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The Battalion
Page 7 • Wednesday, April 9, 2003
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By Pete Burks
THE BATTALION
When Texas A&M senior
catcher Selena Collins first
stepped onto the playing field as
a 4-year-old in Phoenix, Ariz.,
she was likely unfamiliar with
the far-off town of College
Station. The term “ACL” was
probably as foreign to her as the
2003 USA Softball Collegiate
Player of the Year Award was.
All Collins cared about was get
ting onto the field, playing hard
and winning.
Eighteen years later, Collins
has learned very well the signif
icance of all of these terms.
However, her approach to the
game remains the same as when
she first laced up her cleats. For
Collins, playing the game is not
about accolades or statistics; it
is simply about competing to
the best of her ability with the
ultimate goal of helping the
team win.
Growing up as one of three
kids in a tight-knit family,
Collins learned from an early age
what it meant to compete. Her
mother and father, James and
Debbie Collins, participated in
major collegiate athletics. James
Collins played football and
Debbie Collins played tennis,
each for the University of
Northern Arizona. In addition,
Collins' siblings were both ath
letes. Needless to say, Collins’
family was the perfect catalyst to
give her a thirst for competition.
“Selena has always been com
petitive, even in elementary
school,” James Collins said. “She
did well in every sport, and she
even beat the boys her age.
Whether it was volleyball, soft-
ball or basketball, she was com
petitive at every level. We began
early on to work with her to kin
dle her competitive energy in
order to form her into a leader.
Overall, one thing is for sure: she
hates to lose.”
As Collins got older and
entered high school, her compet
itiveness began to yield results.
At Deer Valley High School,
Collins invested her time heavily
into volleyball, basketball and
softball, lettering all four years in
each sport. However, in her soph
omore year of volleyball,
Collins’ competitiveness and
drive were tested, when she tore
the ACL ligament in her knee.
No. 18 Texas A&M
vs
No. 5 Texas
McCombs Field, Austin, Texas 6:30 pm
After a lengthy rehabilitation.
Collins was ready to play again.
As her senior year approached,
Collins began thinking of where
she would be spending her years
as an undergraduate after decid
ing she wanted to play softball in
college. Collins was gaining
interest from teams such as Texas
Tech and UNLV in addition to
A&M. But, as signing day
approached, fate took another
strange twist. In the midst of
another successful, year in bas
ketball, Selena tore her ACL
again, this time in her other knee.
At this point, many other
college coaches might have
abandoned her, but A&M Head
Coach Jo Evans did no such
thing. Upon visiting A&M, one
of the things Collins liked the
most was the family atmosphere
that she found in and amongst
her future teammates and
coaches. Evans’s continued
commitment to Collins only
proved that the family atmos
phere she saw was not a facade.
“By the time I had torn my
second ACL, 1 had already com
See Collins on page 9
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Burk plans to appeal Augusta protest ruling
By Paul Newberry
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Martha
Burk criticized a judge who barred
her group from protesting at the
front gate of Augusta National,
saying Tuesday that “party revel
ers are taking precedence over
legitimate protesters.”
Burk, who wants Augusta
National Golf Club to admit its first
I female member, plans to appeal two
â–  separate rulings by U.S. District
iJudge Dudley H. Bowen Jr.
I “I think it’s clear they acted in the
best interests of the city and the club
rather than the best interests of the
First Amendment,” Burk said in a
telephone interview.
Burk, working with the Georgia
chapter of the ACLU, will ask a
three-judge panel of the 11th
Circuit Court of Appeals to over
turn Bowen’s rulings before her
scheduled Masters protest.
Time is drawing short. The tour
nament begins Thursday, and Burk’s
group is planning to protest during
the third round Saturday.
“I'm a little surprised,” Burk said.
“I didn’t think they would be so bla
tant acting in the club's interest and
not the public interest.”
Burk wants to protest outside
the main entrance of the club,
believing that would give her cause
maximum exposure. But the sher
iff, citing safety concerns, said her
group will be restricted to a site
about a half-mile away.
City attorney Jim Wall praised the
rulings.
“Certainly we are pleased the
court upheld the validity of the ordi
nance and the validity of decisions
the sheriff made as far as public safe
ty issues,” Wall said.
Sheriff Ronald Strength, who has
broad authority over public protests.
said there’s too much traffic in front
of the club during the tournament to
ensure safe protests.
Strength told Burk and other
groups they must gather at a 5.1-acre
site - nearly a half-mile from the gate.
A group headed by the Rev. Jesse
Jackson also has been approved for a
second site even further away from
the club’s main entrance.
The judge called the area outside
Augusta National “profoundly con
gested” during the Masters and said
allowing protesters to congregate
outside the gate presents;“a realistic,
plausible, even probable potential for
some accidental injury.”
SPORTS IN BRIEF
Aggies shutout by No. 1 Rice
After a successful weekend against Oklahoma, the
No. 17 Texas A&M baseball team was unable to
maintain its momentum against the No. 1 Rice
University Owls.
The Aggies (26-11, 7-5 Big 12) fell to the Owls
(33-1, 12-0 WAC), 8-0. Rice quickly jumped out to a
two-run lead in the bottom of the first inning and
remained effective offensively.
Rice sophomore Wade Townsend (5-0) struck
out 10 and allowed only three hits through 8
innings pitched for the win.
With the victory, Rice extended its national-best
winning streak to 30 games.
The Aggies return to action on Friday when they
travel to Manhattan, Kan., for a three-game series
with Kansas State University. Friday's game is
scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.
,
Display Cast
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are interested in
for the position of
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