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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 11, 2000)
SPORTS lay, February 11,2(XX) THE BATTALION Page 7 Men’s swim team hosts No. 1 ’Horns irly Sunday, 20 d'ghan capital, Kabi <.u/akstan and Russtjj IT capped days of British authorities this morning, twooj or a meeting with constable Joe Edw e tense Tuesday :aptain, second q - scrambled out ofi >e. Hours later, the ho was seen tumblii the plane ons between police ij : day. Throughouttk cd men had made no: wise. be Afghans, had tec d other comfort itt: : said >ps before landmgai^ on, the hijackers rela Monday and Tuesdrl isted. e tiny state-run Anr.l at the hostage dram; I news for our staff$1 Maybe the tilth time n," said Mohammed [Inn. ■ Winless in its four games since a Jan. ■ victory over Oklahoma State, the pcasA&M men’s basketball team (6- [2-1 Big 12) will look to end its skid . , -turday at Reed Arena against the Uni- 3tlV6 3CtlO!|rsity of Colorado (13-9, 4-6 Big 12). off is set for 5 p.m. The Aggies are coming oft'a brutal ix game stretch in which they faced SI Insas, Iowa State, Missouri and Okla- ma State twice. The one game of the JP BEATO/the Battalion jiM junior forward Carlton Brown looks pass the ball against the fiversity of Kansas Jan. 17 at Reed Arena. gs look to end skid against Colorado BY AL LAZARUS The Battalion be the at the airline r mospects of Bush’sl (ieorge W. Bush, plan, students whoi igh course loadandi 0 percent of the King class wouldbti^ff^^^^F sion to some statec : f lief ’ aFeb - 2 c0 7 n r te A St 0 a K g / | ,nSt Bj>lor ’ Metch that promised to provide a little would also encotr vned h\ women w; streamlines theapfi ame to a head mJr- rded with an 81-75 A&M ic I After a 32-point loss to Oklahoma ate last Saturday, the Aggies were not in id for state eoveiration this week — a break sorely need- 1, A&M coach Melvin Watkins said. “We gave the team a couple of days fto get back to their studies and rest . h law makers Mada ieir legs a little bit," Watkins said, side LlGov. FraiUl TheAggies likely will be without the demanding that Bit. jervices of senior forward Jerald Brown • aim C order to po, |ho has missed A&M's last three games scd. but he agreedti ' p'atk.ins atoibu^TtH hand ’ m the plan. The tw. losing streak n,,i K A yg>es current pa and Mmlhavewt^ " 1 P drt ^y 1°Brown’s absence >y critics. A tfu'rtf ^ )day in TaWtesct 'our liftoff an. 31 has since be spare, i replaced a few other d Endeavour, namel) gation-satellite receij : past week, shuttle ade progress in the to engine pumpsei should have beentl lory reject somehow aboard Discovery >A was able to veriff but two of the 18 deavour's engine cided to proceed wir h attempt anyways rod of another defe ; P- have since found tbs icrating one of those Is, and nomoredefe opped up althougl aes, said shuttle prt Dittemore. “I thought we were really turning the comer and beginning to play some good basketball,” he said. “Now, with Jerald out, our rotation’s changed again and that makes it difficult.” Like the Aggies, the Buffaloes are en tering an easier portion of their schedule. With only two ranked opponents re maining it its final seven games, CU is poised to make a run at the NCAA tour nament w ith a strong finish. Colorado coach Ricardo Patton said the Buffaloes know better than to look at Saturday’s game as an easy win. “We’ve got to certainly play well on the road against Texas A&M," Patton said. “I’m sure Texas A&M is looking at Colorado like, 'hey this is a team we can heat.' It would be foolish for us to think there are any easy games left on our schedule.” The Buffaloes, who have won only two road games this season, are coming off a 70-58 victory over Nebraska Tues day in Boulder, Colo. 1 falftime of Saturday’s game will fea ture a ceremony honoring A&M's 1980 men's team, which defeated North Car olina in the NCAA tournament before tailing to eventual national champion Louisville in the Sweet Sixteen. TheAg gies finished the season 26-8. BY MATT LAGESSE The Battalion Following a physically draining practice Wednesday, Texas A&M swim team captain David Morrow beamed a look of confidence as he dis cussed his preparation for Saturday’s match-up against the top-ranked Uni versity of Texas Longhorns at the Stu dent Rec Center Natatorium. “I am looking forward to swim ming against UT,” Morrow said, “It is going to be some of the best competi tion 1 face until conference and NCAA. We know that when we face UT we have to be at our best.” Thus far teams across the nation are finding that their “best swim” may not suffice as Texas has yet to lose a meet this year, enabling them to retain sole possession of the top ranking in the country. The 15th-ranked Aggies have also proven to be a formidable force with a 6-1 overall record including a 129-114 victory Jan. 28 against LSU. Devout adversaries in any other arena of NCAA competition, Morrow says that Texas A&M and University of Texas swim teams share a genuine respect for one another both in and out of the pool. “We are friends with a lot of them,” Morrow said, “After the meet is over we talk a little bit have fun and joke around with them, and when we are not competing we root for each other.” Morrow also said that, ironically, members from both teams, in some in stances, wind up becoming teammates when they compete on national squads. Since the arrival of head coach Ed die Reese in 1979, the Longhorns have been a mainstay at the top of the swim ming rankings. Under the direction of Reese, Texas has captured five of the last 12 NCAA championships and has produced 13 Olympians. A&M men’s swimming coach Mel Nash said that Saturday’s meet should provide an indication to how the Ag gies compare to the rest of the swim ming elite around the country. “We have some places where we are extremely competitive and Satur day’s meet is a great measuring stick for us to see where we stand relative to the rest of the country.” In the past this friendly rivalry has been one sided as the Longhorns, with Reese at the helm, have never fallen in a dual meet versus the Aggies. Nash said that in order for the Ag gies pull off the upset his team must concentrate their efforts on staying competitive throughout the meet. “It is definitely an uphill battle for us against Texas,” Nash said, “This may be their best team ever it is com parable to their late 1980’s teams which won three NCAA champi onships in a row. JP BEATO/Thi: A&M junior David Morrow starts his 100-meter butterfly race, hosts top-ranked University of Texas this Saturday. “We do have some places where we are stronger than they are and we need to take our wins event by event.” Along with featuring some of the elite swimmers in the nation, the meet also serves as a prelude to the Big 12 Swimming and Diving Champi onships, scheduled to be held at the Natatorium March 2-4. The meet is scheduled to start at I p.m. No. 18 Wildcats travel to face women’s tennis team BY BLAINE DIONNE The Battalion When the Northwestern University women’s tennis team left Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport Thurs day morning, there was a frigid 15 degree wind chill in the air accompanied with a stiff northeasterly wind. When they landed at College Station’s Easterwood Interstate Airport Thursday evening, they were greeted with a balmy 78-degree February spring day accompa nied by what should be stiff competmon from a hungry court opponent in the Texas the Varsjty The Aggies will take on me Tennis Center at 3.30 p. in today. Their match with the Wildcats marks the beginning of a full weekend for the Aggies, who also will travel to Baton Rouge to face the Louisiana State University Tigers on Sunday. First thing is always first, though, and head coach Bobby Kleinecke said he is excited about getting 18th-ranked NU on his home court. “I think this is a great opportuni ty for us,” Kleinecke said. “It’s a challenge, there’s no doubt about it. But it’s an opportu nity more than anything else and that’s what you look for KLEINECKE at this time of year.” After their dual meet last weekend against Sam Houston State and Stephen F. Austin, which featured more than a few rusty performances, the Aggies will need to be more than just confident to take advantage of this “opportunity.” ' Kleinecke said he was aware of his players’ knowl edge and he tried to use it in his pre-match planning. “We talked to them about the game plans and what we're looking to do against Northwestern,” he said. “We just verified with them what they thought and dis agreed or agreed with some of the things and we were pretty close, so I feel pretty good about it. Now it’s just a matter of going out and doing it on the court.” PIZZA 5 tig Fizz i very ict t Bullock will not uling difficulties, -V'-y-'T is breaking :an’t be n gredients. Better NE LAR<3jf TOPPING only No limit. Carry-out or delivery. Offer good thru 02/20/00 Th ® Hours for North0at e '•i 2am Fri. & Sat. 'til 3a*» Northgate 501 University Dr. 409-846-3600 Post Oak Square Center 100 Harvey Rd., Suite D 409-764-7272 Bryan 3414 East 29th St. 409-268-7272 Mark Your Calendars!!! Liberal Arts Career Week & Career Fair 2000 Special Events Thursday, February 17 Friday, February 18 Alumni Forum 6:00-8:00 p.m. Reed Arena Social 8:00-9:00 p.m. Reed Arena Career Fair 10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. Rudder Exhibit Hall Workshops Monday, February 14 Tuesday, February 15 Wednesday, February 16 Resume Writing 7:00-8:15 p.m. Rudder 410 Interviewing 7:00-8:15 p.m. Rudder 510 Networking 7:00-8:15 p.m. Rudder 410