Yt
the bait
hilf
alls
overall numbe
'lightly, from |
■<*<>1. Sixty pe
ill trucks lastvti
h NHTSaVji
i^c trom 73 pg
in 2003, \ihicf
H) lives a yot
luctcd the m
‘luring whitii
'rocleswertA
u m.* at 2,(ff
rcentage
Sports
The Battalion
Page I B • Wednesday, September 11, 2002
!Aggies ranked in first tennis poll
K>7. thehiji
Ic licath' rcik
-2.1 l6,or2lfc
'cn. Ihat
car' carliet
u lil tl)c dropsi
iangc in pubk
first Kcpubkt
* > cars repeat
Ml!!!: 1
ctnd onr
looting v
gh ceilir
SJAH, Ga
nd angr> »:
nald Chase s
i the floo*
den and fo
ssed throur
the kitche
d his wde
attles of Ikr.
FILE PHOTO • THE BATTALION
j A&M senior Ryan Newport, ranked No. 24 in the nation, finished as an All-
American last season after his performance in the NCAA Championships.
By Kevin Espenlaub
THE BATTALION
Senior Ryan Newport leads a
pack of five Texas A&M men’s
and women’s tennis team members
in the season’s first Omni Hotels
Collegiate Tennis rankings, which
were released early Tuesday.
Newport, ranked No. 24 nation
ally, became an All-American last
season after reaching the singles
round of 16 in the NCAA Men’s
Tennis Championships that were
held on the A&M campus in May.
“I think Ryan’s ranking is a
credit to his All-American per
formance last season,” said A&M
men’s tennis head coach Tim Cass.
“In my opinion, Ryan is one of the
top 10 players in the nation, and in
his senior year he’ll have the
opportunity to step up and really
lead this team.”
Sophomores Lester Cook and
Ante Matijevic also made the
rankings at No. 78 and No. 83,
respectively. Both joined the team
in January and played in both sin
gles and doubles for the Aggies
last fall.
Neither appeared in the final
singles rankings last season.
“I don’t know if we’ve ever had
three guys ranked in the top 100
singles players in the nation at this
point in the season,” Cass said. “It
speaks well for this team and it
also tells me that Ryan will have
some solid support this year.”
Cook and Matijevic are also
ranked the No. 14 doubles team in
the nation. The two have not
teamed together since coming to
A&M, and Cass is not sure that the
team will play together all season.
“Those two will not necessarily
be playing together all season,”
Cass said. “Their ranking really
wasn’t based on results in doubles
as much as their combined singles
rankings. There is a good chance
that Lester and Ryan will remain as
a teifm as the season progresses.”
Cook and Newport made it to
the round of 16 as a duo last sea
son and finished the season ranked
the No. 17 team in the nation.
The women’s team is represent
ed by junior Jessica Roland and
See Tennis on page 3B
Volleyball team moves up in
rankings to No. 16
Staff and Wire
THE BATTALION
The Texas A&M volley
ball team moved up one
slot to No. 16 in the USA
Today/AVCA poll after
finishing last week with a
2-1 record.
The Aggies swept
Southwest Texas State
University on Tuesday and
then played three matches
at the Wisconsin
InnTowner Invitational in
Madison, Wise.
A&M’s sweep of the
University of Montreal in
an exhibition at the tourna
ment does not count in the
team’s final record.
The Aggies beat Illinois
State before suffering the
first loss of their season
against host Wisconsin on
Saturday in a four game
contest for the tournament
championship.
In the poll, defending
national champion Stanford
remained in the No. 1 spot.
USC, Hawaii, Nebraska
and Long Beach State make
up the rest of the top five.
The Big 12 has three
teams in the top 25.
Nebraska leads the confer
ence at No. 4, followed by
A&M (No. 16) and Kansas
State (No. 24). Colorado
and Texas received votes
but did not make the top 25.
They were ranked No. 32
and No. 35, respectively.
The Aggies have now
been ranked in every regu
lar-season poll since Sept.
26, 1995, when A&M
broke in at No. 24.
A&M’s next action will
be at G. Rollie White
Coliseum September 13-
14 when the Aggies host
the McDonald’s Texas
A&M Invitational II.
A&M plans 9/11 remembrance ceremony for Va. Tech game
Staff and Wire
THE BATTALION
The activities and cere
monies surrounding the Sept.
21 Texas A&M football game
against the Virginia Tech
Hokies will give those attending
an opportunity to remember,
aqd to honor, all of those affect-
| ed by the Sept. 11 tragedy.
The traditional march in by
the Corps of Cadets at Kyle Field
which will occur one hour prior
[to the game as A&M President
|Dr. Robert M. Gates, along with
Erie Nye, Chairman of the Texas
A&M University System Board
of Regents, and other dignitaries
review the cadets.
When the teams have left the
field of play, the “Pacific Life
Holiday Bowl Big Flag” will
cover Kyle Field utilizing more
than 250 Aggies from different
student groups on campus.
Jim Philon, an Aggie and a
Holiday Bowl board member,
is underwriting the expenses of
the Big Flag and the crew.
The flag, which is stored at
Qualcomm Stadium in San
Diego, California, home of
Major League Baseball’s
Padres, weighs approximately
850 pounds.
The flag was purchased in
June of 1997 after being manu
factured by the Dixie Flag
Company in San Antonio,
Texas. It has appeared at the
1998 Super Bowl and the 1998
World Series, as well as many
other sporting events.
The Fightin' Texas Aggie
Band will play numerous patri
otic songs and the Texas A&M
Singing Cadets will lead the
crowd in singing “God Bless
the USA.”
Those in attendance will be
able to watch the Jumbotron and
remember the events leading up
to the “Red, White & Blue Out”
at the Texas A&M vs. Oklahoma
State game one year ago.
The third deck was adorned in
red T-shirts, the second deck in
white and the first deck in blue.
The idea of the project came
about, and was carried out by
Texas A&M students. The group
of students donated more than
$178,000 to the NYC Police and
Fireman’s relief fund.
The crowd will recognize
and honor two New York City
firemen, Mr. Gersbeck and Mr.
Sanders, from Manhattan
Ladder Company No. 12 who
were at ground zero on Sept. 11.
They will be attending the
game as guests of Dr. & Mrs.
Oral Capps. Dr. Capps is a
Professor of Agricultural
Economics at Texas A&M
University and a former under
graduate student at Virginia Tech.
Dr. & Mrs. Capps were at
ground zero last year on Sept. 11.
Near the conclusion of the
pre-game ceremonies, a fly-!
over by a United States Air
Force B-52 bomber from
Barksdale Air Force Base will;
take place.
The Aggies and the Hokies!
of Virginia Tech will kickoff at
2:30 p.m. central standard time
and the game will be televised
regionally by ABC Sports.
The game will be the first of
four games the Aggies will play
against teams currently ranked
in the top ten this season, with
three of them coming at home.
TRAVi
CONGRATULATIONS!
Join the Celebration at the Clayton W. Williams, Jr. Alumni Center
SEPTEMBER 12TH RING DELIVERY
Tickets distributed throughout the day, beginning at 7:15 a.m.
You must have a numbered ticket to get your Ring.
Festtvities begin AT 2 RM.
Ring distribution starts at 3 p.m. and ends at 6 p.m.
We encourage you to take the Bonfire or
Replant bus routes that stop in front of the building.
Texas Aggie Artist, Benjamin Knox ’90, personalizing the “Historic Aggie Ring”
You must bring your pink receipt and driver’s license
to pick up your Ring. If you do not have your pink receipt,
please bring your student ID and driver’s license.
SPONSORED BY
P The Association
OF FORMER STUDENTS*
tA/b a/&7lte, Aggie, NeftAJonJc/
September 11
TVe stoocf unitecC tfien.
We stand united now.
AGGIE Fall Blood Drive
'September 9 ■ Friday, September 13
Monday - Thursday 10:00 A.M. - 6:00 P.M.
Friday 10:00 A.M. - 2:00 P.M.
Location: MSC - SBISA - Commons
Everyone who registers to give will receive a commemorative T-shirt.
Sponsored by:
Carter
BixddCare
Four Community Not-For-Profit Blood Center