SECTION
WfflMSggMM -
THE BATTALION
lux’s Benson
faces drug
charges
AUSTIN (AP) — University of Texas
Jrunning back Cedric Benson faces misde-
Imeanor marijuana and alcohol possession
Icharges after being arrested in his home-
|town of Midland over the weekend.
Midland police said Monday they
[arrested the Big 12 freshman of the year
[about 2 a.m. Saturday after responding to a
[call about loud music at an apartment.
Benson, 19, was charged with pos-
J session of marijuana under 2 ounces and
drug paraphernalia and being a minor in
possession of alcohol. He was released
from the Midland
County Central
Detention Center after
posting $1,365 bail
! that morning.
If convicted on the
! marijuana possession
[charge — a Class B
misdemeanor —
Benson faces up to a
I $2,000 fine and six
months in jail. The paraphernalia and
fninor in possession of alcohol charges are
! Class C misdemeanor offenses and carry
up to a $500 fine each.
Texas coach Mack Brown, who said
he has talked to Benson, said he could
not comment on the arrest and charges
but called Benson “a great young man
who we’ve really enjoyed having in
our program.”
"One thing we have really prided our
selves on in our program is our family
atmosphere and this will be handled within
our family," the coach said.
Considered the star of Texas’ 2001
recruiting class, Benson became a starter
midway through the season and set a UT
freshman record with 1,053 yards on 223
can ies and scored 12 touchdowns.
BENSON
Women’s tennis team has world flavor
By Dallas Shipp
THE BATTALION
T ake a look at the athletes from
the football or baseball team,
and odds are, most of the play
ers are from Texas or at least the
United States.
However, not all athletes call Texas
or the United States home.
Texas A&M senior tennis player
Majorie Terburgh calls Aliwal-Noord,
South Africa, her home and played at
Tyler Junior College for two years
before transferring to A&M.
Seniors Olivia Karlikova and
Martina Nedorostova are from
Bratislava, Slovakia, and began
competing against one another at a
very early age.
“[Nedorostova] was No. 1 or 2 in
her age group since she was 12,”
Karlikova said. “We became big rivals
back home and faced each other four
times. We each won two of those
matches.”
That early rivalry became invalu
able to Karlikova, who looked to
Nedorostova as her connection to
the United States and an opportunity
to attend a major university with a
quality tennis program.
When recruiting is mentioned,
many students think of football
coaches traveling to high school stu
dents’ homes and convincing them
that their school is better than any
other college or university.
However, in the world of college
tennis, this is not the case. Because of
a small budget, tennis coaches rely on
connections and word of mouth to dis
cover and recruit talent — especially
from other countries — that can help
their team compete.
“You have to have connections,”
said A&M head coach Bobby
Kleinecke. “[Nedorostova’s] sister
was considering transferring to
A&M but couldn’t get the release
from her school, so Martina came
instead. [Terburgh] was at Tyler
Junior College, and my former assis
tant coach was there and he helped
us find her. Then, [Karlikova] wrote
to us and Nedorostova told us a lot
about her as well.”
While finding a school can be a big
obstacle in coming to the United
States, finding a college or university
to call home also can be extremely
comforting to those who cannot visit
their parents on weekends like other
students from areas near College
Station, such as Houston or Dallas.
“I am so glad I came to A&M,”
Terburgh said. “The people, the
school and Coach Kleinecke are
incredible. Coach is a great guy, and
I don’t think I would want to play for
anyone else. Aggies are so proud of
their school, and that makes me
proud to represent them.”
“I received an offer from a couple
of other schools, including Tulane,”
Karlikova said. “But when I came to
Texas A&M, I fell in love with it. As
soon as I set foot on campus, I knew
this was the place for me. The people
here and the tennis program were
incredible. I just couldn’t say ‘no.’”
Karlikova and Terburgh said there
are some things College Station can
not replace.
“I miss my family,” Terburgh
said. “My parents have never seen
me play tennis in college, and that
would have been awesome for them
to visit me here.”
Karlikova’s mother recently visited
to watch in her final weekend match at
A&M in the 2002 Big 12 Tennis
Championships.
“My mom had never been here
before last weekend,” Karlikova
said. “This was the first time she got
to see me play in college. She was
amazed at the stadium and how
many people came out to watch us
play tennis. People are into tennis
more here. The crowds are a lot big
ger than [Slovakia].”
Not only do players benefit from
STUART VILLANUEVA • THE BATTALION
Olivia Karlikova (top left), Martina Nedorostova (right) and Majorie Terburgh all
give the Texas A&M women’s tennis team an international flavor.
scholarships for an education in the
United States, but the team benefits
from the global perspective these
players bring to the team.
“I like to have some foreign players
on the team,” Kleinecke said. “It
broadens the horizons of everyone
else on the team. It’s fun to learn cul
tures of other countries and talk with
each other about their home country.”
A* Tui~onm<^
Finals Schedule
Monday
4/29
T uiesday
4/30
Wed nesday
5/1
Thursday
5/2
Saturday
5/4
Sunday
5/5
Monday
5/6
T uesday
5/7
9-11 AM
Rhys 201
Oh. 15
Chem101
Final #2
Rhys 201
Final #2
Chem 101
Final #3
11-1 RM
Chem 227
Final # 4
Chem 228
Final #4
Chem 1 07
Final #3
Chem 228
Final #5
1-3 RM
Chem 228
Final #3
Rhys 201
Final #1
Rhys 202
Final #2
Biol 113
Final #2
3-5 PM
Chem 22T
Final #3
Chem 101
Final #1
Chem102
Oh. 27
Math 151
Final #2
Rhys 218
Final #3
Chem107
Final #4
5-7 PM
C hem 1 02
Oh. 25
Chem 102
Final #1
Rhys 218
Final #2
Chem 1 02
Final #2
Math 1 51
Final #3
Chem102
Final #3
Chem102
Final #4
Chem102
Final #5
7-9 PM
Math 151
Final # 1
Chem107
Oh. 14&15
Math 152
Final #2
Chem107
Final #2
Math 152
Final #4
Rhys 202
Final #3
Rhys 202
Final #4
Chem107
Final #5
9-11 PM
Rhys 208
Mew Material
Rhys 208
Final #1
Rhys 208
Final #2
Rhys 208
Final #3
Rhys 218
Final #4
Rhys 208
Final #4
11-1 PM
Chem 228
Pennington
Rhys 202
Final #1
Chem107
Ch.15/Final //I
Math 152
Final #3
Rhys 201
Final #3
Monday
4/29
Tuesday
4/30
Wednesday
5/1
Thursday
5/2
Saturday
5/4
Sunday
5/5
Monday
5/6
T uesday
5/7
3-5 PM
Math 142
Final #3
Math 142
Final #4
Math 142
Final #5
5-7 PM
Acct 229
Final #1
Acct 229
Final #2
Acct 229
Final #3
*
/Vcct 229
Final #4
7-9 RM
Math 142
Final #2
/Ycot 209
Final #1
Acct 209
Final #2
/\cct 209
Final #3
Acct 209
Final #4
9-11 PM
Biol 114
Final #2
Biol 114
Final #3
Biol 114
Final #4
Biol 114
Final #5
11-1 PM
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