3
si
I he BATTai
Sports
The Battalion
Page I B • Thursday, April 3, 2003
oux riding high for A&M equestrian team
By Jeff Allen
THE BATTALION
A rhythm is being beaten into
s kIs of Freeman Arena, a
ttern of movement carefully
out by the hooves of an
that has a mind of its own,
id lits own personality. The
H, traipsing through a small
visible circuit and occasionally
aping over a short, white fence,
diiccted by a young woman.
Sne sits high on the back of
e aiimal, moving with the beat
ayfed out beneath the clad
)0\jes of the large athletic crea-
re, its muscles visibly con-
acting and releasing with each
ep h takes.
“1 he horse has 100 percent
t<>\ • the battai mtrol,” said junior Meredith
main Wednes*.°§ of ,he Texas A&M eques-
»■ i p,* ian| team. I have to learn to
^ , ■ T rP acH it and compromise with it.
'' au cannot force them to do
^■thing — all it will do is
ak4 it more difficult.”
It was early in Houx’s life that
she first discovered her desire to
ride. Not long after her fifth birth
day, Houx and her family moved
into a new home in Albuquerque,
N.M. The house happened to be
located across the street from a
horse bam, and Houx’s parents
took the opportunity to enroll her
in a program teaching her how to
ride. It was then that Houx
began competing and started
down the road that has taken
her to the top of the national
equestrian scene at A&M.
“I started showing horses
when I was eight or nine because
of the bam I started at, and that
was just because that’s what they
(the bam) strove for,” Houx said.
It wasn’t until age 10 that
Houx received her first horse, a
gift from her folks. A few years
later she realized that she
would be able to compete well
at the national level thanks to
some good advice from a per
sonal coach.
“A trainer told me I could do
whatever I wanted to and made
me realize that I had the potential
to do it if only I had the drive,”
Houx said.
It was by the grace of the good
old Aggie network that Houx
found her way to Aggieland. Her
father, a former student, recom
mended that she come to College
Station and visit the campus. At
the time, the equestrian program
was still young, having only been
started in 1999, but the organiza
tion still impressed her.
“ I looked at the school at the
last minute and loved it and
loved the team program here,”
Houx said.
Since becoming an Aggie,
Houx has made significant contri
butions to the growth of the sport
at A&M. In the 2001-02 season
she was the top open flat rider in
the region, but she has really
begun to shine more recently.
Houx became the region’s high-
point rider this season and has
taken a leadership roll on the very
competitive Texas A&M English-
style equestrian team.
‘’During practices it’s like I’m
not the only coach out there,” said
A&M Assistant Coach Pam
Bruemmer. “The team gets to see
what it’s like to be a top rider;
they see what it takes. Those girls
really are role models, in and out
of the arena.”
Houx has become an integral
part of the A&M Equestrian team,
but she has also worked hard to
become a part of the athletic com
munity. Competing on the team
has given her a chance to leam
lessons that would be difficult to
leam while riding on her own.
She will be competing for the
A&M team Saturday at the Zone
7 Championships at New
Mexico State University in Las
Cruces, N.M. Houx has already
qualified to represent Region 2
and A&M at the Intercollegiate
Horse Show Association
National Championships to be
held in May.
Photo Courtesy of Texas A&M Sports Information Department
Meredith Houx completes a jump at the equestrian team's practice
facility. She will compete at the Zone 7 Championships on Saturday.
■Women’s tennis team returns home after extended road schedule
laced on all tr
public compi !§.
>n their approw By Blake Kimzey
nternet use THE BATTALION
allows adults w —
i'cHca to reqito |L r ^ f- irst j n t j me more than a
the filtering Si lon th t he Texas A&M women’s tennis
was establis’ ;am has found out what the A&M
terican Cente' ennis Center looks like during the week,
writers work With a full week of uninterrupted
iterature, re ractice time to prepare for their double-
pression anc eac ^ cr 011 Friday, Head Coach Bobby
1 I ., deinecke said having this much court
, ' ' ' , me to prepare for Sam Houston State
1onor a ^University and Texas Tech is a welcome
ought to safeg rea h j n t h e schedule,
mendment rigt “j’ m extremely excited about getting
f expression i full week of practice in, especially at
he written wwdiis time in the season,” Kleinecke said.
The biggest thing has been our focus all
week long. It seems like this is the first
time since the start of the season that
we’ve had a full week of practice where
you don’t have to worry about traveling
or your schedule.”
Although SHSU is just east of
College Station by 30 or 40 miles, the
Aggies know precious little about the
Bearkats, who hail from the Southland
Conference. With a roster loaded with
four freshman and three sophomore net-
ters, first-year Sam Houston Head
Coach Scott Shankles said this year has
been more about development than their
5-11 record.
“This year we haven’t done as well as
we had last year,” Shankles said. “We’re
a very young and inexperienced team
this year with only freshman and sopho
mores. Our goal has
been to concentrate
more on our doubles
play to make sure we
can compete to win
the doubles point,
which has been a
struggle all year long.”
If anything can be
gleaned from their
schedule, with 14 non-conference
matches against top competition such as
the No. 29 Aggies, SHSU will arrive
ready to play. Predictably enough, the
Bearkats are led by freshman Tara
Shelander, who carries the load for the
Bearkats at No. 1 singles.
When the Aggies square off against
Texas Tech in a doubleheader nightcap,
however, there will be much more at
stake than just interstate pride.
With Big 12 implications on the line,
A&M (11-7, 5-2 Big 12) finds itself
eager to defend its No. 2 spot in the con
ference, while Tech (2-9, 2-6 Big 12) is
loitering near the bottom of the standings
in 10th place and is in need of a victory.
The Lady Red Raiders depend on
their Russian-bom prodigy, junior Irina
Tereschenko, to set the tone in both their
doubles and singles matches.
Tereschenko teams up with senior
Beverly Dawson to form a solid one-two
punch at No. 1 doubles.
“I feel that against Tech the doubles
point is going to be extremely important
because when we last met in the fall tour
nament, we lost two doubles matches
against them,” Kleinecke said. “They are
going to come in with a lot of confi
dence, and we need to establish our
selves there and get the doubles point.”
The Aggies will continue to look to
the No. 38 doubles team in the nation,
juniors Jessica Roland and Roberta
Spencer, to up the ante and flex their
muscles in tandem yet again.
However, the Aggies’ time at home is
nearing its end. Only three games remain
in this lengthy seven-match home stand
that is completed Sunday.
After a week of practice, the A&M
Tennis Center will finally see compet
itive play this Friday as the Aggies
face the Bearkats at noon, followed by
their evening bout against the Red
Raiders at 6 p.m.
Archery/
Equestrian
* Baseball
* Cross Country/
Track
* Swimming/
Diving
* Football
I* Basketball
* Tennis
* Soccer
* Softball
* Volleyball/
Golf
Gel involved!
Volunteer to be
Director!
Pick up an application at our office
located in Suite 12 of The Zone
(main entrance) or download an
application from our website:
www.12thmanfoundation.com/student
Deadline to apply:
Friday, April 11
Please sign up for an interview
time at the front desk when you
return your application
Be involved in Aggie sports
by planning activities for our
members & assisting the
coaches with sporting events.
Questions?
Contact the Student Foundation office at846-8193or
youcane-mailusatstudent@12thmanfoundation.com
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