QivI II take' - i researi; should k s." he si: ■ preseni ?erin».“} is secou! ) difficu anial did used to ch alb jch fasten I ins sse proflr Ip h , of Si. h ed al was outd lay later, very nice. 1 an beinc at probabl;: to do wiili it ar. there * rcadaversii veraloffii le still el • out of i'! ants. w aieouB r ing to®' v ere a ret carapa > organ o f :volve an- onors. e to t iut the ft eone dies Health ■ ■ices Seen'- Sriarcresl RVAN ’76-OW jhcAll! Cot - TMts- iW® ING .angu^J Society ts n Mi ( f NiJ* ay, 2002 in. I Arts its ivelco 1111 ' Bryan nvns rapes |riei Sports THE BATTALION 7 Tuesday, April 23, 2002 SPORTS IN BRIEF Aggies fall to 9th in Big 12 tourney It was an all Oklahoma tournament at the women's Big 12 golf championships in Kansas this weekend, as Oklahoma State took top honors. OSD was led by sen ior Emma Zachrisson, who took first in the individual standings. The Oklahoma Sooners finished just three shots back to take the sec ond place honors. The Aggies, who entered the tournament with hopes of a top five finish, left with a disappointing ninth place. The Aggies could not over come a poor first round team score of 33-over par and missed their goal of the top five by 12 strokes. Senior McKenzie Dyslin, who shot a three round total of 227, only four shots out of first, led the Aggies. Dyslin had an impressive second round, shooting a one-under par 71 on her way to a sixth place finish. Melton honored by conference Texas A&M freshman golfer Nicole Melton was named the Big 12's Freshman of the Year in a vote from the league's coaches. Melton led the Aggies in scoring at 76.16 and set A&M's freshman record for stroke average. Melton was also named second-team All-Big 12 after finishing the season with nine top-20 finishes in 11 tournaments this season. Fjve of her finishes this sea son were in the top 10. Ags look to bounce back against Rice A&M faces No. 2 Owls for 2nd time By Doug Fuentes THE BATTALION The Texas A&M baseball team will have little time to recover from its series loss to Baylor over the weekend as the Rice Owls head to Olsen Field for a non-conference tilt at 7 p.m. The 19th-ranked Aggies, who defeated Baylor, 8-7, on Friday night at Olsen Field, lost two straight games to the Bears at Baylor Ballpark. The losses ciropped the Aggies (31 - 15, 10-8 Big 12), who came into the weekend tied for second in the Big 12, into fifth place, percentage points behind Nebraska and Oklahoma State who are tied for third. A&M’s loss to Baylor and drop in the standings can be attributed to its weak hitting over the weekend. Already near the bottom of the Big 12 Conference in hitting with a .290 average, the Aggies managed to hit just .227 in the three games against Baylor. “I think we’re second to last in con ference in hitting so that’s not our thing,” said A&M head coach Mark Johnson. “I don’t come into a game dreaming that we’re going to get 25 runs. We just have to play our game which is defense and pitching and hope we can do some things offensively.” A&M’s defense and pitching are what has been keeping them in games as of late. The Aggies’ are fielding the ball at a .968 clip and the pitchers’ ERA is 3.68, both near the top of the Big 12. “It all stems on each other,” said A&M catcher Rusty Meyer. “Our pitch ers are going out and doing a great job if you ask me. They’re doing all they can do with the teams we’re playing. We have to get together as a team offen sively and compete every inning and every at bat.” Trying to come together as an offen sive unit will be a rough task for A&M as the No. 2 Rice Owls come calling. The Owls (35-8, 17-1 WAC) moved up to the number two spot in the polls after sweeping Hawaii in a three-game series over the weekend. Rice will send freshman right-han der Jeff Niemann to the hill in an attempt to keep the Aggie bats quiet. Niemann enters the game with a 4-0 record and a 2.66 ERA. In 47 1/3 innings of work, Niemann has 35 strikeouts and walked 21. A&M will counter with left hander Stephen Ponder. Ponder (1-1, 5.40) is coming off a stellar performance last Wednesday as he fanned 11 batters and allowed two hits in six innings against Southwest Texas State. DALLAS SHIPP • THE BATTALION A&M senior outfielder Eddie Lang attempts a bunt during the Aggies’ 4-2 loss to the Baylor Bears on Sunday at Baylor Ballpark in Waco. A&M plays Rice tonight at 7 p.m. at Olsen Field. Aggies desperately need bats to heat up during stretch run H ow quickly things can change. In its weekend series with Baylor, the Texas A&M baseball team dropped from having a chance at sole possession of first place in the Big 12 to sole ownership of fifth place after dropping a two-game set to the Bears in Waco. The Aggies (31-15, 10-8 in Big 12) avoided the series sweep by taking an 8-7 decision at Olsen Field in the series opener, but appeared to have left their bats in College Station. The Aggies hit a paltry . 174 in the two games in Waco, including a 1-for-16 mark with runners in scoring position. TRUE BROWN A&M’s lone hit with a runner in scoring position did not come until the eighth inning of Sunday’s game, when Justin Pouk singled in Coby Mavroulis from second base. While some of it can be credited to solid pitching by Baylor, the Aggies looked a step behind all weekend. “We’re not a good hitting ball club,” said A&M head coach Mark Johnson. “I can’t ask the guys to do more than they are capable of.” The Aggies are one of two teams in the Big 12 that is hit ting below .300 as a team. Kansas, who owns a 3-14 league record, is the other. In contrast, the league’s first place team, the University of Texas, owns a .332 team aver age and leads the conference in hitting. But Johnson will be the first to tell you that A&M prides itself on pitching and defense. The Aggies currently sit in third place in the league with a 3.68 ERA. See Need on page 10 J4_ Night of IUu b ,5'T U Ol'fy mm m (Friday, April 26, 9pm to lam in ttie WLSL Hypnotist Rich Ames performing in the flagroom @ 9pm & 11pm Domino Tournament starting @ 10pm Free showing of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in Rudder Theater @ 9:30pm Arts & Crafts in the basement all night $250 give-Jlway at Midnight Free Pancake & Egg breakfast in 12th Man @ midnight Free Dance Dance Revolution all night $20 Gift Certificates Door Prizes Free Bowling and Billiards in the basement all night Must SfiowN&At I