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By Kyle Davoust
THE BATTALION
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The Texas A&M men’s cross
lountry team has faced many
Ihallenges this season. It trav-
[led to places such as Cary,
[N.C., and Waterloo, Iowa, to
frepare its team members for
Jieir goal of a top-15 finish at
lie NCAA Championships.
I The Aggies
lill ,get that
J h a n c e
Wonday as
ney return to
Waterloo to
lompete at the
1003 NCAA
den’s and
‘'3 women ’ s
iross Country
hampionships at
Golf Course.
I One opponent
■aven’t had a chance to train for
crais ais season is the cold. Freezing
r eather greeted the team as it
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onditions are not expected to
mprove. Meteorologists are pre-
icting scattered snowstonns for
lie race.
This inclement weather, how-
ver, does not bother the Aggies.
“I don’t think it will be much
If a factor,” said senior Tommy
Bonn. “No one really goes out
nd trains in this type of weath-
Ir, so I don’t think teams from
wider areas really hold much of
n advantage.”
The Aggies earned their sec-
md straight trip to the event with
second-place finish at the
CAA South Central Regional
hampionships last weekend in
C/iapn:«' * ac °. Leading the way once
again for the Aggies was Bonn,
who finished seventh overall.
“We got the job done,” Bonn
said. “We definitely wanted to
come out and challenge
Arkansas, and I think we did
that. The important thing is that
we got the automatic bid with
our second-place finish.”
A&M coach Dave Hartman
said he was pleased with his
team’s effort.
“We ran really smart and
stayed controlled early in the
race,” Hartman said. “Texas and
Stephen F. Austin moved ahead
early, but we were able to come
on strong and overcome them.”
The field consists of the top
31 teams in the nation with No. 1
Stanford as the overwhelming
favorite. The Cardinal, which
has held on to the No. 1 spot all
season, won their eighth-consec
utive NCAA West Regional title
last week, and enters this race
with extreme confidence.
“The guys are used to the
pressure of this race,” Stanford
head coach Andy Gerard told the
Stanford.Daily in Friday’s edi
tion. “We’re the defending
champions, and everything has
worked out well so far this year,
so we don’t feel like we have any
particular thing to worry about.”
Wisconsin and Big 12 cham
pion Colorado are also expected
to compete for the crown.
Team morale is high for
A&M, as it has kept that same
goal of a top-15 finish through
out the season.
“If we put together a great
race, we can get our top-15 fin
ish,” Hartman said. “We just
have to run smart, solid races
and stick together. We have real
ly trained specifically for that.”
Sports
The Battalion Page 5 • Monday, November 24, 2003
Briskie, Rose lead swimmers
JP Beato III • THE BATTALION
Texas A&M sophomore Erin Briskie finished in second place in the women's
200-meter breaststroke finals Sunday at the A&M Fall Invitational.
By Pete Burks
THE BATTALION
In a meet that included six
of the top 30 swim teams in the
country, the Texas A&M men’s
and women’s swim teams
shone throughout the weekend,
setting several season and all-
time bests.
The No. 17 Aggie women’s
team got a stellar performance
from freshman Rebecca Sturdy,
who made four NCAA qualify
ing times. In addition to her
NCAA qualifying times, Sturdy
broke numerous A&M pool
records, and captured the third-
fastest time in the world in the
200-meter individual medley
Friday night.
Undoubtedly, Sturdy’s per
formance made a big impres
sion on A&M women’s coach
Steve Bultman.
“Rebecca Sturdy had an out
standing weekend,” Bultman
said. “She plated first three
times, made four NCAA cuts
and swam really well in her
other events.”
The Aggie women finished
the team portion of the meet in
second place, as No. 11 UCLA
took top honors.
However, Sturdy was not the
only Aggie swimmer to turn in
an exceptional performance.
Sophomore Erin Briskie broke
the A&M 100-meter breaststroke
record with a time of 1:13:44,
while fellow sophomore Alida
DiPlacido qualified for a second
postseason diving event.
As evidenced by the record-
breaking performances this
weekend, Bultman was pleased.
“We’ve been working on
making time improvements,
and we’ve definitely done that
this weekend,” Bultman said.
“We expected a lot of season
bests and lifetime bests, and
that’s been exactly what we’ve
gotten this weekend. Seeing
competition like this in this
meet should help us in confer
ence swimming as the season
goes on.”
Similarly, the No. 13 men’s
team saw some records broken
and great performances of its
own. Senior Matt Rose, origi
nally from Lindsay, Ontario, set
a Canadian record in the 50-
meter freestyle on Friday with a
time of 21.95 seconds in addi
tion to becoming the first male
collegiate swimmer this year to
break the 22 second barrier in
the 50-yard freestyle with a
time of 19.8 seconds.
“I didn’t really know what to
expect coming into the meet,”
Rose said. “I had goals of get
ting close to 19.8 in yards and
going under 22 seconds in
meters. Now I’m going to have
to reset my goals.”
The Aggie men topped No.
23 Florida State and No. 8
Virginia for the team title.
A&M men’s coach Mel
Nash said the story of the week
end was the balance and dedica
tion shown by the men’s team.
“We really showed just how
well balanced we are as a team
this weekend,” Nash said. “In
my 25 years here, this is the
hardest working team I’ve had.”
Aggie men host Golden Lions in season opener
Staff & Wire
THE BATTALION
The Texas A&M men’s bas
ketball team opens its 2003-04
season against the Arkansas-
Fine Bluff Golden Lions
Monday at 7 p.m. at Reed Arena.
The Aggies won both of
their exhibition games, beating
Team ezybonds, 98-82, on Nov.
12 and downing the EA Sports
Midwest All-Stars, 103-98, on
Nov. 17. The Golden Lions are
0-1 after opening their season
with a 63-40 loss to Air Force
on Saturday at the USAF
Academy in Colorado.
“We are all excited about
finally opening our season,”
said A&M coach Melvin
Watkins, who is 3-2 in season
openers and 4-1 in home open
ers at A&M. “The players have
been working hard and I
thought we learned a lot in our
two exhibition games.
“We expect Pine Bluff to
press and try to take us out of
our offense. With their defen
sive traps, we need to be able to
handle the ball well, be patient
and look for the best available
shot,” Watkins said.
Arkansas-Pine Bluff finished
4-24 last season in its first sea
son under coach Van Holt and
finished 10th in the
Southwestern Athletic
Conference with a 4-14 mark.
The Golden Lions are led
by senior guard Chris Parker
(6-5), who averaged 8.0 points
last season but scored only
four points after making just
one of eight shots from the
field against Air Force.
all
n’t
ifficial
-get
ep
• FACULTY/STAFF MEMBERSHIPS—Now has never been a
better time to check out Rec Center memberships. Rec
Sports makes living a healthier life even easier with bank
draft options for membership and locker payments.
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Give the gift of Fun and Fitness this year! It's the perfect gift
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Drive On-Texas A&M Golf Course
• NEW Full Length Driving Range—Enjoy one of the Golf
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Location
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Dec. 7
9a.m.-l 1 p.m. Indoor Soccer Courts
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Dec. 8
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Jan. 11-17
May 16-23
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this winter! Backcountry ski at the St. Paul where the powder
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Colorado, the lodge lies in some of the most beautiful Rocky
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