Page IB • Thursday, January 29, 2004
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By Jon Gilbert
THE BATTALION
I After winning the 2(X)3 Big 12
lonference championship, com-
leting in four consecutive NCAA
tournaments, and compiling a
1 50-68 record since 1995, the
I exas A&M women’s tennis
l:am has gained a lofty status.
I And with the territory comes
h gh expectations.
I A&M’s Intercollegiate
I ennis Association No. 25 pre
season ranking is the second-
highest of any Big 12 team
lehindNo. 17 Texas.
I The Aggies begin their quest
II repeat as Big 12 champions
is weekend as they travel to
exington, Ky., for three match-
A&M takes on No. 13
entucky on Friday at 1 p.m.
Dllowed by Maryland on
laturday and No. 9 Duke on
I unday.
I "The competition will be
t mgh, just as tough as we’ll see
lie rest of the season,” said
li&M assistant coach Alii
■ars
ninisi
>n
Ojeda. “Our goal is to be in the
top 10 and we have a chance to
get a real good win.”
Senior Jessica Roland
agrees that the competition will
be tough this weekend.
“Kentucky is top-15 and
Duke is top-10,” Roland said.
“It will be competitive.”
The Aggies are led by
Roland, ranked No. 26 in the
nation in singles, who is coming
off a year w here she went 25-14
overall, 19-8 in team matches,
and competed individually in
the NCAA Championship.
Roland also participated in dou
bles with junior Helga Vieira in
the NCAA Championship.
“We’re really focused on
this season,” Roland said.
“This team is on its way up.
What we’ve achieved is the
best I’ve seen.”
Other key returnees from
last year's championship team
include senior Roberta
Spencer, junior Lauren Walker
and sophomore Nicki Mechem.
Last year Mechem had an
|P Blato III • THE BATTALION
Senior Roberta Spencer returns a serve during a match against Texas A&M-
Corpus Christi during the 2003 season.
impressive 30-9 overall record.
A&M’s first home match is
Feb. 14 against Rice University,
w ith the conference season begin
ning on Feb. 27 when Iowa State
visits. Other significant matches
include a visit to Waco on April 8
to take on Baylor and an April 20
See Tennis on page 3B
overt
A&M men renew rivalry with SMU
By Jordan Meserole
THE BATTALION
Old rivalries will be renewed this
[Saturday when the No. 14 Texas A&M
[men’s swimming and diving team faces
[Southern Methodist University in Dallas.
The Mustangs (3-0) and Aggies (7-1)
[have been facing off against each other
[since 1933, the first year A&M had a full
[varsity swimming team. Similar to the
outcome of that first meet, a 48-44 w in for
the Aggies, many of the meets between
the two have been nail biters. A&M head
coach Mel Nash feels that this year will
be no different.
“They have a performer in every event
that could beat us,” Nash said. “Every sin
gle event is going to be a toss-up.”
The Aggie men look to remain undefeat
ed on the road this weekend, while the
unranked Mustangs hope to keep their
undefeated record intact.
SMU holds 18 more wins in the series
against the Aggies, but A&M has been
gaining ground recently, going 4-1 over the
past five years.
SMU head coach Eddie Sinnott recog
nizes A&M’s power in the pool but said he
isn’t too concerned about it.
“Right now. is A&M a better team than
See Swimming on page 3B
SPORTS IN BRIEF
Aggie women
drop seventh
straight game
The Texas A&M women’s
basketball team dropped its
third straight game to a top-15
opponent when it lost to No. 7
Texas Tech 65-56 Wednesday
night in Lubbock.
The Aggies (7-11, 0-7 Big
12) never allowed more than a
10-point margin in the second
half after being down 30-29 at
the break.
The Red Raiders (18-2, 4-2)
were led by forward Cisti
Greenwalfs double-double.
Greenwalt had 19 points and
11 rebounds.
A&M senior point guard
Toccara Williams had another
outstanding game as she
scored 16 points and dished
out six assists.
Senior forward Lynn Classen
added another 16 points while
pulling down nine rebounds.
The Aggies face Iowa State
Saturday at 7 p.m. at Reed
Arena.
Aggie men lose
another close game
The Texas A&M men’s bas
ketball team continues to fall
just short as it lost to Iowa
State, 89-82, Wednesday night
at Hilton Coliseum in Ames,
Iowa.
After holding a 36-33 lead at
halftime, the Aggies (7-9, 0-5
Big 12) quickly relinquished
the lead in front of a raucous
Cyclone crowd.The Cyclones
opened the half on an 11-2 run
over the first 6:31.
Iowa State (12-4, 3-2) had
three scorers with more than
20 points, led by freshman
guard Will Blalock's 22. Senior
guard Jake Sullivan and junior
center Jared Homan both
added 20 points. Homan also
pulled down 10 rebounds and
contributed seven blocks to the
Cyclone effort.
Aggie forward Jesse King
came back from a nagging foot
injury to give a dominating per
formance. King led the Aggies
with 21 points and 11
rebounds in 29 minutes of play.
Sophomore guard/forward
Antoine Wright added 17
points. Freshman point guard
Acie Law IV had his second
straight impressive game as
he poured in 13 points and
dished out two assists in only
19 minutes of play.
Iowa State set a Big 12
record for free throw attempts
with 53 in the game. The
Cyclones hit 28 of 42 free
throws in the second half due
to 25 Aggie fouls in the half.
Iowa State hit 21 of 28 free
throws in the last four minutes
of the game to seal the win.
A&M will return home to face
No. 18 Texas Saturday at
12:30 p.m. at Reed Arena.
Basketball yell
practice set for
Friday afternoon
The Texas A&M yell leaders
will hold a yell practice for both
of A&M's basketball teams that
will take place at 12:30 p.m.
Friday at Rudder Fountain.
A&M men’s basketball head
coach Melvin Watkins and
A&M women’s head coach
Gary Blair are scheduled to
attend along with various play
ers from both teams.
The Aggie men play No. 18
Texas on Saturday at 12:30
p.m. followed by the women,
who play Iowa State at 7 p.m.