he Texas A&M Men’s and Women’s Track and Field Teams will compete
)day through Saturday at the Penn Relay Carnival in Philadelphia, Pa.
track teams set
for Pennsylvania meet
BY TOM KENNEDY
The Battalion
The Texas A&M Men’s and
Women’s Ttack and Field Teams are
1 Philadelphia, Pa., today for the
enn Relay Carnival at Franklin
ield.
The meet, one of the marquee
■||ck events in the country, will host
tousands of athletes from junior-
■Klgh competitors to those in the pro-
issional ranks.
A&M track and field coach Ted
0p ,. c lelson said a meet of this size is one
fthe highlights for his program.
“All the kids look forward to it, ’’
^Telson said. “It’s the only time they
compete in front of 45,000 fans that
are very track-knowledgeable. ”
The relays will consist of tradi
tional relays such as the 4xl00-me-
ter relay and 1,600-meter relay and
less-frequently run relays such as the
4x1,600-meter relay and the shuttle-
hurdle relay, an event in which the
A&M men are listed as top con
tenders in.
The Aggies are looking to contin
ue their recent successes as both
squads resume action after placing
second last week at the Texas Quad
Meet in Austin.
The men are coming off their
see Track on Page 12.
Sports
Page 9 • Thursday, April 22, 1999
Sophomores Dumitru Caradima and Shuon Madden have been a successful duo for the Texas
A&M Tennis team this year, reaching the top ranking in the Intercollegiate lenms Association.
Two of a
Men's doubles team
strikes fear in hearts
of opposing teams
BY AL LAZARUS
The Battalion
A s most who have seen them in action
would agree, it would be quite under
standable to fear playing a doubles match
against Dumitru Caradima and Shuon Madden.
With their menacing scowls and take-no
prisoners playing style, the Texas A&M Men’s
Tennis Team sophomores probably seem plen
ty frightening to their prospective opponents.
Add a No. 1 national ranking into the mix of
booming serves and lightning-quick volleys,
and the duo could be considered downright ter
rifying to any doubles team unlucky enough to
be in its way.
“Most people are scared when they play us,”
Caradima said. “They know we’re No. 1 be
cause we’re a good team that knows what it’s
doing out there. ”
Caradima and Madden, who have held the
Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s top ranking
since Feb. 16, have compiled a 19-2 overall
record during the 1998-1999 season. In Febru
ary the duo won the Rolex National Indoors
Championships, defeating teams ranked sec
ond, third, fifth and 10th in the nation on the
way to capturing the prestigious title.
Madden, who was born in Caracas,
Venezuela, was selected to Venezuela’s Davis
Cup team in 1997 as a doubles specialist.
Caradima, born in Constanta, Romania, did not
get much doubles experience during his junior
tennis career. He credits A&M coach Tim Cass
with his rapid development.
“I wasn’t really a doubles player until I got
here,” Caradima said. “I felt I knew how to play
doubles, but I got better when I came here and
worked with Coach Cass and his knowledge of
doubles.”
Madden and Caradima are the Aggies’ No. 1
and No. 2 singles players, respectively, but both
are quick to point out that pairing two top play
ers does not necessarily guarantee a strong dou
bles team.
“You have to communicate well and under
stand each other’s game,” Caradima said.
“Whenever we go out there it seems like we
match up so well.”
Madden said the duo’s different personalities
and playing styles make a good combination.
“We really compliment each other,” he said.
“He [Caradima] has a very good serve, so that
gives me more chances to help out at the net.”
Madden is the more emotional of the two
during a match, often punctuating an overhead
smash with a few words to his opponent or a
steely-eyed glare, but Cass said Caradima plays
with a quieter intensity.
“Shuon plays with a lot of emotion, but Du
mitru does, too,” he said. “It’s just quiet emo
tion. What they both share is a good under
standing of tennis.”
Being No. 1 throughout the spring season has
had its disadvantages. Madden said.
“If opponents want to let our ranking intim
idate them, that’s up to them,” he said. “But it
can also be motivation for them because they
want to go out there and beat the No. 1 team in
the country.”
see Doubles on Page 11.
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