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THE BATTALION
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Sports
The Battalion Page 5 • Friday, February 28, 2003
Aggies head to Arizona for weekend series
No. 16 A&M continues climb in national rankings
By Troy Miller
THE BATTALION
The Texas A&M baseball
team is off to a hot start, and the
nation is taking notice. The
Aggies have climbed as high as
No. 16 in some polls after
beginning the season unranked.
Helping the Aggies (9-2)
climb the national rankings are
the performances of a handful
of newcomers. Among the new
faces is junior transfer Cory
Patton, the 2(X)2 National Junior
College Player of the Year.
Patton is on a streak of his own
as he hit two home runs and
knocked in 10 RBIs during his
Most Valuable Player perform
ance in the Domino’s Pizza
Aggie Classic last weekend.
“I was real anxious and
jumping at the ball and trying to
do too much early (in the sea
son),” Patton said. “We’ve set
tled down and I’ve settled down
now and found a little success.”
In all, the Aggie baseball
team has welcomed 17 new
players to this season’s squad.
Eleven of those are freshmen,
and plenty have seen playing
time. Freshman third baseman
Cliff Pennington has played in
10 of the Aggies’ 11 games and
has a batting average of .333.
Freshman pitcher Robert Ray
threw five shutout innings
against UCLA in A&M’s 3-0
win. It was Ray’s first outing
after having knee surgery.
“I think we’ve got a great
class of freshmen,” Ray said. “It
was good getting out there and
getting some experience.”
Now the newcomers will
travel to Tucson, Ariz. with the
rest of the Aggie team and try to
keep the hot streak alive as they
take on the University of
Arizona (9-4).
Arizona is one of the most
storied programs in the nation,
now playing in its 100th season.
During that time the Wildcats
have reached 14 College World
Series and won three national
championships. The season is
shaping up to be another solid
one for Arizona.
The Wildcats already boast
wins over Big 12 teams such as
No. 8 Baylor and Oklahoma
State. Arizona has won six of its
last seven games.
The Aggies will most cer
tainly see Arizona junior pitch
er Sean Rierson on the mound.
Rierson started the season slow,
but was named the Collegiate
Baseball/Louisville Slugger
National Pitcher of the Week
after he threw a two-hit shutout
against the University of
Califomia-Irvine.
Rierson will be a true test for
new Aggie sluggers such as
Patton and junior transfer Justin
Ruggiano. To have success
against Arizona the Aggies
must see production at the plate
and have production from their
newcomers.
“We played on average four
freshmen a ballgame (at the
Domino’s Pizza Aggie
Classic),” said A&M Head
Coach Mark Johnson. “We’ve
talked about the junior class,
but there are some freshmen
that have really done a good
job. Our junior class is going to
have to help us, but our fresh
men really stepped up.”
Last season the Aggies
swept Arizona in a three-game
series at Olsen Field. In Tucson,
the Aggies have lost five of six
to the Wildcats.
Men’s tennis team to
make West-coast swing
Softball team prepares for tough trip
By Jeff Allen
THE BATTALION
The No. 12 Texas A&M men’s tennis
team has gone off in search of a more ten
nis-friendly climate after the recent cold
snap in College Station. The club, which
has reached its highest national ranking of
the year after defeating then No. 5 Ole
Miss last weekend, is heading to
California this weekend to brush up on its
doubles play at the La Jolla Doubles
Invitational, before moving down the
coast for a dual match against No. 28
Pepperdine in Malibu, Calif.
“This is a great event for us,” said
A&M Head Coach Tim Cass. “It will
allow us to focus on doubles for the next
four days. I think playing Pepperdine
has been great. We have had some great
matches. They are a good non-confer
ence rival and are a perennial top 10 ten
nis team.”
The Aggies, who have struggled this
season in doubles play, have started to
show signs of life. The duo of sopho
mores Lester Cook and Ante Matijevic
have continued their strong play from ear
lier in the season and have worked their
way to a career-high national rank of No.
3 in the latest polls after defeating a top-5
duo from Stanford in the Aggies’ loss last
weekend. Lately they have also been
joined by the upstart duo of senior Ryan
Newport and junior Khaled El Dorry. The
pair has won three straight matches since
being paired together in the number three
slot.
“Number three has come on since we
have been searching for combinations.
They are a good number three team, but
our number two has struggled a bit. We
might have to switch them,” Cass said.
This weekend the Aggies, along with
some of the best teams in the nation,
including No. 3 UCLA, No. 18 USC,
Stanford and Pepperdine, will compete
together without any team scoring taking
place at the La Jolla Doubles Invite. The
event will provide the teams a rare chance
to focus on doubles in the middle of the
season.
“I think it’s a great tournament,” said
Pepperdine Head Coach Adam Steinberg.
“It’s a beautiful place and it’s Spring
Break for us. It’s tlgood opportunity to do
something fun and get some good work
on doubles playing.”
Pepperdine, the Aggies’ opponent
Monday, is coming off of a tough stretch
in its schedule. The Waves have dropped
out of the nation’s top 25 after losing their
last two matches, a position that the pro
gram is unfamiliar with.
“As a young team we’ve been going
through some ups and downs,” Steinberg
said. “But we’ve been getting better with
every match.”
Pepperdine’s roster contains only
two players with previous college expe
rience, and does not include seniors.
The inexperience has caused the team
to face off with struggles that are not
uncommon to such a young squad.
Much like the maturing Aggie team,
they have struggled to get the doubles
point in matches, and have had trouble
at the number three spot.
Monday’s match between the Aggies
and the Waves affords both teams a
chance to solve their doubles woes and
implement lessons learned in La Jolla.
Cass and the Aggies are looking forward
to the chance at revenge after losing to the
Waves at home last season 4-3.
Pepperdine leads the all-time series with
five wins to the Aggies’ two, and despite
having the home court advantage,
Pepperdine still isn’t overly confident.
“We’re comfortable at home,”
Steinberg said. “But we have to approach
every match like the NCAAs, and A&M
is always a challenge. “
The La Jolla Doubles Invitational
begins Friday and runs through Sunday.
The Aggies are set to take on Pepperdine
Monday at 1 p.m.
By Pete Burks
THE BATTALION
After a week of bitterly cold weath
er in College Station, the Aggie softball
team will get a respite from the unfor
giving cold and head to Palo Alto,
Calif, for the Stanford Classic this
weekend. The sunny California skies
will be a welcome change since the
Aggies’ game on Wednesday against
the No. 15 Michigan Wolverines was
cancelled due to bad weather.
However, the break gave the Aggies an
extra day of practice before they head
out to California.
This weekend’s tournament should
provide a challenge for the Aggies, as
they will have to face some of the best
competition they have played all year
in No. 11 Stanford, No. 12 Georgia and
Long Beach State University. Texas
A&M will open the tournament by
squaring off against the Long Beach
State 49ers and the Georgia Bulldogs
on Friday before going toe-to-toe with
the Stanford Cardinal on Saturday.
A&M senior catcher Selena Collins
said a good showing at the tournament
could give the Aggies a morale boost.
“Stanford is a great team,” she said.
“Playing in this tournament will give
us a chance to maintain our confidence.
We’ve been getting under the ball a lot,
but after hitting like we did in the
Aggie Invitational this past weekend, it
will be nice to take that extra bit of con
fidence to California.”
In playing against the 49ers of Long
Beach State (6-5), the Aggies will
compete against a team that they
haven’t seen since the 1996 season.
The 49ers have had a week off and
should be well rested when it steps on
the field on Friday. They are also look
ing to rid themselves of the taste of a
bitter late-inning defeat against the No.
8 Oklahoma Sooners, ending a bid for
an ups^t.
Meanwhile, the No. 12 Georgia
Bulldogs will come into the tourna
ment boasting an 18-1 overall record.
However, only one of Georgia’s games
has been against a ranked opponent.
The Bulldogs are led by junior center
fielder Nicole Barber, who is one of 40
candidates for National Player of the
Year honors.
Georgia Head Coach Lu Harris is in
her third year in Athens, and while the
Bulldogs beat the Aggies 3-1 in the
2000 Fiesta Bowl Tournament, she has
never faced A&M Head Coach Jo
Evans’ squad and is looking forward to
playing A&M.
“I personally have yet to coach
against A&M, but I am excited about
the prospects of playing them,” Harris
said. “It will definitely be a good game.”
Stanford, which will serve as host
for the event, will also be looking to
continue its winning ways after going
2-1 in the NFCA Leadoff Classic in
Columbus, Ga. Stanford is 6-1 at
home this season.
“This will be a great tournament,”
Evans said. “The goal for us is to play
with intensity and bring the success
and confidence we have had of late to
Palo Alto. It will definitely be a good
test for us.”
The tournament begins a long road
trip for the Aggies, who will not return
to play at home until March 22, when
they host No. 3 Nebraska.
Womens basketball to host Lady Bears
By Michael Crow
THE BATTALION
The Texas A&M women’s basketball team will close out
its home schedule on Sunday when the Aggies host the
Baylor Lady Bears. The final game at Reed Arena is one of
only two contests A&M has remaining this season prior to
entering the Big 12 Conference tournament on March 11.
The Aggies (10-15, 3-11 Big 12) enter the game in search
of an elusive conference win. A&M has lost its last three
conference games, the most recent of which came on
Wednesday at home against Oklahoma State University.
The Aggies were pummeled by OSU 68-48, largely due
to A&M’s shooting only 35 percent from the field as a team.
The win was the Cowgirls’ fifth straight at Reed Arena.
Trisha Skibbe led OSU with 26 points and 14 rebounds,
while Thia Willis added 21 points of her own.
“We just couldn’t score and we let them get on a tear,”
said A&M Head Coach Peggie Gillom. “Two players near
ly outscored us by themselves.”
A&M junior Toccara Williams was among three Aggie
players with 10 points. Williams did extend her national lead
in steals in the losing effort, bringing her career total to 335.
Baylor’s Lady Bears boast an overall record of 17-9, but they
have not fared much better than A&M in Big 12 play. All but
one of their nine losses this season have come in conference
action, with the most recent being a 79-57
thrashing by the No. 10-ranked Texas
Longhorns.
Baylor’s troubles against UT came pri
marily in the second half. The Longhorns
exploded out of the locker room, scoring
15 points in the first three minutes of play
after the intermission.
“(Texas’) perimeter game has brought
williams them so much more than they had last
year,” said Baylor Head Coach Kim
Mulkey-Robertson. “Everybody looks to score.”
Baylor has plenty of scoring threats of its own. Steffanie
Blackmon scored 20 points as one of three Lady Bears’ play
ers to post double-digit points against Texas.
Amid frustrating seasons and with the Big 12 tournament
looming, both A&M and Baylor will be looking to improve
their tournament seeding.
Tip-off is set for 3 p.m.
ALISSA HOLLIMON • THE BATTALION
Freshman guard Antoine Wright fights into the lane for a shot between two Iowa
State defenders in the Aggies last home game at Reed Arena on Feb. 19.
Ags look to rebound against No. 3 OU
By Michael Crow
THE BATTALION
When the Texas A&M men’s bas
ketball team hosts No. 3 Oklahoma
University on Saturday, the two teams
will each be in recovery mode.
The Aggies will enter the game
fresh off of a 40-point loss to the
Kansas Jayhawks, which gave A&M its
sixth straight conference road loss. The
Aggies were unable to get anything
going offensively in Kansas, as A&M’s
leading scorer, junior Leandro Garcia-
Morales, finished the game with only
nine points.
Things will not get any easier for
A&M (13-11, 5-8 Big 12), which has
only two home games remaining before
the Big 12 Tournament begins on
March 13. Aggie Head Coach Melvin
Watkins said he realizes how important
it is to finish the season strong at home.
“It is very important,” he said.
“That is something we have said all
year long. You have to defend your
home court.”
The Aggies have done just that so
far this season, posting a 9-3 record at
Reed Arena. The record is A&M’s best
start at home since the 1994-1995 sea
son at G. Rollie White Coliseum.
Much of this early success has come
thanks to senior guard Bernard King
and freshman guard Antoine Wright.
The two are part of an A&M backcourt
that has scored an impressive 53.2
points per game. Wright is an early
candidate for National Freshman of the
Year, leading the Aggies in rebounding,
steals and blocks, and is second only to
King in scoring. King has scored in
double digits in 18 straight games and
has averaged just more than 22 points
in the Aggies’ last four outings.
Oklahoma, a team that beat Kansas
a week ago and pulled into a tie for the
Big 12 Conference lead, went on to
lose convincingly on the road at
Missouri. The Sooners (19-5, 10-3 Big
12) led by one point with 10:40 to go,
but a late Missouri surge from Arthur
Johnson and Ricky Clemons led to the
67-52 Tigers’ victory.
“Missouri played like the game was
more important to them than it was to
us,” said OU Head Coach Kelvin
Sampson. “We have to find a way to
put (the game) behind us.”
If the Sooners are to rebound from
the disappointing loss in Missouri, jun
ior guard Hollis Price will no doubt be
a factor. Price, who averages 3.5 three-
pointers per game led the Sooners with
16 points and had five rebounds in the
loss. Price has a hot hand, as he leads
the nation with a 94.5 percentage from
the free-throw line.
Oklahoma will look to utilize Price
and Quannas White to put quick points
on the board. The Sooners have won an
astounding 48 of their last 50 games
when scoring at least 80 points.
Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m. at
Reed Arena.