Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 10, 2000)
Novemh: ridly, November 10, 2000 Sports THE BATTALION 9 Aggies look to the sky wMpurnamentpits Texas A&M against Golden Eagles flits,]®* Brian Ruff 1 ■ the Battalion 13 WiBAftcr its 4-1 loss to the Big 12 dedea "lampion Nebraska Cornhuskers as weekend in San Antonio, the d studei sjo 9 Texas A&M soecer team (17- longsidfj) looks to rebound on Sunday ■■en it hosts the second round of :tognii|e 2000 NCAA Soccer Tourna- hebeauimlnt at the Aggie Soccer Complex, edfeMThe Aggies will take on the uchikwh-ranked Marquette Golden lilgles. nlineorBMarquette (20-2-1) advanced to sor mi* second round with a 2-1 double ass tf: overtime victory over Wright State, sedby*Marquette was led by forward n pet' Bite Gordon, who ended the game i, dire, with a shot past the Wright State stanceLgoalkeeper 109 minutes into the match. Marquette won its second nteme isti light Conference USA title last inceeu.l weekend in St. Louis with a win over Cincinnati. Gordon’s game-winner, her 16th goal of the season, was also her fourth game-winning goal in a row and third in overtime. In 1999, the Aggies were defeat ed in the third round of the NCAA tournament by the same team that sent A&M home early in 1998 — the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Coach G. Guerrieri’s team advanced to the Sweet 16 for the second time in the team’s history in 1998. “The team had to scratch and fight for every single win, and they’ve done it,” Guerrieri said. “Now we ask them to step it up and understand that now, if we lose, we go home.” Forward Heather Ragsdale leads the Aggies with 14 goals and nine assists on the season, accumulating 37 points. Midfielder Kristen Strutz also continues to contribute to the Ag gies’ offensive pressure. Strutz, who was named to the Big 12 Con ference All Tournament Team, is second on the team with 11 goals and nine assists. Goalkeeper Esther Thompson will look to add to her 5.5 shutout total against the Golden Eagles. Should the Aggies defeat the Golden Eagles and advance to the Sweet 16 this Sunday, they will face the winner of the Southern Califor nia/UCLA matchup. A&M finished second in the reg ular season and took second in the Big 12 tournament. Kickoff for the A&M/Marquette matchup is set for 1 p.m. Sunday. BERNARDO GARZA/The Battalion ' Aggie forward Heather Ragsdale and midfielder Kristen Strutz will be face the Marquette Golden Ea gles Sunday in the NCAA Soccer Tournament at the Aggie Soccer Complex. Cross country teams ready for NCAA run After Saturday meet, Aggies could advance to national match in November lasses ne.'BidV Diane Xavier ere nil l Tilt' Battalion in?,®®® Mtet fAUvAg, \2 CYrampi- ay willifliships, the Texas A&M cross country teams are icanrt ready to prove themselves in the NCAA South I with Central Regional Championship Saturday morn- (ieaK ingat North Tex^ts in Denton. I The women’s 6-kilometer race will begin at 9 ] ass s ec am. and the men’s 10k will begin at 10 a.m. entankl 5 The event will mark the squads’ biggest meet of the season, as it determines which teams will Bualify for the the NCAA Cross Country Champi- 1^, pnship Nov. 20 in Ames, Iowa. Website® The top two teams and the top four finishers who are not on the top two teams will advance to nationals. I J A&M coach Dave Hartman said the 24th- ~ Tanked women’s team, coming off of its strongest leasonever, expects to challenge 1 Ith-ranked fa vorite and defending champion Arkansas for the ■tie. The team anticipates making its first NCAA championship appearance . I “We’ve trained for this particular match all iyear long,” Hartman said. “We did have an off lay at the Big 12 meet in Boulder. However, we I ■ere up against some of the toughest competition | the nation.” E Hartman said that the Boulder race prepared his |uads to perform their optimum best at regionals. “I think the South Central Regional competi tion will not be as hard as the Big 12 contest,” Jartman said. “There are not as many strong teams we have to go up against. “Also, we are more familiar with the course we running on, which is to our advantage, ” he said. A&M is favored to battle third-ranked Texas hristian for an automatic berth based on the am’s season performance. BERNARDO GARZA/The Battalion Brandon Beasley and the men's cross country team will compete Saturday in the NCAA South Central Regional Championship, and can then advance to the NCAA Championship. “I believe our squad is better than TCU, despite their ranking in the South Central Regional polls,” Hartman said. “TCU has raced against a lot weak er teams than us, whereas we’ve run against the best and toughest.” The men’s team, which has struggled this sea son, will attempt to make its second straight ap pearance at nationals. “I know our guys are ready despite our sub- par performance in other meets,” Hartman said. “We’ve been training for a 10k all year, which this race is, whereas other squads haven’t. “If we run like we are capable of, we can fin ish second or third,” he said. “Our toughest competition will be against the University of Texas,” THE LOUDEST YELL CHALLENGE: Guinness Wrid Record for loudest outdoor stadium sports crowd Be at the Texas A&M/Oklahoma game this Saturday to add your voice to a new record! BRANDON HENDERSON/The Battalion Ags set for Iowa State By Bri e Holz The Battalion After a heartbreaking loss to No. 1 Nebraska on Wednesday, the Texas A&M volleyball team will try to get back into the win column when it takes on Iowa State Satur day at the Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa. First serve is set for 7 p.m. The No. 24 Aggies posted their second loss in a row against Ne braska for the first time since 1998. The loss broke the Aggies’ record 28-match home winning streak. “We can take a lot away from the loss,” said A&M coach Laurie Corbelli. “We were backing off from our attack, not wanting to make the error. We have to get bet ter offensively against the better teams and put more balls away.” The Aggies sit in fourth place with a 10-5 Big 12 record, while Iowa State remains in last place, with a 0-16 record. The Cyclones; were defeated by Colorado oft Wednesday, while Nebraska re-, mains at the top of the league. ; In 1999, Iowa State finished in. last place in the league with a 1-; 16 record. The Aggies hold an. 11-1 all-! time series record and have not lost; to the Cyclones since 1989. The Cyclones’ middle blocker! Stacy Nicks leads the team with; 1.02 blocks per game. A&M middle blocker Heather; Marshall said the loss at home- helped the team realize that it cannot let the crowd be its only motivation. “We can’t rely on the energy from the crowd; we need to rely on our volleyball,” she said. “The external factors won’t always be there!” See Volleyball on Page 8. edition AT NORTHGATE The Tradition and 103.9 the X invite you to a remote broadcast and pre game tail-gate party from 3-6 p.m. on the Northgate Promenade behind the Dixie Chicken. Free food, prizes, con cert tickets, t-shirts and you can regis ter to win a free laptop computer. All brought to you by 103.9 and The Tradition at Northgate. A DORM WITH A DIFFERENCE. GiD mjM) 979-268-9000 www.traditiondorm. com BIG MEAL DEAL $ 4.99 IT S ALMOST MORE THAN YOG CAN EAT! gWENSEN§ I 6 oz. I HAMBURGER I WITH FRIES * . I LARGE I SOFT I DRINK 1 + I SUPER l! SUNDAE I i; GOOD FOR ! UP TO 4 PER ! COUPON I Culpepper Plaza 693-6948 1 College Station, Texas Exp. 11-15-00 50 C extra for any other hamburger §°t smiles? Class of 2001 Bring your smiling faces to AR Photography to get your FREE Senior picture taken for Texas A&M’s 2001 Aggieland yearbook. No appointment needed. Extended sittings available for $10. Visit AR Photography at 1410 Texas Ave. South (next to Copy Corner) or call 693-8183. 2 0 AGGIELAND 0 ! (979)845-2681 http://aggidand.tamu.edu