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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 4, 2004)
Sports The Battalion Page 4 • Wednesday, February 4,20fi Aggie softball opens season By Ryan Irby THE BATTALION Spring in College Station means more than just Ring Dance and Final Review; it signals another chance for the Texas A&M softball team to cap ture a Big 12 Championship. With five all-conference players returning for the No. 17 ranked Aggies, Head Coach Jo Evans main tains high hopes for this season, her eighth at the helm. “We are as athletic as we have ever been,” she said. “I certainly expect us to be battling for a Big 12 championship.” The Aggies will begin their 2004 campaign against the University of North Texas at 5 p.m. in College Station this Wednesday at the Carolyn and Jack Little ’60 Athletic Complex. The Aggies are coming off a suc cessful 38-22 season that ended in a heartbreaking loss to perennial power house University of Arizona in the NCAA Regional Finals. The Wildcats later went on to fin ish with a tie for fourth in the Women’s College World Series. The team carries the mutual feel ing that this could be the year for a Big 12 crown. Junior infielder and team co-captain Adrian Gregory said she has high expectations for this year’s squad. See Softball on page 6 Women’s basketball takes on Oklahoma St. By Brad Bennett THE BATTALION The first loss in A&M’s current eight-game losing streak was to the unranked Oklahoma State Cowgirls on Jan. 7 in Stillwater, Okla. It came down to a last-second shot. The Aggies will get another chance to play the Cowgirls (8-11,3-5) tonight in Reed Arena at 7. The Aggies have lost six games in a row to ranked opponents after los ing to Oklahoma State and were unable to produce a victory last weekend at home versus Iowa State. Oklahoma State has since gone on to win two Big 12 games, includ ing a victory to then-No. 3 ranked Texas Tech. Blair said his team has worked on coming together since last Saturday's defeat. “We should have been working more on Oklahoma State this last few days,” Blair said. “We spent that time working on Texas A&M, improving things we do not do well.” See Women on page 6 Aggies lose another game Tc Pb 01 By Jordan Meserole THE BATTALION The Texas A&M men’s basketball team is running out of answers. The Aggies are also running out of opportu nities to earn a Big 12 win this season. The Aggies (7-11, 0-7 Big 12) extended their losing streak to seven in a row with a 91-79 loss to No. 13 Oklahoma State (16-2, 6-1) Tuesday night at Reed Arena. A&M senior center Andy Slocum, who grabbed 15 rebounds in the game, said he was upset with how the team performed. “We didn’t play very good defense and we just didn’t play hard at all,” Slocum said. “We should have come out in dresses.” Similar to almost every other first half for the Aggies this season, the game remained close. This was surpris ing, considering the Aggies only shot 40 percent and went 1-8 behind the three-point line. The Cowboys grabbed any hope from the Aggies with an uncontested nine-point run in the last three minutes before halftime. It would be the closest the Aggies would come to OSU the remainder of the night. The Aggies battled hard in the second half but could never regain their focus. A&M sophomore forward Antoine Wright went 1-12 overall in the second half, his only hit coming on a wide-open jump shot. Aggie senior forward Nick Anderson also experienced trouble getting the ball through the net, going 4-9 overall. “It’s real tough (to focus) when you turn the ball over, keep missing shots (and) keep making mistakes,” Anderson said. Anderson’s frustration caused him to earn a technical foul for giving a shove to it |.P. Beato III •THEBATTC« n b Antoine Wright fakes a shot and passes to Nick Anderson during the Aggies home loss to OSU 91-79 Tuesiv:®j^ OSU Junior forward Terrence Crawford was due primarily to a lack after a play. defense. A&M head coach Melvin ^ J 1 v. I 1 . »V. • 5 “It’s puzzling to me for us tom^ Watkins s said there was ; » lack of a FT focus on the court and the loss See Menonpagflct c ■nce< 9' 2 EVENTS... 1 REASON. MONEY Thursday, February 5 & Friday, February 6,2004 RUDDER FOUNTAIN 8:00 am—5:00 pm Visit COSTEP's Mobile Education Resource Vehicle, MERV so you can instantly file next year's FASFA via the Internet. Bring your 2003 tax informatior and your parent's 2003 tax information and counselors will help you complete your FASFA and answer your questions. This is one of the fastest and easiest ways to get your FASFA completed so you don't have to worry about it ~ What is MERV? MERV is a 36 foot CruiseAir vehicle, completely redesigned and equipped with ten Dell flat panel 15-inch screens, and Dell OptiPlex GX110P PC's with wireless access to the Internet. Saturday, February 7,2004 POST OAK MALL 10:00 am—2:00 pm FUNDING YOUR FUTURE Destination: Education is a FREE interactive workshop with representatives who can answer questions and provide information about financing a higher education. DON'T MISS OUT! Texas A&M University Department of Student Financial Aid P.O.Box 30016 College Station, Texas 77842-3016 Phone: 979-845-3236 Fax: 979-847-9061 Website: http://financialaid.tamu.edu E-mail: financialaid@tamu.edu MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY I LARGE I-TOPPING $C 99 pu/only 2 LARGE I-TOPPING $12" ■ pu/delivery I EX-LARGE | 2-TOPPING HO. 50 pu/delivery I LARGE 2-TOPPING & 2 liter drink $1 I 99 I • pu/delivery PICK YOUR SIDE FAMILY SPECIAL LARGE 1 LARGE SPECIALTY 2 TOPPING 1 LARGE AND 1 SIDE 2TOPPING $|9 78 1 pu/delivery $ I6. W ANY LARGE SPECIALTY 99 $ M. Northgate Post Oak Square Center Rock Prairie 601 University Dr. 100 Harvey Rd., Suite D 1700 Rock Prairie 979-846-3600 979-764-7272 979-680-0508 Z III Ul I- CL < 0-1 Sunday: 1 1 a.m. - midnight Monday - Wednesday: 1 1 a.m. - 1 a.m. Thursday: 1 t a.m. - 2 a.m. Friday & Saturday: 1 t a.m. - 3 a.m. r O > "0 H m mz 3/2 & neqot When You Need It Most • Private Bathrooms Available • Apartments Near Campus /In SUH Community. SUH is a trademark of SUH Inc. COLLEGIATE RESIDENCE 11 / Holleman Drive West • 696‘SIH www.sterlinghousing.«u Spr fills