The Battalion I 3.9.15
4
SPORTS
5 basketball
takeaways
Sports reporter Cole Stenholm breaks down A&M’s 61-60
loss to Alabama Saturday.
Cody Franklin —THE BATTALION
Guard Jordan Green attacks the rim in the loss
Saturday against Alabama.
1
The Kennedy Era
Despite a sour ending to the regular
season, Texas A&M has improved in
each of its four regular seasons under
head coach Billy Kennedy. A&M's re
cord (20-10,11-7) marks the highest
regular season win total since Ken
nedy arrived in 2011. And if his his
tory as a head coach at Southeastern
Louisiana and Murray State are of any
indication, this upward trend should
only continue.
The wrong kind of
peaking
Ever heard the saying, "You want to
peak toward the end of the season?"
Well if there’s any truth to it, the future
for Texas A&M basketball — men’s
and women's — does not appear to be
bright as they embark on postseason
play. The teams are a combined 2-6
since Feb. 24. The men are riding a two
game losing streak into their conference
tournament while the women were
ousted in the second game of theirs.
Tournament longings
Following an 80-55 thrashing of Auburn
on Feb. 28, Texas A&M had its first NCAA
Tournament appearance since 2011 in
sight. Just over a week removed from that
game and A&M’s tournament hopes are
fading. ESPN has expunged them from its
latest bracketology projections, suggest
ing they will need a strong showing in the
upcoming SEC Tournament to recapture
hope for Selection Sunday.
House is a must
For the Aggies to make one final push toward the NCAA
Tournament the health of junior forward Danuel House
will be requisite. The Aggies are 2-2 without their lead
ing scorer, who sat out Saturday due to a nagging foot
injury. At 6-foot-7, 200 pounds, House's athleticism
and versatility match up well with the rosters of teams
like Kentucky, a squad the Aggies would meet, hypo
thetically, in the tournament semifinals.
The killer instinct
Texas A&M lacked the ability to close out a 14-point first-half lead
Saturday against a team with a sub .500 conference record. A&M
came out of the break lacking energy and allowed a few controver
sial officiating decisions to get underneath its skin. The result was
a squandered lead within eight minutes. Kennedy and his players,
following Saturday's game, could not pinpoint exactly why the team
fell flat in the second half, but efforts like Saturday's may not only
have cut short A&M's NCAA Tournament hopes, but its conference
tournament run as well.
Cody Frankilm — THE BATTALION
Amaus' scoring has decreased the last three years that he has been in the U.S.
ARNAUS CONTINUED
European Boys’ T earn Cham
pionship in 2011. However,
when it came time to advance
past his high school career,
Arnaus felt drat his native
home did not offer a program
that would entertain both his
golf and academic pursuits.
Luckily though, Arnaus’s
resume caught the attention
of several college scouts from
the United States who sought
unidentified talent overseas as
potential prospects for their
programs.
One of these scouts was
Texas A&M head coach J.T.
Higgins.
Higgins set up a campus
visit for Arnaus while he was
stateside for a junior event.
On his visit, Arnaus fell in
love with the A&M golf fa
cilities, campus proximity and
weather conditions, and soon
after completing his event
in Florida he decided to an
nounce his commitment to
the university.
His first semester on cam
pus was not without tribula
tion. Arnaus, as a first-year
college student whose family
resided on a separate conti
nent, became homesick.
“It wasn’t easy,” he said.
“At the beginning you’re like*
‘Ah man, I’m here, alone,
things are not going as easy as
I thought because the English
wasn’t as good as it is now, I
guess. I was lucky to find my
roommate Ben [Crancer] and
all the team supporting me.
They didn’t give me a hard
time or anything. They just
helped me and I guess that
made it easier first semester.”
Assistant coach Brian Kor-
tan said Arnaus could not be
more at home as he is now in
his third year with the team.
“Initially, I think it was
hard for him,” he said. “But
as he’s gotten deeper into
Texas A&M and the team,
he’s really figured it out. He
does great in school. He uses
all the resources we have for
him and has adjusted to where
you can tell he’s from Spain,
but you really can’t tell he’s
from Spain.”
Arnaus, now fully accli
mated to the American and
collegiate culture, thrives
within the Texas A&M men’s
golf program. His overall
scoring average, relative to
par, has declined in each of his
three years here, from 77.67
in 2012-13, to 74.22 in 2013-
14 and 72.36 in 2014-15.
He posted his career low
round earlier this fall at the
2014 Dick’s Sporting Goods
Challenge Cup when he
carded a six-under 65 in sec
ond-round action.
“You come here and you
think that, comingfrom Spain,
that you are good,” he said.
“But you see that the world is
so big and then there’s a lot of
people. As good as you think
you are, you are not even
close to being as good as you
could be. You get shocked at
the beginning. You play dif
ferent courses, you play dif
ferent grass, you play different
winds. Everything is real dif
ferent. It’s just hard to adapt.
But once you get that down,
you just try and work as hard
as you can.”
SOFTBALL CONTINUED
Kelsey Nunley, whose last pitch was a fast
ball that April Ryan smashed over the right
field wall to end Friday’s extra-inning thrill
er. She came out dialed in from the jump,
allowing minimal base runners while strik
ing out 10 Aggies in seven innings. Ryan
said Nunley made adjustments after Friday’s
game.
“[Nunley] stuck to her outside pitches
and my approach changed because I went
out there hacking at the first pitch,” Ryan
said. “I wasn’t worried when I got down in
the count.”
There was an odd series of events in the
sixth when junior Nikki Sagermann got
the barrel of her bat on a Marks fastball
and drove it all the way into deep center
field. Sagermann began to slow down as
she rounded first assuming that the ball was
going out of the park, but the ball hit right
above the 220 sign in centerfield and popped
straight up onto the warning track. Ken
tucky coaches and Sagermann argued their
case for a homer, but the umpires stood with
the original call of a double.
The Aggies couldn’t get anything going
on Nunley until freshman Kristen Cuyos
loaded the bases with a single and Erica Rus
sell drew a walk to get the first run across.
Cody Franklin —THE BATTALION
Shortstop Kristen Cuyos swings for
a Kentucky pitch at the Aggie Softball
Complex Sunday afternoon.
A&M completed the comeback when Brit
tany Clopton was grazed by a Nunley pitch
with the bases loaded and tied the game.
The Wildcats took the lead for good with
their third solo homer of the day from junior
Maisie Steed and Nunley closed the door in
the bottom half of the seventh to complete
the Kentucky win.
The Aggies will play the final game of
their homestand at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday
against Sam Houston State.
CHAVIS CONTINUED
now,” Chavis said. “I was impressed with
what our guys were able to get done today.
It was a challenge, it was a tough practice
and they pushed through it and I think they
were better at the end of the practice then
we were to begin with.”
The Aggie fan base expects change from
the defenses of recent years and Chavis said
the players’ self-esteem is paramount.
“The first thing we need to do is we
need to get our guys confident,” Chavis
said. “They’re good enough to play, they’re
good enough to win in the SEC, and once
they feel that way they’re going to be able
to compete.”
Chavis — who has been in the business
for 38 years and knows his way around the
SEC — is a straightforward man that is look
ing to get results and do things the right way.
He had nothing but positive things to say
about the fan base here at A&M.
“There’s no doubt, and I’m talking about
classy, I’m talking about great people,” Cha
vis said. “I’ve not seen a classier group of
fans — and that’s well before I ever came
here — than I did in Aggieland.”
Taking into consideration where he is in
his career and his comfort level in College
Tim Lai —THE BATTALION
Defensive coordinator John Chavis
supervises Spring 2015 football
practices.
Station, Chavis wouldn’t be opposed to stay
ing at A&M for an extended amount of time.
“If I could get eight or 10 good years
here. If I could go that long, it’d be great,”
Chavis said.
FIIMAL
WEEK
to hiavo your froe
portrait taken
for Texas A&<fVl
U n i ve rsity's
201 5 A&cji&l&tncf
yearbook.
ALL CLASSES:
wafk in 3 a.pvi —5 r.ivi„
IVt o n day —T h u rsd a y
in MSC Suite L400.
iVlarch 12 will fc>e
your laslt cHanoe.
It's your
yearbook.
E3e in it.