■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■ ■'^ksfl COIUGRATULATIOHIS! Join the celebration as 4,800 shiny new Aggie Rings are delivered today at the Clayton W. Williams, Jr. Alumni Center April 17 • Aggie Ring Day 9:45 a.m. - 9:00 p.m. Ring Tickets distributed online at AggieNetwork.com. Limited tickets available at Alumni Center. Approximate Schedule for Groups to Enter Group #1 9:45 Group #14 1:45 Group #26 5:45 Group #2 10:00 Groups #1-14 2:00 Groups #1-26 6:00 Group #3 10:15 Group #15 2:15 Group #27 6:15 Group #4 10:30 Group #16 2:30 Group #28 6:30 Group #5 10:45 Group #17 2:45 Group #29 6:45 Groups #1-5 11:00 Groups #1-17 3:00 Groups #1-29 7:00 Group #6 11:15 Group #18 3:15 Group #30 7:15 Group #7 11:30 Group #19 3:30 Group #31 7:30 Group #8 11:45 Group #20 3:45 Group #32 7:45 Groups #1-8 12:00 Groups #1-20 4:00 Groups #1-32 8:00 Group #9 12:15 Group #21 4:15 Group #33 8:15 Group #10 12:30 Group #22 4:30 Group #34 8:30 Group #11 12:45 Group #23 4:45 Group #35 8:45 Groups #1-11 1:00 Groups #1-23 5:00 Groups #1-35 9:00 Group #12 1:15 Group #24 5:15 Group #13 1:30 Group #25 5:30 If your group's time has already passed, please wait until the top of the hour when your group will be called once again. Entrance will only be allowed if it is either your group's approximated time slot or when your group is called at the top of the hour (see schedule for clarification). The Association OF FORMER STUDENTS® Parking is available with a valid parking permit in PA 100. Those without valid permits may park at the West Campus Garage (WCG). All garage parking is based on an hourly rate. TEXAS A & M UNIVERSITY 1 ' AggieNetwork.com OLiYtanc: ■ enoitfioi 1 ' Aggieland Credit Union Congratulates Penny Von Roeder Rychetsky '87 : : Aggieland Credit Union is pleased to announce that Penny Von Roeder Rychetsky'87 has been elected Chairman of the Board of D i recto rs of G reate r T EXAS Fede ra IC red i t U n i o n. G rea te r T EX AS operates Aggieland Credit Union in Bryan and College Station. Mrs. Rychetsky is a 1987 graduate of Texas A&M University where she received a degree in Economics. She is currently the Director of Internal Audit for the Department of Aging and Disability Services (DADS) in Austin. Prior to her election as Chairman she served nine years on the board, most recently as Treasurer. Previously she volunteered on the Supervisory Committee. Her husband, Regan '87, is the Enterprise Risk Manager for the Health and Human Services Commission. Their son, Preston, is a senior at Taylor High School. The Board of Directors and staff of Aggieland Credit Union and GreaterTEXAS Federal Credit Union want to congratulate Penny on her accomplishments and look forward to her contributions to the successful growth and operation of the Credit Union. ^AGGIELAND & ^ D C r% I T ^ iikii/^k! CREDIT it UNION 979.696.14401800.999.0310 oggielondcu.org 201 Southwest Pkwy. E. | 501 University Dr. W. 2127 E. W. J. Bryan Pkwy. SPORTS The Battalion I 4.17.15 8 ■ ' ■ : -t. '' .■ ■: Valerie Gunchick — THE BATTALION Senior Laura Sumrall scored a point in reining at the Western Finals held at A&M March 28. With its sport on the hot seat, A&M equestrian heads to championship By Seth Stroupe Twelve teams from across the country travel to Waco, Texas, this weekend to take part in this year’s NCEA National Championship. No. 4 Texas A&M will en ter competition as one of the most deco rated teams with a roster stocked with six All-Americans and five All-SEC honorees. The teams are led by senior captains Haley Buchmiller and Laura Sumrall. Bu- chmiller was named to the first team All- American squad after leading the team in hunt seat victories (nine) and most outstand ing player honors (four). Sumrall earned her All-American spot in reining by leading the discipline and her team with 12 wins. Head equestrian coach Tana McKay said she credits the two captains for helping craft the team into a cohesive unit, something that is no small task in a sport that consists of a series of individual events. “This team really buckled up and came together after not having a very good season last year,” McKay said. “They’ve pushed each other and challenged each other and they knew what they wanted to get ac complished. Just like in any other sport, you want to be doing your best at the end of the season.” The upperclassman leadership on the team also gives the squad another inher ent advantage — experience. The NCEA Championships provides a setting different from what the athletes may have grown ac customed to during the regular season. The stage and the pressure are larger and the rid ers have to perform on the backs of unfa miliar horses that are selected at random and assigned to teams. “Our athletes have been riding horses since they were little, just like other girls grow up playing soccer,” McKay said. “But [at the NCEA nationals] we ask them to do something completely different than what they’re used to. In soccer, the ball and the goals are always the same size ... our sport is different. Experience really helps the team in knowing what they have to go through when they aren’t showing their own horse, when they’re on unfamiliar equipment, if you want to call it that.” The Aggies are going to need every ad vantage they can to navigate through the bracket. The Aggies will most likely have to face conference rivals and equestrian leaders No. 1 Georgia and No. 5 Auburn on their road to the finals. But the biggest challenge facing this team, and perhaps all of the teams in the bracket, is outside of the arena. In October, the NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics made a recommenda tion to remove equestrian as a recognized collegiate sport. Since its inception in 2002, the NCAA has labeled collegiate equestrian an emerging sport. That tide granted the sport a 10-year window to reach at least 40 schools. There are currently less than 20 schools with an equestrian program, which is why the committee has requested that equestrian be removed. So far, no further actions have been taken against equine athletics. In the meantime, the NCEA has hired an executive director to promote the sport to other universities to address the sport’s biggest challenge: the general lack of understanding pervasive both in the public and collegiate administrations. “The biggest problem is that most ath letic directors don’t understand the sport,” McKay said. “They don’t know anything about horses and they think it’s too expen sive. But the reality is that equestrian is one of the cheapest sports on campus, along with track.” The Aggies will start their tournament play Saturday. Having earned a first round bye, they are slated to face the winner of No. 5 seed Auburn and No. 12 seed Ten nessee Martin. The match will begin at 8:30 BASEBALL CONTINUED led the team past Abilene Christian. He has racked up 32 RBIs while leading the team with eight home runs. Nick Banks has also been a huge part of the Aggie offense. Even though his 13-game hit streak came to an end on Wednesday, Banks has a team-lead ing .407 average. The Aggie pitching staff has been one of the nation’s best all season, but this weekend will see a shift, with reliever Ryan Hendrix in the rotation for the first time this season. Friday night, Aggie ace Grayson Long will be on the mound. In his last start, Long worked seven innings, surrendering one unearned run on only three hits to earn his seventh win of the season against Mississippi State last Friday evening. He leads the team with a 2.12 ERA this year, and also leads the team in strikeouts (60). Arkansas will send out Trey Killian. First pitch will be at 6:30 p.m. On the mound for A&M Saturday, Ryan Hendrix will make his first start. This year, Hendrix has worked out of the bullpen, and has been a wrecking ball. In 14 appearances so far, he surrendered his first earned run of the season over the weekend against Mis sissippi State. He has garnered a 0.42 ERA this year and has a 3-0 record. He will face off against Razorback starter Dominic Tac- colini. The game will air on ESPNU at 7:30 p.m. In the series finale Sunday, A&M will turn to Matt Kent. In his last outing, Kent lasted 3 1/3 innings, allowing three runs, one earned, on nine hits in the win over Mississippi State. He has posted a 6-0 record this year, while being second on the team in strikeouts, with 43 this year. For Arkansas, Keaton McKinney will get the nod on the mound. Game time is set for 3:00 p.m. Heat Transfer Research, Inc. (HTRI), a global engineering research and development consortium—with nearly 1500 members and affiliates—conducts application-oriented research and uses proprietary data to develop methods and software for the thermal design and analysis of heat exchangers and fired heaters. — Immediate Full- or Part-Time Summer Opening — Software Development Assistant Learn practical software development skills working in a team-oriented environment with veteran software developers and engineers. 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