Friday, September 15,20
•roves
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land was going to be
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The council required
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surround the area, be
added to the rezoningonii
nance before it approved];
unanimously.
Additionally, thec»
cil approved changing tbc
intersection at Rock Prairie
Road and Longmire Drive
from a two-way stop to
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until a traffic signak
installed.
lid. adding that peopi;
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the group left the stage
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Friday, September 15,2000
Sports
Page 7
THE BATTALION
us are able to say tbi
their mark by purchasu
chandise and attendingtl
each class hosts, s
rarned from each fund-:,
t — from sellingT-shte
t to special events
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ooking forward to the:
fll have to bring my
id show them proudly*
gave to the University!
said.
der firt
Texas A&M prepared for Miner invasion
Aggies, Miners square off for
first time since 1984 opener
STUART VILUNUEVA/I'm Bahai ion
junior wide receiver Robert Ferguson hopes to continue.at Texas A&M the success he had at Tyler junior College.
Robert Ferguson ready to step forward, lead Aggie receivers
Bv Bi vine Dionne
The Battalion
Robert Ferguson is on the verge of
something special. Saturday against
Wyoming, he had the best home de
but performance of any Texas A&M
receiver. The junior receiver ended
his first game at Kyle Field with 174
yards and two touchdowns on seven
carries, including the second-longest
passing play for a touchdown in
A&M history.
The 93-yard strike was basically
a sprint to the end zone for Ferguson,
who left his defender in smoke.
After the game, sophomore quar
terback Mark Farris heaped praise on
his newest offensive weapon.
“1 think that when [Ferguson] first
came in, being something new, he
kind of overshadowed some of the
other guys," Farris said. “That’s not
a slap at those other guys. I mean,
Chris Taylor and Bethel [Johnson]
and Dwain [Coynes], they’re proba
bly as fast as any receiving corps in
the nation.
“Tonight, it wasn’t so much us
trying to get the ball to Robert, it just
kind of happened like that. But when
[Ferguson] catches it, he’s got a
chance to go all the way every time.”
Ferguson hopes to define his ca
reer with big plays that electrify
crowds and catapult him into star sta
tus. At the same time, he does not
want to sacrifice team goals for per
sonal gain.
See Ferguson on Page 10.
By Blaine Dionne
The Battalion
This Saturday marks the Texas
A&M football team’s last chance for
a tuneup before Big 12 Conference
play begins on Sept. 30 against Texas
Tech University. The Aggies are tak
ing on the University of Texas-El
Paso (UTEP) Miners at 7 p.m. at
Kyle Field.
The last time these two teams
locked horns was in the 1984 season
opener, a game that
A&M won, 20-17.
A&M is com
ing off a 51-3 win
over the Universi
ty of Wyoming
that evened its
record at 1 -1 after
an opening-week
loss at Notre
Dame. The Miners
are riding a win
over Southern
Methodist Univer
sity last weekend
in El Paso, 37-20.
A&M coach
R.C. Slocum said
the jury is still out on his team this
year, noting that while Wyoming was
a quality football team, the Cowboys
were not the same caliber of team that
the Aggies will face in the Big 12.
“It remains to be seen at this stage
how good our team is,” Slocum said.
“I thought, without a doubt, that we im
proved Saturday night (against
Wyoming). But I think UTEP is a bet
ter team than Wyoming, so you look to
see if you can improve this week."
Improvement is definitely the
mantra for the Aggies this week. Play
ers and coaches said they are not con
tent with their play right now, but that
they can get better.
Senior offensive lineman Chris
Valetta was one of the Aggies who re
iterated the improvement goal, but he
is also happy that the offense is start
ing to receive recognition.
“It’s just been two games, but.al
ready the fans, the media and the op
posing coaches are talking about this
offense," Valetta said. “And I think it’s
about time. I think
we’re way past
due on having
thoughts like that.”
The reasons
the offense is a
hot topic are nu
merous. From the
coaching changes
to the personnel
and attitude
changes, these
Aggies are a dif
ferent bunch than
the ’99 squad.
Redshirt fresh-
man Richard
Whitaker is one
of the new faces who will continue to
contribute, and he said he hopes can
be a factor against the Miners.
“I want to go out there and be the
leading rusher,” Whjtaker said. “I just
want to go out there and help the of
fense as much as I can. Every time I
touch the ball, I want to score. I think
we’re starting to get on track. We’re
not that good yet. We just need to go
out there every day and get better.”
There seems to be a quiet confi
dence among the team. Although none
of the players will admit it, there seems
to be a swagger back in the offense.
"J think that
UTEP is a better
team than
Wyoming, so you
look to see if you
can improve this
week."
— R.C. Slocum
Texas A&M football coach
:ral law that holds bad”
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tale of Texas,” Hill said.
Home-field advantage awaits returning Aggie soccer team
A&M to take on University of North Texas at Aggie Soccer Complex, after three weeks of on-the-road play
By Ree< e Flood
The Battalion
After spending the past two weekends fly
ing to the East Coast to take on Hartford, Har
vard, Florida and Florida State, the Texas
A&M soccer team will stay in the Lone Star
State for two games this weekend.
The No. 8 Aggies will host the Universi
ty of North Texas (UNT) Friday at 7:30 p.m.
at the Aggie Soccer Complex. Two days lat
er, A&M will travel to Spring, Texas, to take
on Penn State in the Adidas Classic.
A&M soccer coach G. Guerrieri said he
knows what to expect from UNT, because he
it we will be capable ofi is a good friend of the school’s coach,
he best billboard campai; “We know them pretty well,” Guerrieri
ink driving in the worldE sa j(j "Their coach John Hedlund is an old
>t be addressing the problifjfriend of mine and an old teammate of mine,
drunk drivers off the roail We played together when we were kids and
leads the nation in alcolt;'
tffic deaths.
9, Texas had 1,734 a
iffic fatalities, about half*
g deaths in the state
n'ding to figures fromti
irtfnent of Transportatiot
we’ve always kind of kept in touch as we’ve
moved up as coaches.”
Guerrieri described the Mean Green of
North Texas as a team that is hard-working
and never gives up. He said he is expecting a
quick, counter-attacking team.
UNT has found success this season by de
feating quality opponents such as SMU and
Texas Tech.
“They've won some big games,” Guerri
eri said. “If they can pull off a win [against
A&M], it would make their season.”
Friday .night’s home game will be a
change of pace for the Aggies, who have not
played at home in nearly three weeks.
“To be able to play on our surface with a
friendly crowd will be a welcome change for
the players,” Guerrieri said.
Freshman defender Aderienne Dillard is
one player looking forward to staying home
on Friday. She said it will be better to be
cheered for than booed at.
“It’s good to know that people are going
to come support us,” Dillard said. “It's en
couraging. It gives us more of an incentive to
come out and play.”
The Aggies will have one day to regroup
before heading-to Spring, near Houston to
take on Penn State, which is tied with A&M
in a No. 8 ranking. This will be A&M’s fifth
game against a ranked opponent in eight
games.
Guerrieri said playing so many ranked
teams teaches the Aggies preparedness and
encourages them to work hard every game.
That is what happened last weekend when
the Aggies played Florida State on the road.
The unranked Seminoles defeated A&M 4-
1, sending a wake-up call to the Aggies, who
rallied back to defeat 18th-ranked Florida
two days later.
The Aggies are expecting Sunday’s game
against Penn State to be more physical than
most games.
“Penn State is not known for playing at
tractive soccer,” Guerrieri said. “They’re
known for being very, very big; very strong
and very fast.”
Senior midfielder Alison Peters is confi
dent that the Aggies will be able to handle the
physical style of play.
“It’s hard to play a big, physical team be
cause they’re going to be pushing you
around,” Peters said. “But coming off the past
two weekends away, I think we’ve proven
that we can play with big physical teams.”
The Nittany Lions will come to Texas with
All-American goalkeeper Emily Olelksiuk and
sophomore forward and 1999 Big Ten “Play
er of the Year” Christie Welsh on the roster.
This weekend will be A&M's last chance
to work out any kinks before conference play
begins a week from Friday with a visit from
Texas Tech. Guerrieri said playing quality
non-conference teams helps prepare.A&M
for playing in the Big 12.
“That’s the reason we play all these tough
teams,” Guerrieri said. “It was to get ready
for the environment of the Big 12. Whether
a team in the Big 12 is ranked in the nation
al top 10 or top 20, or not ranked at all — it
really doesn't matter. Evidence is when we
went into Lubbock and when we went into
Waco last year. Neither [Texas Tech nor Bay
lor] was ranked, but we lost both games be
cause the rivalries are so big.”