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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 25, 2002)
u com °t evenj; | it. an 100| ng sires \ andeas i to elatn .•eprodK tier. Soij; ■ | todo» ^ !iine ; v | PuiCII!l;i}| ' adve^ | Jl stresi ' is offs ■ofs ’nist ka Sports The Battalion Page 5 • Monday, November 25, 2002 ■I Soccer team reaches Elite Eight ■ W H . 1 ■ JOHN C. LIVAS • THE BATTALION jl&M sophomore Emma Smith fights for possession in the Aggies' match Igainst SMU. A&M advanced and defeated UCLA on Saturday. By Troy Miller THE BATTALION A star was born on Saturday night. Aggie freshman goalkeeper Kati Jo Spisak stuffed three penalty kicks to put the No. 4 Texas A&M women’s soccer team (20-4-1) into the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals for the second consecutive season. Spisak made 10 saves in the match to keep the Aggies national championship hopes alive in a 3-1 penalty kick shootout victory over No. 3 UCLA (18-4-0). “Kati Jo won the game for us tonight,” said A&M head coach G. Guerrieri. “She is quickly emerging as one of the best kept secrets in college soccer.” After regulation ended, A&M and UCLA played two scoreless overtime periods. Despite out-shooting the Aggies 21-0 in 110 minutes of play, UCLA could not solve Spisak. Midway through the second half, UCLA sophomore forward Kim Devine hit a wide-open shot from the top of the six-yard box. Spisak stuffed Devine’s shot, then dove from her knees to deflect the rebound shot by Bruin freshman mid fielder Stacey Lindstrom from point- blank range. “What’s ringing in my ears right now is what (G. Guerrieri) said to me right after the match which was ‘life isn’t fair,’” said UCLA head coach Jillian Ellis. “He felt that we outclassed their team and dominated the game. We just didn’t finish our chances.” In the penalty kick shootout, UCLA junior Whitney Jones beat Spisak to the left corner to put the Bruins up 1 -0. UCLA never saw the lead again. Aggie sophomore Amanda Burke tied the score at 1-1 when she beat UCLA keeper Sarah Lombardo. After Spisak saved a shot by UCLA freshman forward Iris Mora, Aggie senior Heather Ragsdale put the Aggies up for good by shooting past Lombardo for the 2-1 lead. After Spisak saved another shot by Bruin midfielder Allie True, Aggie fresh man Laura Probst put the pressure on UCLA by giving the Aggies a 3-1 lead by beating Lombardo. UCLA defender Nandi Pryce missed wide left on the next shot to give the Aggies the win. Now the Aggies have a date with peren nial powerhouse North Carolina in their second consecutive Elite Eight appearance. One season ago, the Aggies beat Stanford 1-0 in Palo Alto, Calif, to earn their first ever trip to the NCAA quarter finals. Despite being out-shot 21-0, A&M once again has made it to the round of eight. “UCLA is such an unbelievably talent ed team,” Guerrieri said. “We came here to get a result tonight and style points were not a part of it. It’s unfortunate that a team can take no shots and still win.” Maybe it’s not fair, but the Aggies still found a way to advance. Now they must avenge a 4-1 defeat at the hands of the North Carolina Tar Heels earlier this sea son if they want to reach their first ever Final Four. North Carolina has won 16 national championships in its program’s history. “Tonight was about making the next step toward a national championship,” Guerrieri said. ggies win opener despite slow start By Dallas Shipp THE BATTALION The Aggie basketball team opened the E002-2003 regular season Sunday night with a sloppy offensive performance, but came away vith a 70-55 win over Texas Southern. The Aggies rebounded from their loss to the EA Sports All-Stars in their final exhibition game last week. Following the Aggies’ poor defensive i showing against EA Sports, A&M head poach Melvin Watkins said defense would be all the Aggies worked on in practice. That defense is what saved the Aggies Sunday. “Defensively we played very well tonight,” paid A&M senior guard Bernard King. “We |really picked it up, and that’s a good sign.” The Aggie defense kept Texas Southern off jbalance all night and kept them from penetrating the basket. The Tigers shot just 25 percent from the field in the first half, making six of 24 shots. “We shot the ball very poorly,” said Texas Southern head coach Ronnie Courtney. “We won’t win many ballgames if we do that.” TSU guard Ra’Kim Hollis said the Aggies’ defense played a big part in the frus tration of the Tigers’ offensive game. “We are known for taking it to the hole,” Hollis said. “We don’t normally shoot jumpers, we just take the ball to the hole. They took a lot of charges (and) once they did that we had to adjust. Once we adjusted, (the shots) just weren't falling.” Hollis led the Tigers with 20 points, 17 of which came in the second half after he was forced to sit out much of the first half with three fouls. “He kept trying to get me to put him back in,” Courtney said. “He wanted to show that he could play at this level. He settled down in the second half and started making his shots.” However, the Aggies failed to find their groove offensively, especially in the first half. In the first 20 minutes of play made just 12 of 31 shots from the field for a 38.7 field goal percentage. The Aggies were led by senior guard Bernard King who scored 19 points and played much of the second half with four fouls. King said that despite the win, he still isn’t pleased with the Aggies’ performance. “It feels good to get the win, but I still don’t feel we played (well) tonight,” King said. “We only won by 15, I think we should have won by 30. We’ve got this game behind us and now we have to go face Miami and that’s a very good team. If we play on offense like we did tonight it’s going to be a long night for us.” BRIAN RUFF • THE BATTALION TSU forward Lionel Willis drives against A&M forward Tomas Ress DISCOUNTS Fitness & Classes - DON'T LET THOSE HOLIDAY POUNDS SNEAK UP ON YOU! Stay in shape with the motivaton of a Personal Trainer. On Y 0 ^ own or with a friend, it's the best way to stay fit and trim. Visit the Member Services Desk for more information. • DO YOUR HOLIDAY SHOPPING EARLY—Buy Rec Sports Gift Certificates. Available for massage, personal training, group aer obics, climbing/equipment and outdoor trips. Get yours today at the Member Services Desk. • FREE—^Thanksgiving Saturday NOON Workout at the Rec. Beat the holiday slump and pump! • THANKSGIVING FITNESS CLASS SCHEDULE: Wed, Nov. 27 Cardio Party in 301 last class® 1 1:45 p.m. Sat, Nov. 30 FREE Cardio Party in 301 1 2:00 p.m. NO classes Thursday or Friday!! Sunday, Dec. 1, Classes resume as normal • CARDIO with CARE—Bring your coats and cans to benefit those in need during the holidays. Pick your favorite workout or try a new one. It's all free just bring a coat or a canned good and join in on the fun. Free t-shirt to the first 200 participants. Dec. 1 1 ® 6:00 p.m. Intramurals Intramural participants please remember that registration ends at 6:00 p.m. Please visit the Member Services Desk to sign up for your favorite Intramural sport. Program Registration Price College Football Bowl Challenge Dec. 9-17 FREE A Great Deal @ the Golf Course LOOKING FOR A GREAT DEAL? Don't miss the Golf Course coupon in the Battalion on Tuesday's and Thursday's. Bring it in and pay the twilight rate early. DON'T MISS OUT! • It's a great time to play! So many changes are under way at your A&M Golf course—paved cart paths, full practice facilities, improved course conditions. Student and twilight rates available, along with a full line of golfing apparel in the Pro Shop. OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. Call 845-1 723 for tee times. Join us in the Great Outdoors J Walk of Champions 69gies get your discounted Walk of Champions brick for v'yyes get your aiscounreu wumv r - $100 before you leave Aggieland. For more information on ordering your personalized brick, visit our web site at http://recsports. tamu.edu. Order forms are ava.labl holidays are cominq fast-Walk of Champions bricks idays are coming fantastic gifts ilable. The make Program Registration Event Date Bouldering Extravaganza Nov. 4-Dec. 7 Dec. 7 • One-day bouldering competition for local fanatics. Don't miss out on tne fun! $1 0 guarantees your spot in the competition, an event t-shirt and your name in the drawing for door prizes. Rec Center Rock Wall—Now is the time to renew your Rock Wall pass. Classes are held at 3:00 p.m. and at 7:00 p.m. Monday—Thursday and at 3:00 p.m. on Friday for only $5. Student Rec Center etc CONGRATULATIONS TO THE FOLLOWING OFFICIALS: Michael Mazzella Dan Marek Brett Mouser Joshua Rodriguez These officials were selected to attend and participate in the Black Warrior Regional Flag Football tournament, Nov. 15—17 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. 1 Division of Student Affairs Information Center—Located in the lobby of the Student Rec Center, visitors can obtain information about the departments within the Division. Brochures are avail able. The Information Center hours are Sun.—Thurs., 3:00-9:00p.m. & Friday, 3:00—7:00p.m. > JOIN THE STUDENT REC CENTER STAFF—Now accepting applications for facility receptionists/attendants. Apply in Office 202 of the Rec Center. Interviews will take place Dec.2—Dec 4. » Rec Sports Medics—Medics needed to work the Department's facilities. Apply in room 158 or call 862-4145 for information. ► THANKSGIVING HOURS Rec Center Read Nov. 26 6:00a.m.-midnight closed Nov. 27 6:00a.m.—9:00p.m. closed Nov. 28 closed closed Nov. 29 3:00p.m.—8:00p.m. closed Nov. 30 noon—9:00p.m. closed Dec. 1 noon—midnight closed reesflorts. frm. eefi/