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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 8, 2003)
11 Sports The Battalion Page I B • Monday, December 8, 20031 Ags heading to Sweet 16 No. 1 USC up next for Aggies By Jeff Allen THE BATTALION JP Beato III • THE BATTALION je: .> B A&M guard Mindy Garrison tries to pass past UNT's Jill Medlock torhiy land Kennethia Wilson during the Aggies' 72-62 win Saturday. mess® lenor c . “Mv &M ousts UNT •Vhile h:\ By True Brown THE BATTALION StB I [certainly wasn’t pretty, but EiTexas A&M women’s bas- lall team fought through a [on-high 22 turnovers and an jt-minute scoring drought in [irst half to post a 72-62 win iti the University of North Is Saturday. (he win was the third straight jp Aggies (4-2), but first-year coach Gary Blair was dis- linted with the Aggies’ play. pleased with the score, itl’m not really pleased with ftjwe played that game,” Blair guess when you start inning, you get greedy and iM expecting a little bit too ill because that was not one ur better ballgames.” the Aggies jumped to a 19-5 lead in the first eight minutes, but A&M missed its next eight field goals and five free throws. The Mean Green (3-3) took advan tage and cut the Aggies’ lead to 19-17 during A&M’s seven- minute, 43-second drought. “(That was) poor execution, the inability to finish transition baskets, the inability to get an offensive rebound and putback due to our size,” Blair said. “We’ve been having scoring droughts all year, but we’ve been having defensive streaks where we’ve held them.” While the Aggies struggled with turnovers, their full-court press defense forced 31 UNT turnovers, the most by an A&M opponent this season. The Aggies turned the Mean Green’s The road to the Sweet 16 wasn’t too far out of the Aggies’ way this year. The women were able to thumb a ride from their own doorstep at G. Rollie White Coliseum, in front of two boisterous home crowds, advancing past Nicholls State and the University of Wisconsin in the 2003 NCAA Volleyball Tournament. The win marks the fourth time under A&M coach Laurie Corbelli that the Aggies have advanced as far as the Sweet 16, and it is part of an impressive run of 11 straight NCAA tournament appearances for the Aggies, dating back to the 1993 season, Corbelli’s first year. The win places the Aggies face-to-face with defending national champion University of Southern California, owner of a 43-match win streak and a spotless 31-0 season record, next Friday in Lincoln, Neb. “1 love it, I feel like it’s the kind of match I love to coach and the players love to play,” Corbelli said. “They are a great team and we’re familiar with them. They think they are familiar with us, but we were a very dif ferent team back in August. We’re going to go for it, what a great story it could be for the Aggies.” In the midst of the first game Friday night against Nicholls State, it started to look like the only way that Aggies were going to advance was to walk out to Highway 6, and thumb a literal ride instead of just a figura tive one. The Lady Colonels (18-15), champions of the Southland Conference tournament, came into G. Rollie with little to lose and a lot to gain. They showed that they were not intim idated right off the bat, matching the Aggies point for point throughout the entire match THE BATTALION JP Beato I Texas A&M's' Christ! Hahn and Carol Price celebrate after knocking off the University of Wisconsin in three games Saturday night in G. Rollie White Coliseum to advance to the Sweet 16. and putting a few jitters in the home crowd. “I actually don’t think that their crowd affected us,” said Nicholls State senior Carley Carter. “We’ve seen some tough crowds ... so that didn’t have a big effect, we kind of like playing in front of a big crowd.” The Aggies weathered the early flourish, however, and took the, game 30-28, stymieing a quick run at the end. They went on to take the second game 30-24 with less drama, but were pushed to the limit in the third, winning just 31 -29. “We’re really excited to get this win behind us,” Corbelli said. “They had some really nice attackers who didn’t make a lot of errors. We came out a little over stimulated. See Sweet 16 on page 4B were otf oi> Sec ev College Football Bowl Challeoge One test you won t want to miss. mWm^ou nee%to know about recreation recsoorts.Lifflu.edu ’mm ' TUDENT REC CENTER Services 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. NEED HOLIDAY GIFT IDEAS?—It 's never too early to start your holiday shopping with Rec Sports Gift Certificates. Give the gift of Fun and Fitness this year, it's the perfect gift for every one! Massage therapy, aerobics, outdoor gear, personal training, outdoor trips, and more! Visit Member Services for more information. ightning Prediction Test-Tuesday not^l pick [Rec Sports will test their lightning prediction system around 12:30 p.m. at the Rec Center, Penberthy 1M Sports Center |and the Texas A&M Golf Course. For info on this system please pick up a flyer in the lobby of the Rec Center. Liuve On-Texas A&M Golf Course • NEW Full Length Driving Range—Enjoy one of the Golf Course's newest additions, the full length driving range. Practice your swing, warm up before a round of 18 holes or just work up a sweat on a cool and breezy Texas night. * Students:—Golf memberships are now available as a fee option. Don't forget to sign up when you register this month! Open to the public! We are located on the south side of the A&M campus. Call the Pro Snop at 845-1723 & visit us online at http://recsports.tamu.edu. Break a Sweat with Rec Fitness PRE EXAM JAM CARDIO FOR A CURE!—Have YOU expe rienced the fun of being RecFit? Don't miss the most exciting workout before finals on Wed. Dec 10th, 6-7:30pm in the archery room and room 134. Donations accepted for American Cancer Society. EXERCISE FORA CURE1—Now you can workout for a good cause this holiday season! Don't be left out on Tuesday, Dec 9th. Proceeds benefit the American Cancer Society through Zeta Tau Alpha Society. REC WALKERS 2004—Walk Monday through Friday dur ing lunch with Personal Trainers and Fitness Instructors from the Rec! Sign up at Member Services from Jan 20-Nov.6 Call 845-7826 or go to recsports.tamu.edu for more information. TRIATHLON TRAINING—Swim, bike and run Tuesday and Thursday afternoons from 2:30-4:00pm and Sunday evenings for 8 weeks! Training Begins in February, 2004. INSTRUCTORS NEEDED—Anyone interested in teaching craft and leisure activities for the Rec in Spring 2004 may submit a resume and class description to Paula Opal, room 227 Rec Center or popal@rec.tamu.edu. For more information, call 845-3076. INTERIM AEROBICS—Schedule begins Dec 11th. Noon and 5:30pm classes each day until graduation Dec 19th. FALL IMs, Have You Signed Up? The following IM sports OPEN for registration TODAY, Dec. 8! College Football Bowl Challenge FREE Go AH Out with TAMU Outdoors Break Trips Registration Event Date Ski Colorado NOW-Dec. 10 Jan. 11-17 Costa Rica Adventure NOW-April May 16-23 Ski Colorado Winter Break Trip—Last minute spots available through Dec 10! Make the best of your Winter Break! Visit TAMU Outdoors for more Info. Climbing for a Cure—Join Rec Sports, the Aggie Cancer Society and the A&M community in the fight against cancer for the final Wall Climbing competition of the 2003 season on Wednesday, December 10th at 7:00 pm. All proceeds from the event will benefit the American Cancer Society. Register at the Rock Wall Desk starting at 6:00 p.m. PROFESSIONAL POSITION apply now Mechanical Equipment Foreman—Duties include repairing servic es to mechanical systems, performing programmed maintenance on facility equipment, and performing wide assortment of facility repairs. For more info and to apply visit tamujobs.tamu.edu, NOV#040343. Texas A&M University is committed to equal employment opportunity through affirmative action. WALK OF CHAMPIONS leave your mark Aggies, buy your Walk of Champions brick for a reduced price. Visit http://recsports.tamu.edu for more information and an order form. Leave your mark on the A&M campus. recsports, tom. et/u