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Sports
The Battalion
Page 7A • Monday, August 30, 2004
Page Design: Jordan Meserole
Section B
An 8-page, in-depth
osition-by-position preview of the
2004 A&M football team.
nd loofe Coming Tuesday
A&M mauled by Tigers
Clemson serves up reality check to Aggies with 4-1 win
A preview of the A&M men’s golf
m that finished 14th at the NCAA
lampionships last year and are
determined to win it this year.
Briefly
d to pro
architect
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The Baltimore Orioles snapped
12-game losing streak with a
win over the Texas Rangers,
e loss dropped the Rangers
i games behind West division
der Oakland.
Evan O'Connell • THE BATTALION
A&M senior midfielder Cristina Echavarry chases after Clemson’s
Jenny Anderson. Echavarry scored A&M’s only goal of the game.
By Jon Gilbert
THE BATTALION
The Texas A&M soccer team opened its 2004 sea
son this past weekend on an up-and-down note. Yet, the
down note will more than likely remain in the players’
mouths much longer, after Clemson blasted the Aggies
4-1 Sunday night at the Aggie Soccer Complex.
The Tigers executed their game plan to near perfec
tion as they survived an A&M onslaught in the be
ginning of the game, which included a goal by junior
Becky Olson, but the goal was negated after the ball
rolled slightly out of bounds before going into the net.
That proved to be a momentum change, and Clem
son slowly took the crowd out of the game. The Tigers
took the lead for good on senior Lindsay Browne’s
unassisted goal at 33:17 of the first period.
“Our players tactically executed our game plan
well,” said Clemson head coach Todd Bramble.
“We wanted to weather the storm in the first 15
minutes and take the crowd out of the game.”
The Tigers’ efficiency in the first half set the tone.
Clemson scored twice on just three shots, the second
by junior Lydia Vandenbergh on an assist from senior
Paige Ledford. Vandenbergh snuck through the mid
dle of A&M’s defense, caught the pass and blasted a
shot into the net just left of the right cross bar. For the
game, the Aggies outshot the Tigers 25-10.
“They were a great finishing team,” said A&M
head coach G. Guerrieri. “They broke at the right
time and made the most of their opportunities. This
is a wake-up call. If we’re going to have a chance
to win the Big 12 and contend for the National
Championship, we have to bounce back. We need
to take care of business. It will be good for this
team to go through this.”
The Aggies came out in the second half with new
energy and attempted to match the Tigers’ intensity.
Yet, almost halfway through the second half, a head-
on collision between A&M senior Emma Smith and
Clemson freshman Ashley Phillips silenced the
crowd of 4,049. Both walked out on their own pow
er, although Phillips suffered a concussion.
Clemson senior Paige Ledford, clearly the fast
est player on the field, had her way with the Ag
gies’ defense as she repeatedly penetrated it, set
ting up scoring chances.
“We just kept the crowd out of our heads,” Led
ford said. “The first 15 minutes we had to weather
the storm. We kept our heads cool and made some
good things happen. These are the two biggest
road wins (University of Texas and Texas A&M)
our program has ever had.”
The Aggies know they have an uphill battle
ahead of them.
“This is not the way we wanted to start the sea
son,” said A&M senior Christina Echavarry. “We’re
going to keep our heads up and bounce back. This is
a good team, and we know what we can do.”
On the upside, the Aggies opened the season Fri
day night with a 2-1 victory over No. 15 Michigan
before a record crowd of 4,403. Echavarry again
provided all the scoring for the Aggies’ offense
with a goal in each half.
After the capacity crowds that watched A&M
the first two home games, Guerrieri promises Ag
gie fans that there will be better soccer to come.
“The fact that the crowd was there the whole time
was great,” Guerrieri said. “We are going to play much
better in the future and repay them for their generosity.”
cl iwing,
The Houston Astros are still
at a playoff spot after
eating the Chicago Cubs 10-3.
the win, the Astros are only
oir games behind wild-card
leader Atlanta.
dtheBcS ^ amar N a ti° na l League
vill makt im f rom Ric,1rriond ' Texas ’
ng moot ' eatecl the Linda Vista team from
or ^ jj adalupe, Mexico, 5-0 in the
mpusma nso ' ation Championship of the
men ( gi tie League World Series. Pabao
iex l y, tie League of Curacao took first
ertM.Gj ice in the series.
A&M volleyball team in position to spike 2004 foes
udy
for
Four walk-on members of the
:M football team received schol-
ihips Friday. Recipients were:
ike Kendrick, Jacob Young, Ty
lanyon and Marques Thornton.
By Jonathan Wall
THE BATTALION
When junior outside hitter Laura
Jones was asked.to describe this year’s
volleyball team in one word, Jones pon
dered the question for a second and then
replied: “mysterious.”
The Texas A&M volleyball team is
ranked No. 15 in the coaches’ poll and
will be looking for veteran presence. The
team returns only three starters and six
others from last year’s squad, and with the
transfer of one player and the retirement
of two-year starting setter Lexy Beers due
to a back injury, the Aggies will look to
bench players and newcomers for much
needed support.
Coach Laurie Corbelli doesn’t seem to
mind the challenge that this year’s team
brings to the table.
“We’ve been looking very physical,”
Corbelli said. “We do have experienced
players on this team, and that’s why 1 feel
confident that this team
can succeed.”
The Aggies will need
to feed off their three re
turning starters from last
year’s team. Senior out
side blocker/middle hit
ter Melissa Munsch will
be called on this season
to lead the squad and
improve last season’s
stellar performance that
earned her All-Ameri
can second-team hon
ors. Munsch believes
that while this year’s
team isn’t as seasoned as
teams in the past, it has a special bond that
a lot of people don’t know about.
“We are all really close friends; we all
44 ii,
...I have no
doubts that this
team can make a
run at the Big 12
Championship...
— Laurie Corbelli
A&M head volleyball coach
come in with a very positive attitude and
strong work ethic each day,” Munsch
said. “I think we will do
really well.”
Munsch isn’t the only
player who is going to be
called on to step up her
play. Junior outside hitter
Laura Jones and junior mid
dle blocker Kendra Felder
will need to play key roles
for the Aggies. Jones has
led the Aggies in kills over
the last two seasons, and
Felder was the teams lead
ing blocker last season.
Without some of the key
players from last year’s
team, the Aggies will look
to a strong freshman class to provide some
support. Meghan Kainz, a freshman setter
from Austin will most likely see the most
time of the incoming group.
“Meghan is capable of attacking and be
ing a blocker,” Corbelli said. “She definite
ly has a chance to push some of the older
players and see some time on the floor.”
The Aggies will get a chance to see how
battle-ready the team is when it meets pre
season No. 3 UCLA in the final game of the
McDonald’s Invitational Tournament. Af
ter the tournament, the team will hit the road
for a West Coast swing that will pit the Ag
gies against two of the top 15 teams in the
nation: UC-Santa Barbara and California.
This Aggie squad should be up to the
task though, and Corbelli believes that
this team could have what it takes to sur
pass last season’s sweet 16 finish.
“We have the talent, team work and work
ethic. If they can unite as a single cohesive
group, then I have no doubts that this team
can make a run at a Big 12 Championship
and a Final Four berth,” Corbelli said.
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