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Saturday 7 p.m.
Sunday 1 p.m.
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The Battalion
Page 5 • Friday, March 26, 2004
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By Kyle Davoust
THE BATTALION
Since opening the Big 12
conference season with a couple
of road victories over the
University of Nebraska and the
University of Colorado in late
February, the Texas A&M
men’s tennis team has played a
string of non-conference oppo
nents with mixed results.
Since their last conference
match, the Aggies (13-6, 2-0
Big 12) have dropped all the way
from No. 9 in the rankings to No.
20, as they lost key matches
against Louisiana State University
and the University of California.
“The road schedule was
super challenging, and now as
we are in the middle of our sea
son I think there is a little bit of
enthusiasm about the Big 12
race,” said A&M head coach
Tim Cass. “1 think the realistic
thing is that there is so much of
our season left, and there should
be a lot left from our guys.”
The Aggies will enter the heart
of their Big 12 schedule Saturday,
as they take on the University of
Oklahoma at 1:30 p.m. at the
George P. Mitchell Tennis Center,
followed by an evening match
with Tyler Junior College at 6 p.m.
A&M represents the first Big
12opponent for Oklahoma (13-2).
The Sooners have compiled an
impressive non-conference record,
but against weak opposition.
“They’re a good team, and
we can’t underestimate any
scomJ teams right now,” said A&M
junior Lester Cook. “We kind of
two ye! underestimated (California), and
Evan O'Connell • THE BATTALION
Texas A&M sophomore Matt Loucks returns a backhand in A&M's 7-0 win
over Lamar University on Feb. 1 5 at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center.
look what happened there.”
The Sooners are one of sev
eral Big 12 teams whose
improvement has made the com
ference even stronger.
“It’s a tough conference. Last
year we weren't thinking about
teams like Oklahoma State and
Texas,’’ Cook said. "There are
some tough teams, so we can't
just think about Baylor.”
After facing the Sooners, the
Aggies will take a short break
before facing the two-time
defending junior college nation
al champion Tyler Junior
College. The Apaches have been
dominant on the junior college
level since the arrival of head
coach John Peterson in 1987,
winning 10 junior college
national championships.
The match against A&M rep
resents a challenge that Peterson
said his players embrace.
“It's like the farm club in
baseball ' playing the spring
See Tennis on page 8
Sooners come to Aggieland
for two games with A&M
By Ryan Irby
THE BATTALION
It’s that time of year again;
handfuls of colorful flyers and
campaigning for student body
elections have overtaken the
campus. With nothing left to
focus on this season but Big 12
opponents, the Texas A&M soft-
ball team will begin a campaign
of its own Saturday as it ushers
in Big 12 play with a homestand
against the No. 7 University of
Oklahoma at 2 p.m. at the Aggie
Softball Complex.
Oklahoma (26-9-1) is com
ing off a 2-3 showing in the Kia
Classic, in which it defeated
Big 12 rival Nebraska in a
match-up of the predicted 1-2
finishers in the conference.
A&M (18-15) set its sights
on winning the Big 12 crown
before the season began, and
Saturday’s contest with the
Sooners is the first step toward
reaching that goal.
“I certainly expect us to be
battling for a Big 12 champi
onship,” said A&M head
coach Jo Evans.
A&M continues to impress
on the field, utilizing Evans’
speed tactics. Freshman out
fielder Sharonda McDonald
has already broken the A&M
record for stolen bases in a sea
son, racking up 30 steals on 33
attempts in just 33 games.
“We know our capabilities
and what kind of team we can
be,” McDonald said. "We put
pressure on the defense and
make them make mistakes.”
Forcing Oklahoma to make
errors may be the Aggies’ key
to victory this weekend, as the
Sooners will bring a vicious
battery into College Station.
Oklahoma ace and All-
American left-hander Kami
Keiter will team up with junior
catcher Heather Scaglione to
thwart the Aggie attack on the
base paths. Scaglione has
allowed only two stolen bases
in her past 36 games. However,
A&M is confident about its
ability to put the ball in play.
“We’ve got the right kids at
the plate,” Evans said.
Saturday’s contest will be a
chance for A&M to avenge past
defeats in a bitter rivalry. The
2002 season was ended by the
Sooners in an 8-1 loss at the
NCAA Region Five Tournament,
and last season the Aggies
dropped all three games with the
crimson and cream.
However, Evans would
argue that this year may be the
one to elect a new champion.
“We are as athletic as we
have ever been,” Evans said.
Lady netters travel to OSU
By Jon Gilbert
THE BATTALION
The Texas A&M women’s tennis team trav
els north of the Red River to take on Oklahoma
State University and the University of
Oklahoma this weekend. The team has had an
11-day break and has not played a conference
match since Feb. 29.
The No. 16 Aggies knocked off No. 23
Indiana on March 16, before A&M head coach
Bobby Kleinecke gave the team the rest of the
week off to enjoy spring break.
“I was disappointed with our doubles,”
Kleinecke said. "We competed well in singles.
They needed a break, and. hopefully, they will
come back ready to play.”
In the win over Indiana last week, A&M
started slowly by losing the doubles point. The
Aggies also lost the doubles point in their 4-3
loss to Louisiana State University on Oct. 11.
The team's problems in doubles seem to be a
common theme this year.
Despite consistently losing the doubles point,
the A&M doubles pair of senior Jessica Roland
and sophomore Nicki Mechem have been on
fire, winning seven consecutive doubles match
es. Furthermore, Mechem has won 10 consecu
tive singles matches and has been a solid player.
Yet she wants the focus off her and on the team.
See Aggies on page 8
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