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Sports
The Battalion
es
&M men’s tennis hosts OSU
n last regular season match
By Kyle Davoust
THE BATTALION
!-,«(■ The Big 12 regular season title for men’s
temis has already been decided, with No. 2
MlUmj^ylor University clinching the honors for the
ttU W r( i stra 'y* 11 year. The race for second place,
e K ip>\vcver, will come down to Saturday’s match
tween No. 23 Texas A&M and No. 29
Jdahoma State University.
I If the Aggies (19-7, 5-1 Big 12) win, they
■inch second place. On the other hand, if
Iklahoma State (15-3, 4-2) prevails, it will
fn sh in a three-way tie with A&M and the
^■liversity of Texas. In this case, the team
fBth the most points against the other two
o| jonents will claim second. As it currently
nds, the Longhorns have six points after
icing' both teams. The Aggies and
wboys, after facing only Texas, have five
ints and three points, respectively.
Second place is important for seeding.
I lie second-place finisher will be seeded
Icond in the Big 12 tournament, thus avoid-
ijg Baylor until the championship match.
9 The match between A&M and OSU is
m limited to a battle for second place in the
|ig 12. It is also a potential momentum
bi Ider with national importance.
I “This match, like the Texas match, has
slme real national implications,” said A&M
ftad coach Tim Cass. “I feel like if we can
hi 'e a strong showing against Oklahoma
|ate and then in the Big 12 Tournament, then
e would have a chance to host (the first and
cond rounds of the NCAA Tournament)
d finish the regular season in the top 16 and
at would be a huge advantage for us.”
The Aggies come into the match on an
otional high after last week’s win over
(c Longhorns in Austin for only the second
in school history. The Aggies showed
^' s: re ilience as they battled back from an 0-2
toyfflcit to win the match, 5-2.
“It was a good confidence builder
^HBcause we came back from losing the dou-
m jii pH
Page IB • Thursday, April 22, 2004
Clarett case
advances to the
Supreme Court
Evan O'Connell • THE BATTALION
Texas A&M senior Mohamed Dakki celebrates a point against Baylor senior Matias Marin on April 3
at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center. A&M will face Oklahoma State Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
bles point to win four out of six singles
matches,” said A&M senior Mohammed
Dakki. “Everyone fought and I thought that
it was a complete team effort.”
While they have won eight of their last
nine matches, the Aggies have often been
forced to come back from early deficits due
to inconsistent doubles play.
“It puts us in a big hole. We’re having to
rely on winning four singles matches out of
six,” said A&M junior All-American Lester
Cook. “Especially when we’re playing
tough teams, that’s hard to do. So if we can
somehow get that doubles point, it would
help us a lot.”
Cass said the importance of the doubles
point is a matter of perception.
“I think it’s how you perceive it, and this
See Tennis on page 3B
By Rusty Miller
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
COLUMBUS, Ohio —
Maurice Clarett’s status for the
NFL draft is now in the hands
of the U.S. Supreme Court.
Clarett’s attorney, Alan
Milstein, filed an emergency
appeal to the Supreme Court
on Tuesday. He asked for a
stay of a federal appeals
court’s decision from 24 hours
earlier preventing the fonuer
Ohio State tailback from being
in this weekend’s draft.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
will handle the case. She asked
the NFL on Wednesday to file a
response to Clarett’s appeal by
Thursday morning. There was
no word on when she planned
to act on Clarett’s emergency
request or whether she would
refer the request to the other
eight justices.
In 1971, lawyers for Detroit
high school star Spencer
Haywood followed the same
approach. A stay preventing
Haywood from going in the
NBA draft was tossed out by
Justice William O. Douglas,
opening the door for under
classmen and teenagers to play
pro basketball.
“It’s the exact same sce
nario,” Milstein said in a tele
phone interview with The
Associated Press. “It just
needs to play out the same.”
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court
of Appeals issued the stay on
Monday, putting a hold on a
lower-court ruling that said the
NFL can’t force players to
wait three years after high
school before turning pro.
The NFL said the appellate
decision will ultimately stand.
“There was ample support
for the ruling of the 2nd Circuit,
which thoroughly considered
and completely rejected the
arguments that Mr. Clarett’s
lawyers have presented to the
Supreme Court,” NFL executive
vice president Jeff Pash said.
Southern California sopho
more receiver Mike Williams
filed his own lawsuit in federal
court in Manhattan on
Monday, saying the NFL
issued conflicting statements
about eligibility for the draft
which caused him to sacrifice
his college career.
If they wind up being eligi
ble, Williams would be expect
ed to go in the first round of
the draft, while Clarett might
not be taken until the second
or third round.
Clarett argued in Tuesday’s
filing that the NFL wouldn’t
suffer any harm if he’s allowed
in the draft — but he would be
harmed if he is blocked.
Clarett led Ohio State to a
national title as a freshman, but
was ruled ineligible as a sopho
more for accepting money from
a family friend and lying about
it to NCAA and university
See Clarett on page 3B
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