>e help
it is hallmark
and is therefe:
ister. Somestui
in that '‘school-
itch up on all:;
uring spring b
imdset is ven
not all studer. i;
f; in fact, ma T1 e Texas A&M Men’s Swimming and Diving
ways to mai ‘am made school history by breaking into the elite
) for the first time at the NCAA championships
u'thod requii-ds weekend, producing 148 points, 10 All-Amer-
, a cork andtli ans and a fifth-place relay finish,
is, however,a The lOth-place finish marked a six-place, 57-
irst, purchase ^int improvement for the Aggies, who finished 1.5
i/.ed funnel, ^nts shy of ninth. A&M coach Mel Nash con-
rge, steaming tided his 20th year as head coach by leading the
while in das ggBs to their highest finish ever,
the left nostrl “ r l' 0 come out and get 57 more points than we
■sence of t id lost year and come within a point and a half of
rp the droop; i n d' place is exciting,” Nash said. “Each day we
)uld have dropped. We were 10th every single day,
id we held on to it and said, ‘No, we’re not going
> let anybody else have this.’
‘Tin just so proud of them for doing it when it
idn’t come easy. We had some rough spots and
ley got up and said, ‘We’re not
ling to let this slip away.’”
Competing for the Aggies were
‘rrod Kappler, David Morrow,
evin Howard, Alfred Mansour,
ick Tate, Mark Naftanel, Riley
ines, Michael Colligan, Jesse
ven and Keven Kehlenbach.
Highlighting the performances
>r A&M were U.S. Pan-Am Team
lumbers Howard and Kappler.
Howard place 12th in the 200-yard butterfly to
jive the Aggies five points, while Kappler con-
ibuted four in the 100-yard freestyle.
Sophomore David Morrow beat out senior co-
ipt.iin Kappler in the event with a time of 43.74
l^aconds to finish 11th.
“The 100 free was deep, and that is the highest
ve ever finished,” Kappler said. “Usually in the
ast few years when 1 made consols at night, I usu-
ly sloughed off the 100 so that I could do really
ell in the relay. This year I’m in a whole lot bet-
oberthynecek/iiT shape both mentally and physically, so I swam
II les,thecircietter there.
ids embedded. “We needed the points this time in a big way, so
urn sometime;was good to come back and swim well.”
of rejuvenatiot Naftanel concluded his A&M diving career Sat-
utilize (he ajday with a ninth-place performance in the plat-
remedy of pifli
More them in tk
iowever, this gn
i rare because
of professors'
eir duties, their
■d with a single,
's the kid in the
nnel up his nos
,i!l their efforts
n increasingly
g awake in cl
us can tell in
are losing the
numerous and
ks."
be a crime'
i of staying a *'
ut mentioning
its. (It w
be a humor ec
u' bribe happen
lies, shapely,
long walk;
awake in ck
is of
tying devout
lies, a good re;
ng respect a;
'llectuallysoh
ly, failure
ives one of mi
tat ion and re ; j
of T. E. l/
“This year Vm in a whole
lot better shape both
mentally and physically,
so I swam better there.
We needed the points this
time in a big way, so it
was good to come back
and swim well. ”
-JERROD KAPPLER
SENIOR CO-CAPTAIN
in
form competition, giving Naftanel his sixth and fi
nal All-America laurel while earning the team nine
points.
Redshirt freshman Even earned his first All-
American mention with a 14th-place finish off the
tower. In the three days of competition, the two
athletes racked up 28 points to make the difference
for the A&M finish.
“We didn’t dive great today, but Jesse and I both
hung in there,” Naftanel said. “He got his points
and 1 got my point. Added up, we got 12 points,
and that really helped out the team in the long run.
I’m glad we didn’t give up.
“ I’m really proud of all the guys both swimmers
and divers. Top 10 was our goal all year, so it feels
great to accomplish that.”
Finishing off the performance for the Aggies was
the 400-yard freestyle relay team of Morrow, Kap
pler, Colligan and Kehlenbach. The men swam the
four legs in 2:54.86 for fifth place and the Aggies’
final 30 points of the meet.
“I am so proud of the guys, because the first day
of the meet we had a rough start,” Nash said. “We
wanted to be a little bit better than we were, and
some things happened that were kind of shocking
to us. Yet they clawed back and swam better on the
second and third days. We did things that nobody
thought we could do at this meet, especially hav
ing a rough beginning.”
Auburn University won the championships, de
feating defending NCAA champion Stanford Uni
versity. Big 12 champion University of Texas fin
ished third. /
I ' " j! ’, I' kM junior shortstop Steve Scarborough lunges for the catch during the Aggies’ game against the University
( | i | \ 0 m ‘ Michigan March 20 at Olsen Field. The No. 6 Texas A&M Baseball Team won two of three games against
’iTiuis mV' 6 ,Jn ' versi ' t V of Missouri Tigers this weekend in Columbia, Mo., to move to 25-7 on the season.
Aggies take two from Mizzou
ir dream
powerful w. |
member when®
mofessor arri
Bird f Baseball Team moves to .500 in road games with weekend wins
lung to the ; <-> ^
vs her cookie! STAFF AND WIRE REPORT in the go-ahead run with a single to
STAFF AND WIRE REPORT
ng fortheprei
moneofhiss 1 The No. 6 Texas A&M Baseball
ass. ea m entered its weekend series
1 respond to''gainst the University of Missouri
ly, articulate wing to break even on the road
ying “Mr. Ho tis season. Despite an 8-12 loss to
jector is nota te Tigers Saturday, the Aggies
hop drooling tanaged to reach that goal with
dns Friday and Sunday to move to
-6 in road games.
Jacobm The Aggies (25-7, 8-3 Big 12)
;liman Englti ave been a stellar 19-1 at home
lis season but had won just four
f nine games away from Olsen
teld going into the series,
jriday’s game against the Tigers
4-12, 3-9 Big 12) was highlighted
|by offensive fireworks but by
h St. Bryan t^ Vo strong pitching performances.
ice opensATjiiyBd junior pitcher Casey Possum
Today's Tiines>ll 0We( J j us t one run over eight in-
' ■ytngs and struck out 14 Mizzou
patters, while the Tigers’ Jody Har-
S went all 10 innings for Missouri,
Ul (R)
m
UU (R)
ca (part)
□□ (PG13, -Rowing seven hits.
t h e g am e tied, 1-1, in the
of the 10th, A&M senior first
seman John Scheschuk knocked
left field. Missouri put two men on
base in the bottom of the inning,
but sophomore pitcher Chris Russ
struck out MU’s Mike Rallo to end
the game and earn his seventh win
of the year.
In Saturday’s matchup, it was the
Tigers’ turn to break open a close
game. With the game tied at 2-2 in
the second, Missouri’s Jake Epstein
slammed a three-run homer off
A&M junior Chance Caple (4-3).
The Tigers extended their lead
to 7-2 in the fourth inning before
the Aggies answered with a four-
run fourth to close the gap to 7-6.
But in the bottom of the fifth, Miz
zou answered with three runs to
cruise to a 12-8 victory.
In the third and deciding game
of the series, the Aggies got their of
fense going early when sophomore
Daylan Holt slammed a two-run
homer, his 14th of the year, off Miz
zou starter Justin Stine in the first
inning. Holt would add a second
home run in the seventh. The Ag
gies then stifled a ninth-inning
A&M Baseball
vs Missouri
March 26-28
Friday:
A&M 2, Missouri 1
A&M — Russ (7-0)
MU — Harris (3-3)
Saturday:
Missouri 12, A&M 8
A&M —Caple (4-3)
MU — Jamison (2-1)
Sunday:
A&M 6, Missouri 3
A&M —Ward (2-0)
MU —Stine (3-3)
comeback attempt by the Tigers to
win the contest, 6-3.
The Aggies will hit the road
again Tuesday when they face Rice
University in Houston at 7 p.m.
GUY ROGERS/The Battalion
The Texas A&M Softball Team moved to 31-8 on the season this weekend with wins over the University of
Nebraska and Iowa State University. The Aggies split a doubleheader against defending Big 12 champion
Cornhuskers Saturday and swept a Sunday doubleheader from the Cyclones.
Ags start Big 12 competition
Softball team splits pair with Nebraska, sweeps Iowa St.
BY BEN WESTBROOK
The Battalion
The Texas A&M Softball Team marked the begin
ning of Big 12 play this weekend with doubleheaders
against defending Big 12 champion University of Ne
braska and Iowa State University. The women played
near-flawless defense, committing just one error in
four games, to move to 31-8 and 3-1 in Big 12 action
with a sweep of the Cyclones and a split with the
Huskers.
Freshman Lisa Klam said besides
getting off to a good start, the women
also sent a message to the rest of the
Big 12.
“I think that we are surprising a
lot of teams [in the conference],”
Klam said. “I thought we played
well, and we’re coming together as a
team.”
Klam has surprised some people
as well this season. The freshman from Katy had two
round-trippers over the weekend, the first coming in
the third inning of the Aggies’ 1-0 win over Nebraska.
Klam’s second dinger also came against the Corn
huskers, but it was not enough as the Aggies dropped
the game, 4-3.
A&M sophomore pitcher Amy Vining earned two
wins over the weekend but also picked up the loss to Ne
braska when she came in for three innings of relief work
for junior Danielle Lemuth, moving her season record to
18-6. After retiring the side in the fourth, Vining gave up
a solo home run to Nebraska All-American Jennifer Liza-
ma, propelling the Cornhuskers to a 4-3 win.
The Aggie bats failed in the second game, leaving
the bases loaded in both the second and fourth innings
and stranding eight runners in all.
“I was disappointed with the second game,” A&M
coach Jo Evans said. “We had so many opportuni
ties.”
Sunday, the women geared up to play the 12-16
Iowa State Cyclones. Vining took the mound in the
first game, throwing a two-hitter and picking up the
win after the contest went into extra innings.
Second baseman Rachel Lewis drove in the win
ning run in the bottom of the eighth for the game-win
ning RBTto give the Aggies the 1-0 victory.
The final game against ISU would be another
close one. A&M pitcher Jordana Barrack picked up
the win and improved her record to 10-2 ,while Vin
ing came in to claim the save in dramatic fashion.
The sophomore pitcher managed to put runners on
second and third after a pair of singles and a wild
pitch before striking out the final batter for the last
out of the game, giving Evans her 100th win in her
three years as an Aggie.
The women pulled off three one-run wins over the
weekend, something Evans attributes to their defense
and maturity as players.
“We’ve become a lot more confident,” Evans said.
“We’re really poised. We don’t panic and we don’t
press.”
Vining was quick to give credit to her teammates
in the field for her success.
“The defense was just great,” Vining said. “They
really stepped up when we needed the big plays.”
The women will take the field again Friday when
they host the 14th-ranked University of Texas, who
VINING
Tennis team splits weekend matches
BY SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN
The Battalion
The Texas A&M Women’s Tennis Team split a pair
of matches this weekend, beating the University of
Colorado Friday, 6-3, while dropping Saturday’s
match to the University of Oklahoma, 7-2.
A&M, now 10-4 overall and 5-1 in the Big 12,
hosts Texas Tech University tonight at 6.
In the match against Colorado, the Aggies were
led by freshman Martina Nedorostova, who de
feated CU’s Jessica Garrow, 6-2, 6-3, for A&M’s first
point.
A&M’s No. 4 singles player, freshman Leah Killen,
produced the Aggies’ second point with a three-set
victory. Killen dropped the first set, 0-6, before ral
lying to win the final two sets 6-2, 6-3.
Sophomore Eva Marcial defeated Colorado’s Anna
Bek at No. 6 singles in two tight sets, 6-3, 7-6 (7-3).
“I am extremely happy to win the match,” A&M
coach Bobby Kleinecke said. “This was just a hard-
fought match. Colorado is the same team this year
that we lost to last year, but we came out more fo
cused this time.”
Kleinecke also praised the efforts of A&M’s Mon
ica San Miguel, who rallied in her match from a 3-0
third-set deficit to defeat CU’s Emily Smith, 6-2, 6-
7(4-7) 6-4.
“We made some adjustments and she did an ex
cellent job of hanging in there and grinding out the
win,” he said. “It was pure guts that won the
match.”
A&M’s Marcial and Kathryn Scott clinched the
victory with their win at No. 2 doubles.
Against Oklahoma, the Aggies got off to a strong
start as Killen crushed the Sooners’ Jennie Hamil
ton, 6-1, 6-0, to give A&M its first point. But Okla
homa would respond with several three-set victo
ries. San Miguel fell to OU’s Danielle Knipp, 6-2, 1-6,
6-1, at No. 3 singles while Scott lost to the Sooners’
Kristen Guilford, 6-7 (3-7), 6-2, 6-4.
Marcial also lost in three sets to drop her personal
record to 14-6 overall and 5-1 in Big 12 competition.
The Sooners swept all three doubles matches to clinch
the victory and to hand the Aggies their first confer
ence loss of the season.
“We lost this match in the singles, not the dou
bles,” Kleinecke said. “At worst it should have been
3-3 after singles, not 4-2.”
Martina Nedorostova accounted for A&M’s sec
ond point against Oklahoma with a win over Viviana
Mracnova in another three-set encounter. After drop
ping the first set in a tie-breaker, 6-7 (8-10), Ne
dorostova rallied in the final two sets by scores of 6-
3 and 6-2.
CARfNO CASAS/The Battalion
A&M sophomore Eva Marcial returns a volley during
her singles match Saturday afternoon at the Varsity
Tennis Center. The Aggies lost the team match to the
University of Oklahoma, 7-2.
The Aggies return to action tonight when they
host the struggling Raiders. Tech is last in the Big 12
South division with a 2-4 Big 12 record and is 4-11
overall. Tech has dropped its last five matches, in
cluding their last match, 9-0, against Louisiana State
University.
“We need to bounce back for Monday.” Kleinecke
said. “We are still a team to be reckoned with and
everyone knows that they won’t be able to just come
in here and walk on us.”
The Raiders are led by their top two singles play
ers, Zana Zlebnik and Amanda Earhart.
Zlebnik compiled a 17-6 overall record last sea
son in her freshman campaign and was the first
woman ever at Tech to compete in the NCAA indi
vidual championships. Earhart finished last season
with a 10-9 overall record. Zlebnik and Earhart also
form the No. 1 doubles tandem for the Raiders.