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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 23, 2000)
Wednesday, August 23,2(0 Wednesday, August 23, 2000 ps skeleton ther nicely and look on id,” Chapman said, i came from a groupo; its who agreed on win a complete Triceratopi like. Some bones os le dinosaur are mirra ose on the other side, id, and the back feet om foot scans of a I- atops altogether. Tit igy also allows scien- he skeletons intodra- — an impossibiliiv ossils. •ionian already has one iron display, the meal- saurus Rex. He is not ;■ the new Triceratops; ents were not digital- ated "within thetoler- itific knowledge and Benson said. 's pose is so lifelike, most see saliva drip- hungry jaws. Tricer- positioned direct!) hi hit gallery fromf. 1 be his lunch, as though he’s aware iger and they arecir- i said. court ers said sending the to the U.S. Circuit t of Appeals for the ict of Columbia J result in adelaythat d irreparably harm petition in a vital and ly evolving sector of itional economy.” hile Jackson’s June 5 would require Mi ffs breakup, the has delayed anyen- nent of his order ng the company’s ed, >• )illion, ipany ate d Slocum looks for solution to D-line injuries Bv Jason Lincoln The Battalion R.C. Slocum entered 2000 with a lot of worries and a lot of questions. Who would be the starting quarter back? How would A&M maintain a healthy and effective offensive line? Would free safety Michael Jameson be able to makeup for the lack of ex perience in the secondary? If there was one position Slocum could be comfortable with, it was the defensive line. Not anymore. In a single week the D-line has gone from the most solid position to the biggest worry for the A&M coaching staff. A line that was 2-3 deep after the spring has dropped to one deep in less than a week. It started innocently as senior defensive end Rocky Bernard dropped to the ground during some no-contact drills on Aug. 15. Slocum thought he had merely tripped. Instead it would be his last drill of the season as he was car ried off the field with a torn ACL. Bernard’s knee injury was just the start. Nose guard Ron Edwards and back-up end Ty Warren would follow with minor injuries that should not cause them to miss the season open er against Notre Dame, but warrant holding them out of practice. Before all of this, the Aggies suf fered the biggest loss of all when back-up end Terry Nichols died in a car crash in El Paso early this summer. “This is a tough time for us,” Slocum said. "We just have to push through.” The effects of the injuries extend far beyond the defensive line. The line was the foundation for the Wrecking Crew defense, which re turned eight starters, including all three linesmen and all four lineback ers. Of the starting line, only Bernard has remained injury-free. “I thought we would be strong enough up front to compensate for the lack of experience in our defen sive secondary,” Slocum said. “We were two deep on the line, now there’s none.” A&M's defensive style just mag nifies the effect of the injuries. The Aggies use a three-man line. With the injuries, it means there is no cov er for the multiple injuries A&M is facing now. The line is as thin as it can get and the Aggies cannot rotate a linebacker in to make up the dif ference. Slocum will likely be forced to pull in one of his freshman linemen to compensate for the injuries and try to restore some of the depth that A&M began the offseason with. His likely choice is Linnis Smith, who Slocum feels could be ready as a pass rusher in a few short weeks. Meanwhile War ren and Edwards will attempt for a speedy return to re-establish the line. Until then the Aggies will focu on closing out their final two days of two-a-day workouts injury free and, hopefully, be rid of the injury plague for the remainder of the season. Sports THE BATTALION Aggies host defending NCAA soccer champions A&M looks to Central Florida, No. 1 North Carolina for first victories in 2000 season By Jason Lincoln The Battalion Texas A&M soccer has arrived. There was little doubt about the caliber of the program be fore. A Big 12 Championship, a string of NCAA tourney berths and one of the winningest coaches in Division I soccer serve as proof to that. This pre season’s No. 11 ranking is fur ther evidence. But for the true indicator of the caliber of Aggie soccer, one only needs to look to the schedule. A&M kicks off the 2000 season at home with a two-game week end highlighted by top-ranked, defending national champion North Carolina. The Aggies will face the Tarheels Sunday after a Friday opener against the Central Florida Knights. “Both teams find ways to win games, and that is a very diffi cult intangible to play against,” A&M coach G. Guerrieri said. “They are both very athletic and fast, not to mention their confi dence. They are going to push us the whole game, and that is something we need.” North Carolina marks the first of seven Top 25 opponents on A&M's 20-game schedule, and the most challenging. In 20 seasons of NCAA women’s soc cer, North Carolina has won 16 national titles. “Needless to say, it’s awe some to get a defending national champion at home,” said senior forward Nicky Thrasher. “This weekend will be a big challenge for us, but we’ve had good prepa ration. Now its time to play.” This season marks the first time the Aggies get to face soc cer’s aristocracy with the Twelfth Man at their backs. The previous matches between the two all hap pened on neutral territory and re sulted in A&M losses. “Playing them in front of the Twelfth Man may give us some levity, but the fact is they are still No. 1, still the defending nation al champions and still a dynasty in every sense of the word,” Guerrieri said. “Plus they are the most talented team in the country and one of the best coached teams in the world. It is going to be a true test for us.” North Carolina marks the See Soccer on Page 12. FILE PHOTO/Th e Battalion Heather Ragsdale looks to be a key offensive contributor in A&M's tough schedule. A Passing Grade Mark Farris gets starting nod for season opener By Blaine Dionne The Battalion Coach R. C. Slocum announced Monday that sophomore Mark Farris will be the starting quarterback when the Ag gies head to South Bend, Ind., to open their season at Notre Dame on Sept. 2. According to Slocum, the decision was made to give the first-string offense as many snaps as possible with one quarterback, instead of platooning Farris with sophomore Vance Smith and freshman Colby Freeman like the team has done since the spring. “We’re less than two weeks away from the opener, and it’s important to our team to get some continuity to our offense,” Slocum said. “We picked Mark because of his overall performance in spring training and summer camp.” Senior wide receiver Chris Taylor, last sea son’s team leader in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns, agreed with Slocum’s decision to select a quarterback now instead of later. “I think it’s good that the coaches named Mark as our quarterback,’’fTaylor said. “The offense needs that, so we can get our timing down with one guy.” Farris was first off the bench last year, go ing 6-of-16 for 53 yards in five games as a backup to departed senior Randy McCown. He also took care of the holding on kick placements. “My job is still the same,” Farris said. “I do the very best 1 can on the field and let the coaches decide who starts. We’ve (the three quarter backs) had great competition since the spring, and we will continue to compete. That competition has helped each of us improve.” Farris has taken a different path from most of his team mates. After passing for 1,831 yards and 21 touchdowns and Colby Freeman Mark Farris garnering District 24-4A MVP honors as a senior at Angle- ton High School in 1994, he was the only quarterback re cruited by A&M in the same class that produced former Ag gie standouts Dat Nguyen, Dan Campbell and Rich Coady. Farris signed a letter of intent with A&M that spring, but the Pittsburgh Pirates made him their No. 1 draft pick, and he signed a profession al baseball contract. After five seasons with the Pirates, Far ris advanced to the AA level and was con sidered a top prospect by their organization. But like Josh Booty of LSU and Chris Weinke of Florida State, Farris was drawn by the gridiron to leave the diamond and return to Aggieland. Slocum said the 26-year-old Farris is best suit ed to the Aggies’ current situation. “We feel like, right now, with all the things we would like to do with our offense, he gives us the best chance. But it was close, very close with the other guys.” The “other guys” Slocum was referring to were Smith and Freeman. Smith, a 6’4” prototypical drop-back passer with a howitzer for an arm, shared mop-up duties with Farris last year, producing marginally better num bers. He was 5-of-14 for 86 yards with one touch down and one interception while seeing action in t five games. Freeman, who is more of a Michael Vick-type quarterback — mobile in and out of the pocket with a good arm, redshirted last year and was relegated to scout squad duty. Freeman, however, was heavily recruited as a consensus All-American out of Brownwood High School two years ago and has received just as much attention as the other two. In other words, Farris’job is anything but secure. There is plenty of talent waiting in the wing§ to fill in if he should flounder. Vance Smith STIil CITY Spring 1994 Signs letter of intent with nam Signs baseball contract with Pittsburgh Pirates Spent fiue seasons with Pirates, advanced to nn level Returned to Ram fori 999 football season A&M soccer wins big in European tour By Jason Lincoln The Battalion Seven games, three na tional champions and a Dutch national team equaled an invaluable head start for Texas A&M soccer in 2000. The Aggies won six of seven games in a Euro pean tour that included some of the world’s best women’s soccer teams. Due to NCAA rules, the opportunity for a full-fledged preseason only comes along once every four years, but the timing could not be better for the Aggies, who are entering the season on the threshold of the Top 10. The combination of seven seniors, eight juniors and the European tour give A&M the ingredients to live up to its No. 11 ranking. The Aggies will need them all as they play five Top 10 opponents in their 20- game season. “This year’s team has the potential to be the best team A&M has ever had,” said A&M coach G. Guerrieri. “But we also have the tough est schedule we’ve ever had.” The tour was even more valuable since A&M gained experience playing top-level competition before the sea son even began. The seven- game advance gives A&M the equivalent of a third of a season in game experience over their opponents. Plus, the Aggies have learned how to win the big games and how they can be beat by top-cal iber opponents. “We’re much closer to midseason form now,” Guer rieri said. “The game is the best teacher. It’s one thing to line up and play against your own teammates... but it’s an other thing to go out there and play against someone trying to beat you.” A&M opened the over seas stretch playing top-cal iber offense and finding the net often. The first match in England ended in a 4-1 Aggie win over the Milwall Li oness. Sophomore midfield er Andrea Starns scored two goals, which, along with scores from senior forward Nicky Thrasher and junior midfielder Michelle Royal, set the pace for A&M’s new, high-power offense. A&M scored 29 goals in the seven games, failing only FILE PHOTO/The Battalion Alison Peters looks to make her senior season the best yet, using A&M's Eu ropean tour as a catalyst. once to score three goals in a match. Highlighting the tour were wins over three national champion teams. In the sec ond match, A&M blanked the defending English Football Association Cup Champions Arsenal, 5-0. From there the Aggies also upset the German national champions, the Duis burg Football Club, 7-1. A&M ended the tour with a 2-1 win over the Aalst Foot ball Club, which is the de fending Belgian League and Belgian Cup Champion. A&M’s only blemish on the tour came against the Dutch national champions in a 4-3 loss. See Europe on Page 12. iant Energy- on, sex, dis- Ag Students Go Global!! • Join new Spanish (Ag majors) & Russian (Ag & Vet Med majors) Language Certificate Programs! • Earn unique degree in Agriculture with international language and cultural dimension! • Study abroad! Exciting immersion courses in Mexico and Russia in Summer '01. 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