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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 2, 2004)
Sports The Battalion Page 1B • Thursday, September 2, 2004 SIDE NOTES COMING FRIDAY Complete coverage of Thurs- lay's A&M-Utah football game om Salt Lake City, Utah. BRIEFLY Old Southwest Conference ivalries will be renewed next eason when the A&M football earn meets up against South- rn Methodist University. The earns have scheduled two nore dates, one in 2011 and jnother in 2012. The Houston Astros won heir 6th-straight game with 9-3 win over Cincinnati, jnce Berkman hit a tiebreak- ng homerun in the fifth inning ;o give the Astros its 14th win n 17 games. Tryouts for the walk-on 12th Man team will be held soon. Those interested need o attend a mandatory meet- ng Sunday, September 5 at 6 m. in Burkhart Auditorium it Kyle Field. The Boston Red Sox xtended their A.L Wild Card ad over the Anahiem Angels y defeating them 12-7. It as Boston's 8th straight win. ON THIS DAY Rocky Mountain High A&M kicks offseason against Utah in the thin Rocky air By Ryan Irby THE BATTALION The buzz around Salt Lake City is that Thursday night’s football game will be the biggest in the University of Utah’s history. When the Texas A&M Aggies take on the No. 19 Utes at Rice-Eccles Stadium, A&M will be the only expected roadblock between the Utes and a poten tially perfect season. Even A&M head coach Dennis Fran- chione has high expectations of the Utes, considered by many to be this year’s pos sible Cinderella story. “They certainly are one of those teams that are thinking about cracking into the BCS,” Franchione said. “I think if Utah were in the Big 12, they would be com petitive across the board." Last season, Franchione and the Ag gies slipped past the Utes at Kyle Field, surviving a late rally to win 28-26. All that stood betw'een the Utes and victory was a failed two-point conversion with no time left on the board. This season, w'ith junior quarterback Alex Smith leading the Ute offense, A&M is expect ing stiffer competition. “I think the key to their offense is Alex Smith," Franchione said. “He’s obviously kind of a special guy.” After starting quarterback Brett El liott broke his wrist on the last play of the game with the Aggies one year ago. Smith took over and went 9-1 the rest of the w ay. ■ John C. Livas • THE BATTALION A&M linebacker Archie McDaniel (41) makes a tackle against Utah wide receiver Bo Nagahi September 6 at Kyle Field. A&M won the game 28-20. a|m vs. ^ Texas A&M Utah GAME 1 DATE: September 2 TIME: 6:30 p.m. SITE: Rice-Eccles Stadium, Salt Lake City, Utah LAST MEETING: 28-26 (W) (2003) KEY PLAYERS Urban Meyer Volleyball set for season opening tournament AA j|McDonaui: By Jonathan Wall THE BATTALION The fall sports season continues to emerge as the Aggie volleyball team kicks off the season tonight at G. Rollie White Coliseum as the host team for the McDonald's/Texas A&M Invitational. The Aggies are making another run at a Big 12 championship and NCAA tour nament berth. A&M was so impressed with last season’s crowd turnouts that it increased this year’s tournament to sev en teams. A&M will welcome McNeese State, Southern Mississippi, Samford, Georgia Southern and UCLA to College Station for the Thursday through Satur day Invitational. Bethune-Cookman was also invited to the tournament, but the Daytona Beach based college pulled out due to inclement weather generated by Hurri cane Frances. The energetic Utes employ an offen sive strategy built around the drop-back pass and the run. Although many expect Utah to air the ball out, the Utes pounded A&M on the ground in the second half of last season’s match-up. Utes sophomore running back Mike Liti has stepped in to replace Brandon Warfield, a tailback who terrorized the Aggie defense in the sec ond half of the 2003 meeting. Franchione said he doesn’t plan on de fending against a play-action combination. Gracie Arenas • THE BATTALION Utah head coach and 2003 Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year Ur ban Meyer said his program still has to take steps to gain more recognition. “We’re a top-25 team (but) we don’t have a top-25 program,” Meyer said. See Utah on page 3B Southern Mississippi and Samford will come into the season under new head coaches who are hoping to make their mark in the tournament. Georgia Southern, McNeese State, UCLA and A&M seem to be the headlin ers for the tournament. Three of the four schools advanced to the NCAA tourna ment last geasoniand all four are returning key starters fronflast season’s squads. The Aggies will get a chance to face some tough competition in the tourna ment, including perennial powerhouse and preseason No. 3 UCLA. The Bruins are poised to make a run at the NCAA championship with almost their whole roster returning from last sea son. A trio of seniors including Heather Cullen, Brynn Murphy and Chrissie Zart- man look to anchor a Bruin squad that will rely heavily on their talents. While UCLA looks great on pa per, that isn’t deterring Aggie play ers such as senior middle blocker/ outside hitter Melissa Munsch from looking at the game as a great op portunity for the team. “(UCLA has a) great program," Munsch said. “I think the game will give us a chance to figure out where some of our strengths and weakness es are. I'm just happy we’re getting a chance to compete against them.” Munsch isn’t the only one excited about playing UCLA. A&M head coach Laurie Corbelli worked long hours to find a way to keep the Aggies at home for an early season tournament while giving the team a chance to play some quality games. “I went to the ends of the earth to find teams that could play in this tour nament,” Corbelli said. “I’m just ready to get this season started and see how our team stacks up against some na tionally ranked squads.” Texas A&M / McDonald’s Invitational Volleyball Tournament Thursday - Saturday G. Rollie White Coliseum FRIDAY #15 Texas A&M vs. Georgia Southern am #15 Texas A&M vs. McNeese State pm SATURDAY #15 Texas A&M vs. #3 UCLA Complete schedule available online: http://www.aggieathletics.com Andrew Burleson • THE BATTALION DOES YOUR BANK OFFER FREE CHECKING UH ••• • Free Checks?* WE DO. • Free Visa® Check Card? WE DO. • Free Internet Banking-FNB Online? WE DO. • Free FNB On-line WebPay? WE DO. • Overdraft Privilege?* WE DO! 2807 S.TexasAve.* 1862 Rock Prairie Rd. 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