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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 20, 2004)
SPORTS 3B THE BATTALION Tuesday, January 20, 2004 Aggies begin season with sweep )P BtATO III • THE BATTALION Redshirt freshman Alex Strom returns a volley in a doubles match Monday afternoon. Strom and partner Dash Connell defeated Nik Porter and Oliver Stiel of UT-Pan American, 9-7. A&M beat UT-PA 6-1. By Kyle Davoust THE BATTALION While many students choose to relax on a holiday, members of the Texas A&M men’s tennis team used their day off to complete a tennis version of a marathon by taking on three different teams in a nine- hour period. The No. 9 ranked Aggies solidified their place in the top 10 by dominating Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Texas-Pan American and Trinity on Monday at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center. In fact, they almost played to perfection by winning 19 of the 20 matches played. “It was a really good test physically for the team,” said A&M senior captain Kahled El Dorro. “We expect ourselves to go out there and play as many matches as we’re going to play and compete with them at the same level of intensity whether it is 10 in the morning or 6 p.m.” The Aggies started the day by sweeping A&M-Corpus Christi 7-0. Despite the sweep, it was a hard-fought battle as All- Americans Lester Cook and Ante Matijevic each needed three sets to win their respec tive singles matches. A&M then defeated Texas-Pan American 6-1 before finishing the day with a 6-0 vic tory' over Trinity. No doubles were played against Trinity because the victory was clinched after singles play. It was literally a team effort as the Aggies were led by established All- Americans and newcomers alike. Prominent among the newcomers was Mohamed Dakki, a senior transfer from Western Michigan who finally made his A&M debut. Dakki. who is from Morocco, experienced problems re-obtaining a visa, which kept him from being eligible until last week. “I think all of the team is coming togeth er,” Dakki said. “Everyone understands his job. Either they are playing so they have to take care of business on the court, or they are not playing so they have to cheer for the other guys.” Head Coach Tim Cass is excited about the long-awaited addition of Dakki. “Mohamed is a very, very good player and an accomplished player," Cass said. "He gives us some maturity and some options in our lineup.” While the victories Monday were impressive, the competition will undoubtedly increase this weekend as the Aggies travel to No. 45 ranked Notre Dame on Friday and then face the defending national champion and No. I ranked Illinois on Saturday. El Dorro and the Aggies are not fazed by the competition ahead. “That’s last year. This year they (Illinois) aren’t anything,” El Dorro said. “Obviously they’re a great team and I’m not trying to take anything away from them, but that’s last year and we’re playing this year and we’re looking forward to some thing special.” Cut, Blow-Dry i Foil Highlights ■ with Cut Eyebrow Wax I l and Style $ J^OO l l s 22. 00 Monday or Saturday Bikini I Cap Wax 1 I Highlights $ 82. OO •HP I I I Monday or Saturday only I 4 Eyelash Dye *20. 00 20. oo $40 # o ° Monday or Saturday only^ Monday or Saturday ontyj Please ask for Julie TEXAS A&M PGA GOLF for Business & Life SPONSORED BY JIFF M AG BE RT AND TNI PGA 12 two-hour group lessons Students register NOW January 26th *11 .tlwts ratbtx Ijnmi 70 76 .1 It,. fi« S w, Beginner clinics every lues starting January 77th Intermediate climcs-every Thurs. starting January 29th aai* • full swing ptactiCR • pitching • chipping • bunker play • mental game • history of golf • rules • business application • on-course instruction golf course Instruction provided by PGA professionals at an 8.1 student to teacher ratio Course cost, STS For more information, ploast contact the Pro Shop j| 845.1723. 41ec Private pilot ground school Jan. 26 - March 8 Enrollment is limited Cassidy I Continued from page 1B wish him and his family all of the best," Byrne said. "Know ing the [ people in Nebraska, Tim w ill be welcomed with open arms.” Cassidy first came to A&M in 1983 as a graduate assistant to i Recruiting Coordinator Dan LaGrasta. He was named A&M [recruiting coordinator in 1985. but left to become director of recruiting at the University of Florida in 1987. When R.C. Slocum was hired las A&M’s head football coach in 1989, Cassidy returned to I College Station to once again serve as recruiting coordinator for Slocum. In 1992, Cassidy was promoted to assistant athlet ics director, and in 1994 was named director of football opera tions. In 1995, Cassidy was once again promoted, this time to dissociate athletics director and (director of football operations. “Texas A&M has been very (good to me and my family," (Cassidy said. "The majority of (my adult life has been spent in (College Station and two of our (three children were bom here. (We have been so blessed to have |a wonderful church and we are so (grateful to numerous people in (the community and administra- Ition for their support and friend- Iship through the years." www.AggielandDVD.com All DVD’s $8.50 New Releases! STEVE CARR’S SCHOOL OF CUITAR Learn to play guitar!!! Steve Carr is a recording engineer, producer and musician... and he can teach you! All you need is an ear for music and a guitar. Call today (979) 779-2277 www.righteousrain.com (The Battalion Classified Advertising • Easy • Affordable • Effective For information, call 045-0569 Blair's troops fall short at Nebraska The Nebraska Cornhuskers shot 66.7 percent from the field in the second half to pull away from Texas A&M women’s basketball team, 65- 48 Saturday night in Lincoln, Neb. After leading 24-23 at halftime, the Cornhuskers (13-2, 3-1 Big 12) ripped off an 18-4 run to start the second half, eventually building a lead as high as 23 points. Nebraska was led by senior guard Margaret Richards who scored 13 points and pulled down six rebounds. "In the second half, Nebraska did what a good team playing at home had to do," said A&M coach Gary Blair. "They upped the pressure and hurt us inside." The Aggies (7-8,0-4) were led by sen ior guards Toccara Williams and Janae Derrick who each scored 12 points. The Aggies will next take the court Wednesday night when they face No. 15 Colorado in Boulder. Ags take second at Dallas swim meet The No. 15 Texas A&M men's swim ming and diving team had their best finish ever at the Dallas Morning News Invitational finishing second behind No. 5 Florida, 359-329, and ahead of Southern Methodist University and South Carolina. SPORTS IN BRIEF Junior Alfredo Jacobo won both of his individual events, the 100- yard breaststroke and the 200-yard breaststroke, to lead the Aggies. Overall the Aggies won five events while Florida won 10 of the 18 events. SMU took the other three. A&M senior Matt Rose won the 100- yard backstroke with a time of 48.64. The Aggie team of Scott Newmann, Josh Hill, Dan Blanchard and Rose took first in the 400-yard freestyle. Senior diver Adam Morgan also won the one-meter diving competition. The second place finish is on the heels of a 156-154 loss to Florida in College Station on Thursday. Swim team falls to No. 5 Texas The No. 14 Texas A&M women's swimming and diving team suffered its first dual-meet loss of the sea son to No. 5 Texas, 169-128, at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center. Led by junior Danielle Townsend, the Aggies were able to win six of the 18 events in Austin. Townsend won both the 100 and 200-yard freestyle events. “Danielle had two really outstand ing swims," said A&M coach Steve Bultman. "She swam that 200 right after a close finish in the 400 med ley relay. She came back quickly and swam right at her lifetime best." The Aggie divers also swept both springboard events. Sophomores Rosie Whiting and Alida DiPlacido finished first and second in the one- meter event while DiPlacido won the three-meter dive. The Aggies will travel to Baton Rouge, La., to take on Louisiana State University on Friday. Track and Field opens season with top finishes Texas A&M track and field pulled together an impressive outing Saturday culminating with three first-place finishes at the OU Classic at the Mosier Indoor Track Facility in Norman, Okla. Senior Joe Peschel took the gold in the 60-meter hurdles, posting a time of 8.16 seconds. Freshman Justin Estill clocked a time of 8.35 seconds to finish in second. The men also swept the vertical jump events as sophomore Fabrice Lapierre won the long jump with a leap of 24-8.50, and senior Ellison Collins won the triple jump with a distance of 46-3.50. The women also impressed with freshman Ashley Robbins’ secondlace finish in the high jump and junior Jennifer Johnson's runner-up finish in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.78 seconds. The Aggies will next be in action Friday in Houston. Office of Workforce Education P. O. Box 6030 Bryan. TX 77805 979-209-7205 BLINN COLLEGE /' i r’W.bhnn.edu SPRING BREAK '04 IbV HEfla bo go! 721 Texas Ave. S., College SCaCion (979) 696.5077 exciting things are happening @ www.statnavel.com STA TRAVEL WE'VE BEEN THERE. onune »» on the PHone » on enmpu/ » on the /treet WELCOME BACK AGS!! THE NEW HOME OF $1 DRINKS PRESENTS... A FREE MEAL ON US! HOW, YOU ASK! 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Rip out this coupon Grab a friend Get your #@?/ down to THE NEW HOME OF $ I DRINKS.... 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