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Page 3 • Wednesday, July, 21, 1999
brmer Aggie pitcher Chance Caple signs with St. Louis Cardinals
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BY JEFF WEBB
The Battalion
■Tie St. Louis Cardinals took a Chance
ji June, and it paid off Thursday with a
ight-handed power pitcher who is now on
ae team payroll.
■ormer Texas A&M
itcher Chance Caple
igned a minor-league
ontract Thursday at
lusch Stadium in St.
,ouis after the Cardinals
nade him the 30th over-
11 pick in June’s Major
.eague Baseball amateur caple
Irak. The contract in-
luded a $1.2 million signing bonus that
vill be spread out over a two-year period.
Cardinals Director of Scouting John
Mozeliak said the parties agreed to terms
when the club expected, but the team end
ed up paying a little more than they wanted.
“It was a fun, unbelievable experience,”
Caple said. “It is an opportunity you don’t
always get.”
Mozeliak said the right-hander will
make a fine addition to the St. Louis orga
nization.
“His makeup seems to be outstanding,”
Mozeliak said. “I enjoyed my time with him,
and I like the way he carries himself — al
though good makeup doesn’t get people out. ”
Caple arrived Thursday in St. Louis and
underwent a physical examination by team
doctors. Team owner Walt Jockety joined
the Caple family for dinner before they
signed the contract.
The Cardinals held a news conference
on the Busch Stadium field after the con
tract was finalized. Don Caple, Chance’s
father, said the experience was like living
a family dream.
“We toured the area and had a press
conference on the field at Busch Stadium,”
Don Caple said. “You looked up and saw
the Cardinals taking batting practice, and
I realized, ‘That’s my son out there.’
“We talked to the news media, and it
was a great experience, especially for the
father. It was great, and there is no way to
look at it any other way. ”
The Cardinals assigned Caple to their
New Jersey affiliate in the Class A New
York-Penn League. He is throwing with
pitching coaches every other day in the
bullpen on a strict pitch count. He is not
expected to make his first start until early
next week.
Caple was 8-5 as a junior for A&M, where
he led the team to the College World Series
in Omaha, Neb. He started 17 times, averag
ing 6 2/3 innings per outing while striking
out 125 batters (more than one per inning).
The New Jersey franchise is part of a
special rookie league which also boasts
former A&M catcher and Caple’s battery-
mate Shawn Schumacher as one of its
members.
The Cardinals do not know where Caple
will be assigned next season, although his
performance this year will be the deter
mining factor in where he gets assigned.
Caple said his main focus is regaining
his pitching form while catching up to the
other rookies.
“They haven’t said anything about next
year,” Caple said. “I’m just trying to catch
up right now. I’ve thrown a little on the
side with the coaches just trying to get
back into shape.
“Everybody has their routine set up.
They know exactly what they’re supposed
to do and when. I’ll just have to work hard
to get there. ”
Don Caple said Chance could be as
signed to the Arkansas Travelers, the Car
dinals’ Double A affiliate in Little Rock
which plays in the Texas League.
“It’s my belief it’s predicated on what
he will do up there,” he said. “But right
now, he’s just another ballplayer trying
to get to the next step. God blesses peo
ple in different ways, and it was a hum
bling experience.”
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PHOTO COURTESY OF A&M RUGBY TEAM
all
The Texas A&M Rugby Team competes in the Texas Rugby Union’s Collegiate Divisions I and II along with
! LSU, Rice, Texas, Southwest Texas State and Sam Houston State University.
Texas A&M Rugby Team focused on taking
next step toward national championship
FOCUi
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BY RUTH STEPHENS
The Battalion
T en years ago, the A&M men’s rugby team may
have been focused on socializing, but today’s
team is focused on working hard, winning
and competing in the national championships.
James Myers, former A&M rugby player and cur
rent team adviser, said the team has transformed
greatly in the last 10 years.
“When I played [1991-93], the main focus was
on socializing, and winning was second,” Myers
said. “Now the main goal is to win a national cham
pionship.”
Myers said he believes the team can attain this
goal within the next two years.
“To win a national championship you have to be
dedicated to the sport and the competition,” Myers
said. “These players show that everyday. They prac
tice at 7 a.m. and do intensive cardio workouts.
They have a goal and they’re going to attain it.”
This year’s team looks to improve upon a season
in which the team came within five points of going
to the Regional Tournament.
Established in 1969, men’s rugby has a long his
tory at A&M, the high point coming as a national
championship title in 1971.
In the late ’80s and early ’90s the team lacked a
competitive edge, seemingly more interested in so
cializing than winning, Myers said.
All that changed with new coaches and a group
of dedicated players. Both Cole and d coach Alec
Klinghoffer brought experience and enthusiasm to
the program. Klinghoffer played collegiately in the
United States and then in South Africa before com
ing to A&M to pursue his Ph.D.
“Alec really turned the program around,” junior
finance major John Sturman said.
Sturman became interested in rugby from his fa
ther who played for A&M’s national championship
team in 1971.
“I played soccer and football in high school,”
Sturman said, “and this is by far the most rigorous
sport I’ve ever played.”
The A&M rugby team has no problem recruiting
players each fall. This year they will field three to
four teams, or sides, and expect at least 80 players
to come out for fall practice.
Sturman said players are not turned away as long
as they have the desire to learn and play rugby. Ded
ication helps too, as the team practices five days a
week, including cardiovascular and weight-lifting
workouts.
Both Myers and Sturman credit the enthusiastic
turnout to the large number of high-school football
players and athletes who want to compete athleti
cally when they come to A&M.
“Rugby is the next best option for those guys who
can’t or don’t want to play football at the collegiate
level,” Myers said.
see Rugby on Page 4.
A&M golf
gets new
course
BRADLEY ATCHISON/The Battalion
The new golf course for the A&M Men’s and Women’s golf teams will be
located north of Easterwood Airport and to the west of 2818.
BY REECE FLOOD
The Battalion
In the not-so-distant future, the
Texas A&M Men’s and Women’s
Golf teams will have a new course
to play on. Texas A&M University
and Club Corporation of America
(CCA) are currently working on a
15-year contract to bring a new
state of the art golf course to the
Bryan-College Station area.
A&M’s Athletic Department has
been looking to build a champi
onship course for quite some time
but could never afford it. CCA ap
proached A&M with an offer the
school could not pass up.
The new facility will be a private
country club course designed by
Jack Nicklaus and owned and main
tained by CCA. A&M has an affilia
tion agreement to assist them with
marketing and membership, but will
have no operational responsibility.
In return, A&M’s men’s and
women’s teams will be provided
with office space, dressing and
changing facilities and a private
practice area.
The teams are also hoping to
host NCAA and Big 12 events at
their new home. In addition, A&M
will share a percentage of the initi
ation fees, membership fees and
annual dues, which gives the
school a chance to make $25,000
to $50,000 per team each year.
The building cost of this project
is expected to be anywhere from $5
to $8 million, but A&M is not re
sponsible for any of the construc
tion expenses.
Other schools such as Auburn
University, Clemson University and
Louisiana State University have
similar arrangements for their golf
teams. A&M Athletic Director Wal
ly Groff looked at these schools to
see if this arrangement would work
here.
“We checked on the idea and
the principal behind all this and it
looked like it was a feasible deal,”
Groff said.
CCA is a million dollar compa
ny and owns country clubs all over
the world. One of its more notable
courses is the Pinehurst Resort and
Country Club, which was the home
of this year’s U.S. Open Champi
onship and is visited annually by
the PGA Tour.
Groff is anxious for construction
to begin but is not sure exactly
when that will be.
“The best case scenario, as I un
derstand it, is if they can get all their
permits approved and get some of
their marketing completed they
see Course on Page 4.
Armstrong denies drug use in Tour
PIAU-ENGALY, France (AP) — They are coming
after Lance Armstrong, high in the Pyrenees.
He lost more than a minute of his overall lead in
the Tour de France yesterday when Fernando Es-
cartin of Spain captured the 15th stage as the race
dipped into his home country.
Armstrong remains in command of cycling’s pre
mier race, but he grew weary in the last 2 miles of
the mountainous stage.
“I tried to control things,” he said. ‘‘Tomorrow
will be another tough and long day ... but I’m always
optimistic.”
The 27-year-old Texan finished fourth, his lead cut
to 6 minutes, 19 seconds. The course featured six
punishing climbs, and he found it “very, very
tough.”
If Armstrong can protect his lead today on the last
day in the mountains, he will have taken yet anoth
er huge step toward winning the Tour.
He then faces two flat stages, a time trial and the
arrival in Paris on Sunday.
This was the spot in the race Escartin had been
pointing to all along, close to his parents’ home. And
with his father cheering him on, he moved from fifth
to second in the standings. Still, he doubts he can
beat Armstrong.
“Armstrong is a very tough rival because he has
such a strong lead,” Escartin said.
But he said today’s second and final day in the
mountains might not suit him — especially the final
38 miles on the flat stretch, where the race could turn
into a mass sprint.
Armstrong remains disturbed by suggestions in
the French press that his success may be tied to drug
use.
The talk continued yesterday when Le Monde said
small traces of certain anti-inflammatory drugs were
found in Armstrong’s urine, as well as that of other
riders. Corticosteroids are banned except when used
for legitimate medical purposes.
The newspaper said the traces in Armstrong’s
sample were too small to be classified as positive.
“That’s news to me,” Armstrong said in a TV in
terview. “I haven’t heard that. They haven’t told me.
This is the first I know of this.”
He said again that he has taken no medication for
several years, since his cancer treatment in late 1996.
Escartin, knowing he needed to attack Armstrong,
broke early and kept his lead most of the race. In sec
ond, two minutes behind, was Switzerland’s Alex
Zulle. France’s Richard Virenque was third.
Going into the stage, Zulle had been 7 minutes,
47 seconds behind Armstrong. But he also made up
ground, and is now 7:26 off the lead. Spain’s Abra
ham Olano dropped from second to eighth place.
Armstrong battled Zulle and Virenque late in the
race. With less than 6 miles left, Armstrong saw Zulle
faltering on a hairpin turn and powered away. But
see Armstrong on Page 4.
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Committee recommends keeping freshman eligibility for basketball
ROSEMONT, Ill. (AP) — Mak
ing freshmen ineligible to play
college basketball might create
more problems than it would
solve, according to Syracuse Uni
versity chancellor Kenneth Shaw,
head of a committee studying
problems with NCAA Division I
basketball.
“We have had to temper the en
thusiasm of some with the realities
of what we can accomplish,” Shaw
said. He said he favored making
freshmen ineligible but that the
majority on the panel did not.
Shaw said those opposed to
making freshmen ineligible
raised practical concerns as well
as issues of fairness, and he and
NCAA president Cedric Dempsey
also suggested the likelihood of a
court challenge.
Instead, the committee wants
the NCAA to encourage incoming
freshmen to attend summer
school to get used to the more
challenging academic programs
they will face in college.
The 27-member committee,
empowered only to make resolu
tions, was formed to study issues
such as low graduation rates,
gambling scandals, recruiting
problems and the influence of
agents. Its proposals go to the
NCAA’s executive committee
Aug. 5.
The committee said it would
urge tying the number of schol
arships schools can award to the
academic success of their play
ers.
Those schools with gradua
tion and/or academic standing
rates of 75 percent or higher
would be allowed 14 full schol
arships, schools with rates of 33
percent to 74 percent would be
allowed 13 and schools with
rates below 33 percent could
award 12.
Schools would be limited to
offering four new scholarships
each year.
The committee also called for
new regulations for recruiting
and for cleaning up the sport’s
image.
“This is a showcase sport,”
Shaw said. “It is very important
to the people in this country, and
we must and we do expect and
demand more.”
Shaw said the committee
wanted to offer athletes more
help succeeding in the classroom
while also demanding more of
them academically.
“This combination of extend
ing opportunity while greatly in
creasing our expectations for stu
dent performance creates what I
believe will be seen as a stern
compassion for basketball stu
dent-athletes,” he said.
In other recommendations,
the committee would increase
the period during the academic
year when coaches can evaluate
players and shorten it during the
summer.
The committee also would
tighten regulations on events at
which high-school players are
evaluated and ban agents from
any involvement in them.
The committee also urged
stiffer penalties for gambling and
new rules to enforce proper be
havior during games.