WOR[
IE BATTALIO
_§ re flects on career, approaches records
Sports
The Battalion
Page I B • Thursday, January 23, 2003
g the possible:
groups to the GJ
•r example, may
nd the Bremeno
could replace
i tours in the
san Diego and
rfolk, Va.
comprising 70-!
-lornet and F-l
reillance, electro:
nd command-,
also includes a
lahawk cruisei
r is part ofabiwt
Persian Gulf. Mo
ere, to be joined!
text few weeks.
v\ ends
sr Bowl crashes
ances of having a falai
Bh are much higherintt*
ftor tho Super Bowl ends
average of seven
lal fatalities and 600 wK
according to a new sM
ast 27 Super Bowls
» risk Increase of a fatil
fter the Super Bowl
all risk 41%
JCOhd
ilcohol | 29%
it hour 7»j
game WMm
risk Increase of »h«
1 region, with numb»f*'M
ms by teams In thatr^
ast 27 Super Bowk
RANDAL FORD • THE BATTALION
M senior guard Bernard King is closing in on the school and conference records in scoring.
By Dallas Shipp
THE BATTALION
When Texas A&M men’s basket
ball head coach Melvin Watkins
arrived in Aggieland in 1998, he
knew he had a daunting task ahead of
him — to revitalize the Aggie basket
ball program at a school where foot
ball is a religion.
Watkins knew the player he need
ed to help make the turnaround was
Bernard King, one of the nation’s top
50 recruits from the small town of
Gibsland, La., which has a popula
tion of around 1,600.
“When we got here, we needed to
upgrade our talent and that was our
first challenge,” Watkins said.
“That's not always easy when you
come into a program that’s been los
ing, but (King) was one of those kids
we were able to convince to come in.”
King said he knew when he came
that it was not going to be easy, but he
wanted to be part of something spe
cial and be one of the key leaders who
turned the program around at A&M.
“I heard A&M was a football
school,” King said. “But I wanted to
come in and help Coach Watkins
improve this program. My goal was to
come in here and be the start of that.”
King’s mother, Vernita King,
thought coming to A&M would be
challenging for Bernard because so
much pressure would be on his shoul
ders to prove himself as a freshman,
but she knew that he was used to prov
ing himself, on and off the court.
“Bernard was a scraggly little
fella,” she said. “When he played
AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) bas
ketball he was overlooked because he
was kind of little, but once he had his
first chance to show what he could
do, everyone was sold on him.”
As an eighth grader. King played
AAU basketball with teammates who
were juniors and seniors in high
school. One day, one of the guards
Bernard
RECORD WATCH:
Points needed
A&M
Big XII
28
80
fouled out and the coach was forced
to play King. As the game came to a
close. King showed what he could do.
“He hit three three-pointers in a row
and we won the game. After that he
never stopped playing,” Vernita said.
He has not stopped playing since,
and his mother has never stopped
watching him play.
Throughout his career at A&M,
King’s mother, who often works
nights, has been to nearly every
home game.
After getting off work at 7 a.m..
See King on page 3B
[rack teams heading to Houston Men’s tennis ready to open season
By Marcus White
THE BATTALION
After an impressive showing
irlierthis week at the Oklahoma
rack Classic, the Texas A&M
en’s and women’s track and
sld teams face tough competi-
as they travel to the Yeoman
1 House to compete in the
ouston Indoor Opener Saturday.
Last week, the Aggies col-
cted eight gold medals and
iw strong perfonnances from a
st of A&M athletes.
The high-flying tandem of
llison Collins and Chad
/alters accounted for two of
?/lggfes’ eight gold medal$.
itting up' dominant showings
the men’s high jump and pole
beast
South
it wins
losses
West
0 wins
losses
95%
29%
elative risk is measured
control group, whictiioft
evious and subsequert
to the game.
s 4ew Encrfand Jocrnal
Jig this
11 of the
to Xno-w
n? Then
shops,
timate
ster to
aing
I Vehicles
aurces available
tis presentation
y to learn about
ampus that can
s, events,
familiar with the
s.
i, 228 MSC
(ractive program
ledge about
ration event.
r Rudder
For Students
ts activities and
iot have enough
istruct students
r attend events.
j expand your
deas.
n, MSC 228
ization
t
of Student Life
) strategies for
it in your
i, 228 MSC
vault respectively.
Also posting an extraordi
nary effort was the entire men’s
3,000 meter run team, which
swept the event’s honors.
The Aggie women also per-
fonned well and accounted for
five gold medals in the high
jump, long jump, pole vault, mile
run and shotput competitions.
Freshman Abby Ruston
placed first in the women’s
shotput to garner her first colle
giate indoor medal. A&M track
and field coach Ted Nelson told
Assistant Media Relations
Director Brad Marquardt that
Ruston is an Aggie newcomer
primed to make an instant con-
,tributiqn. j# ' ' T
Marquafcdf .said Nre^oii
expressed excitement about
shotputter Abby Ruston.
“She was a state champion
in both the shotput and discuss
last spring, and I think she’ll
contribute in the shot immedi
ately during the indoor sea
son,” Marquardt said.
The Aggie men, ranked 15th
nationally among Division 1A
schools, face stiff competition
this weekend against some of
the nation’s best track and field
teams, including No. 7 Texas
Christian University.
The Horned Frogs earned an
impressive six provisional
marks this past weekend at the
Oklahoma Indoor Classic in
Norman.
'8 14011?. \
See Track on page 3B
By Jeff Allen
THE BATTALION
It will be deja vu for the No. 13 Texas A&M
men’s tennis team when it takes to the court at
the A&M Tennis Center Saturday morning. The
Aggies are set to start the team portion of the
2003 season against Texas A&M Corpus
Christi, Texas Pan-American and Trinity
University.
The day-long triple header is reminiscent of
a scene that took place a day short of a year ago,
when the Aggies took the court to kick off the
2002 season in style by sweeping the three
schools in 21 straight sets.
“I think it was a great way to start off the
year,” said assistant coach Shuon Madden.
”(It’s good to) get a few matches under our
belt. Basically all Division 1 tennis teams are
competitive, so it’s not anything we can look
past, but I look forward to the weekend in that
we should be able to build a little confidence
after the matches.”
This year the Aggie men are hoping to
duplicate some of the success that they earned
last season.
With four out of six starters returning from last
year’s team, the men will look to build from a
solid showing last year, in which they finished No.
16 in the nation, earning a third consecutive Sweet
16 finish at the NCAA tournament.
After winning the Big 12 in 2001 with a per
fect conference record, the Aggies slipped to
third in 2002, suffering two conference losses.
The Aggies lost to Texas before losing at home to
eventual Big 12 champion Baylor University.
“One of our main priorities is always to win
the Big 12,” Madden said. “It is a very competi
tive conference so there is really no team you can
look past. Baylor. Texas, Tech, and Colorado
See Tennis on page 3B
Earn I AMU Credit ♦ Study Abroad
in the Tropical Caribbean
SS I - 2003
□2+-ai i=:=:= -
;m=i i
texaJ UNiN/feRisry Stud/ aproap Wants you to
qo awM
• qLOBAL OPPORTUNITIES IN CA/lER 43 COUNTRIES
• OS/ER $300,000 IN SCHOLARSHIPS A^AILAPLE
ENHANCE yOUR JOB OPPORTUNITIES IN TODAY’S QLOBAJL WRKET
LEARN /AORE AT STUD/ J^ROAP IOI, 8 DATES & TIA\ES IN JAN/FEB
• LIFTED SPACE AVAILABLE, ARPL/ ONLINE TODty\
STUDyAIBROAPTAMU.EDU
Summer
European
Academy II
Summer Session I 2003
Courses Offered
o POLS 306 Contemporary Issues: The
Evolution of the European Union and the
Foundations of the New Europe. From the
Declaration of Europe to Euro (3 hrs)
o POLS 489 Special Topics: Policy,
Democracy and the Evolution of the
European Union (3 hrs)
studyabroad.tamu.edu
$Wy Environmental Design in the United
Kingdom Summer 2003!
• Explore the United Kingdom, from St. Paul’s Cathedral to quaint "flats” in England,
from neighborhood pubs to Edinburgh Castle in Scotland - you’ll have the opportunity
to sketch, diagram and photograph your way through design history.
• Earn TAMU credit!
•All Majors Welcome!
♦Courses Offered:
0 CARC 335 Field Studies In Interdisciplinary Design Theory
o CARC 311 Field Studies in Design Communication
o CARC 321 Field Studies in Design Technology
0 CARC 331 Field Studies in Design Philosophy
http://studvabroad.tamu.edu
South Africa
Study Abroad in one of the most diverse c5 attractive tourist destinations in Africa!
M
Informational Meetings
Fri, Jan. 24, 3:00 pm
Mon, Jan. 27, 5:15 pm
Wed, Jan. 29, 5:15 pm
Animal Industries Bldg.
Annex, XNIN 103-A
Open to all Majors - Limited Spaces Available!
/W
Join Dr. Urs Kreuter as he takes you from the
Kreuger National Park, to Lake St. Lucia, to Pietermaritzburg,
all while earning 6 hours TAMU credit in RLEM and RENR!
Study Abroad Office ~ 845-0544 ~ http://studyabroad.tamu.edu
James Earl Rudder Normandy Program
Study WWIf and European Politics in France
and Germany Summer II, 2003
Courses:
HIST 489 World War II, at Home and Abroad
POLS 306 European Democracies Since WW II
Study Abroad Programs Office
First floor Bizzell Hall West 845-0544
studvabroad.tamu.edu