Battalion
Sports
Page 7 • Friday, October 22, 1999
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loccer finishes conference play against Missouri, Kansas
i j|| ^ % . ' ’’■■j BY REECE FLOOD games in conference, they’re thinking could put pressure on the Jayhaw
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junior forward Nicky Thrasher dribbles the ball past a University of Colorado defender last
ay at the Aggie Soccer Complex.
The road is quickly coming to an
end for the Texas A&M Soccer Team.
This weekend, the 12th-ranked Aggies
will travel to Columbus, Mo., and
Lawrence, Kan., for their last two con
ference games of the season.
The Aggies (12-4, 5-3 Big 12) will
take on 17th-ranked University of Mis
souri today at 3 p.m. and will face the
University of Kansas Sunday at 1 p.m.
Missouri is currently in second
place in the Big 12 with a conference
record of 6-2 and an 11-4 overall
record.
With a win over the Tigers, A&M
will jump into second place in the con
ference, but A&M soccer coach G.
Guerrieri said winning in Missouri will
be no easy task.
“It’s our biggest game of the sea
son,” Guerrieri said. “They’re a team
that bends, but doesn’t break.”
Junior forward Nicky Thrasher
said Missouri will look at A&M’s re
cent results while preparing for the
game.
“Knowing that we’ve lost two
they’ve played in the past,” Thrasher
said. “So I think we need to come out
and surprise them ourselves.”
Guerrieri said the Tigers are good at
facing adversity and they will not go
down without a fight.
“They have been out-shot as far as
number of shots,” he said. “They’ve
been out-possessed as far as time of
possession, but they still find a way to
win.”
Missouri and A&M have had simi
lar success this season, but each team
uses a different style of play.
A&M tries to utilize ball possession
and set the tempo of the game, and the
Aggies use a zone-style defense.
Missouri, on the other hand, is a
strong, physical team that tries to take
advantage of its opponents with ag
gressive counterattacks, and the Tigers
play man-to-man in the back.
Kansas (8-7, 3-5 Big 12) is in ninth
place in the Big 12 and is still fighting
for an invitation to the Big 12 Tourna
ment, in which only the top eight
teams will play.
Guerrieri said Kansas’ situation
Jay hawks
“The fact thaf we play them in a
must-win situation at their place — 1
would imagine that they’re more ex
cited about being able to play at their
place then having to play us down
here,” he said. “If anything, it might
put more pressure on them.”
Junior defender Amber Reynolds
said Kansas will be up for the game, but
she is confident the Aggies will prevail.
“They’re going to be looking for
ward to beating us,” Reynolds said.
“They’re really going to be coming out
hard and just really trying to win.
They’re going to be tough, too, but we
can get them.”
Guerrieri said he knows that ending
the conference season on the road will
be difficult and there is a lot riding on
these games.
“Every team we play, we get their
best game,” he said. “Because of the
success of our program over the years,
we are always going to be a target and
are always going to be a big game for
anyone we play.
“A lot of how our year turns out is go
ing to boil down to what we do this week. ”
gs head to Norman to take on Sooners
ied
BY BETH MILLER
The Battalion
The Texas A&M Football Team will be-
a new season this weekend.
A&M coach R.C. Slocum said when the
>ies approach a series of big conference
nes each year, they rejuvenate and it is
DAGES'I if they are starting the season over.
“It has been my experience, and I don’t
dw if it’s the weather, but there is
nething about getting into these big
nes,” Slocum said. “Teams step up and
ictice better. It may be the weather be-
iseit’s a lot more fun to practice when
70 [degrees] than when it’s 95 [de-
■esj.”
The Aggies will begin their “new sea-
i” Saturday when they take on the Uni-
sityof Oklahoma at 6 p.m. in Norman,
ik, then follow by hosting Oklahoma
ite University, visiting the University of
braska and the University of Missouri
I5mi ies ; d hosting rival University of Texas. The
e teams have a combined record of 20-
AP/WmJ.C
Slocum said one reason the series
?ms like a new season is that the pre
ding games are “nightmare games” —
e capitaldffllmes in which the opponents seem eas-
hichleftClic to beat but are not, in reality. He said
dependencelis difficult to motivate the players for
yesterday, It ese games.
people, ffi “They are ‘nightmare games,’ because
ig,ranforcc (matter what you do, you never beat
ded.Sum® pi enough, and it is frustrating,” he
imedwillif id. “All week long, you are trying to
Someonlooi nvince the team that this team is capa-
inded. eof beating you.
henallofas | “But I remember when I was playing,
iluminatedWd we were watching a film of an up-
dinghfewwmg opponent, and we were laughing
' nfid making fun of them instead of watch-
the film seriously. Well, halfway
rough the film, we didn’t know it, but
ecoach walked in, and he turned on the
|§hts, and we were caught. So it doesn’t
ange; we were the same when 1 was in
hool.”
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be Slocum’s 100th win at A&M. Slocum
said he would not expect to be praised for
the win, that it is a team effort, and the
team should receive the credit.
The Aggies’
34-17 victory over Kansas last week
end exhibited the Aggies’ slowly-but-sure-
ly-becoming-balanced offense as they
racked up 362 passing yards and 160
rushing yards.
OU junior quarterback Josh Heupel
has set several school records and is on
his way to breaking many more. The
transfer from Snow Junior College Ab
erdeen, S.D., has set single-game records
in completions (37), passing attempts
(54), passing yards (429), total offense
(410), touchdown passes in a single game
(5), among others. In the Sooner-Long-
horn battle Oct. 9, Heupel broke OU’s sin
gle-season record by completing 31 pass
es to increase his season total to 150.
A&M senior cornerback Jason Webster
said the secondary will have to keep its
eye on the ball and stay interception-
minded during this weekend’s game to
counteract Heupel’s passing ability.
“They pass a lot, so we have got to
keep in mind that what goes up must
come down,” he said.
A&M offensive coordinator Steve
Kragthorpe said Oklahoma’s offense will
force the Aggies to spread out their scor
ing in the game.
“OU has a ‘high-octane’ offense,”
Kragthorpe said. “We are going to have to
score some points.”
He said A&M’s recent trend has been
to play better during the second half of
the games, but the team must give 100
percent the whole time this weekend.
Senior quarterback Randy McCown
said the Aggies have not had as much of
a need to run the ball as they will this
week, so they will focus more on that as
pect of the offense.
Upon realizing that the A&M offense
has not gotten into the end zone during
the first quarter yet this season, McCown
said, “We’ll have to do that this week,
GUY ROGERS/The Battalion
A&M sophomore fullback Ja’Mar Toombs carries the ball against the University of Kansas last Saturday at Kyle Field. The Aggies
defeated the Jayhawks 34-17. A&M travels to Norman, Ok this weekend to take on the University of Oklahoma Sooners.
then. Put that on the list of things to do
this week.”
Saturday’s game will be the 17th in Ag-
gie-Sooner history, but only the sixth since
1951; their first meeting was in 1903. In the
last Aggie-Sooner battle, in 1998, A&M
shut out OU 29-0 in College Station. In
their three meetings as Big 12 Conference
members, A&M has outscored OU, 113-23.
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6th-ranked Volleyball team hosts Buffaloes
Boots
BY BREE HOLZ
The Battalion
After compiling two wins and a loss on its
ongest road trip of the season, the Texas A&M
Volleyball Team will be back in action at G.Rol-
ie White Coliseum on Saturday when it faces
he 21st-ranked University of Colorado Buf-
aloes. Match time is set for 7 p.m.
The Aggies (15-4) and the Buffaloes (12-6)
enter tomorrow night’s match tied for fourth
place in the Big 12 conference, with each team
holding a 6-3 record.
A&M volleyball coach Laurie Corbelli said
this match is very important because the two
teams are tied, and since the Aggies are playing
at home, it gives them an edge.
“There is so much parity in the conference and
one advantage is being at home,” Corbelli said. “Be
ing at home is so important in a match like this ”
When the two teams met last year, the Ag
gies defeated the Buffaloes at G. Rollie White in
five games. A&M has kept Colorado winless in
its last three visits to College Station.
Corbelli said the match against the Buffaloes
will be spirited.
“We’ve got an unstated rivalry with Col
orado,” she said. “We’ve both got a very simi
lar style of play, and it’s created a rivalry.”
The Buffaloes return three starters from last
season’s team that finished with a 22-9 overall
record.
They placed third in the Big 12 conference
with a 16-4 mark and qualified for the NCAA
tournament, but fell to the University of Illinois
in the second round.
Corbelli added that if the Aggies can contin-
JP BEATO/The Battalion
A&M senior middle blocker Amber Woolsey spikes the ball against the University of Oklahoma
two weeks ago at G. Rollie White Coliseum.
ue to dominate with their defense, everything
else should fall into place.
“Our dependence on blocking and defense
will be very important,” she said. “If we can dis
tribute to our hitters and have a disciplined de
fense, we should be just fine.
“We’re gonna strive to come out on top.”
Saturday night’s match will wrap up the
first round of play for the Aggies in the Big 12.
The 16th-ranked Aggies defeated Iowa State
University on Wednesday night in Ames, Iowa,
15-4, 15-1, 15-6, in a match that lasted just over
an hour. Sophomore outside hitter Michelle
Cole led the Aggie hitters with 10 kills, while ju
nior setter Claire Harvey posted 42 assists and
a match-high 12 digs.
Fans think Rose should
be reinstated to baseball
ATLANTA (AP) — By a 2-1
margin, most people think Pete
Rose should be reinstated to base
ball, even though many believe he
did gamble on his sport, accord
ing to an Associated Press poll.
Fifty-six percent of those sur
veyed said Rose should be reinstat
ed, while 29 percent said he should
not, according to the poll, conduct
ed for the AP by ICR of Media, Pa.
Seven out of 10 said baseball’s
career hits leader belongs in base
ball’s Hall of Fame, while almost
two out of 10 said he doesn’t.
Rose is not eligible for the Hall of
Fame as long as his lifetime ban
remains in effect.
By a 78 percent to 15 percent
margin, people said commission
er Bud Selig made the correct de
cision to invite Rose to the World
Series ceremony Sunday honor
ing the sport’s All-Century team.
Rose was among the 25 players
elected in fan balloting in the sec
ond half of the season.
The results of the AP poll showed
slightly higher support for Rose’s ad
mission to the Hall of Fame than four
polls conducted from 1989 to 1991
for the Roper Center at the Universi
ty of Connecticut. Those polls
showed support ranging from 47
percent to 58 percent for Rose’s ad
mission to Cooperstown.
Two other polls — one done for
Roper in 1990 and another by
Gallup in 1989 — found almost
identical support for Rose as the AP
poll, which was conducted earlier
this month. The 1990 Roper poll
found 68 percent supported of
Rose’s admission to the Hall of
Fame, and the 1989 Gallup poll
found 66 percent of respondents fa
vored his being in the Hall of Fame.
Among those who think Rose
should be allowed to appear at
the series was Levona Walker, a
communications specialist in her
40s from Bainbridge, Ga. The de
cision to let Rose appear with the
All-Century team at the World Se
ries is a good one, she said.
“He was a great player,” said
Walker, who considers herself a big
baseball fan. “Everybody has faults,
so why blame him for his faults?”
Still, more people who were
asked in the AP poll don’t believe
Rose’s gambling denial than be
lieve him. Forty percent don’t be
lieve Rose is telling the truth
about betting on baseball, while
30 percent believe him.