The Optimist (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 78, No. 35, Ed. 1, Friday, January 26, 1990 Page: 6 of 8
eight pages : illus. ; page 11 x 8 in. Digitized from 35 mm. microfilm.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
-i
Mmi Man MU. it viiUif ..". ;ipS?' " i' ' ' '
.ifcfnukHfc'ww;&
.V H'V;-M" V:-;-;fc
Uf
Optimist Pago 6 " '
' -. v Fridayt January 26 1080;
Cats steal win from TWU
. )
lady
'
r
By Jana Hunter
Assistant Sports Editor
Steals by Cathe Crow and Stacy
Bessire and two free throws by
Bessire in the last 1:30 of play
helped seal a 60-58 win over Texas
Woman's University Tuesday night
in Denton.
Besslre junior from O'Donnell
sank two free throws with 1:30 left
in the game after making a steal.
Then with :13 left on the clock
Crow sophomore from Lovington
N.M. made a steal to give the Lady
Wildcats sole possession of third
place in the conference.
Tennis
season
tb open
atTech
By Jana Hunter
Assistant Sports Editor
The men's tennis team will begin
its seasona.fcw weeks early when it
takes on Texas Tech University in
Lubbock Tuesday.
Tennis season usually begins the
weekend of Bible Lectureship
Coach Cecil Eager said but the
team was able to schedule a dual
match against the Division I oppo-
nent. Eager said he is excited about the
season opener in the Red Raiders'
indoor facility.
"l have a lot of confidence in the
guys" Eager said. "We have a lot
of experience back and our new-
comers arc very talented."
The Wildcat team .has .two
seniors one junior and three soph-
ombres returning from a team that
finished 12th in the NCAA Divf-
sion II national poll.
Eager said his only problem is
determining the lineup for the mat-
ches because of the evenness of the
team.
'We have eight very good
players" Eager said. "The matches
they play against each other are
usually close and they often split
sets."
The team has been strengthened
mentally with the volunteer help of
Dr. Scott Perkins a professor in the
Psychology Department Eager said.
fDr. Perkins helps a lot by
enhancing our mental toughness on
and off the court" Eager said. "He
is giving the guys confidence and is
giving them tools to help them
overcome impatience and lack of
concentration."
Eager said two doubles teams
have been decided but the final
team has not been finalized and the
order of the teams also is unknown.
One doubles team will consist of
Matthias Poth senior from Lud-
wigshafen West Germany and
Brent Klapprott sophomore from
Keokuk Iowa. Patrick Marrie
freshman from Houston and Kurt
Atkerson sophomore from San An-
tonio also will team up for doubles.
Other members of the team are
Chris Collins senior from Tex-
arkana; Lance Coleman junior
from Dcnison; Lance Cowart
sophomore from Richardson; and
Johnny Tallent freshman from
Gladewatcr.
Wildcats sprint into season
at Red Raider Invitational
ByJana Hunter
Assistant Sports Editor
Tpe ACU men's track team will
open its indoor season Saturday
and the women will try to qualify
more. athletes for the national in-
door meet at the Red Raider Invita-
tional in Lubbock.
poach Jerry Dyes said the men's
team has good experience returning
ariU several freshmen who have
good potential.
' We don't have a lot of depth
but so far we have stayed healthy"
Dyes said. "We have a good group
ofgfresKirien but we'll have to wait
and see how they perform. They
will be a developing group
throughout the year."
Three All-Americans return to
the squad from last year's team In-
cluding James Browne senior from
Whlttier Calif.; Aaron Phillips
junior from Caracas Venezuela;
anH Wendell Edwards sophomore
from Tennessee Colony
VZ
Coach Burl McCoy's team will
face two winning conference teams
this weekend with a chance of mov-
ing into second place in the league.
The Wildcats play host to Eastern
New Mexico 10-6 Saturday at 6
&m. and West Texas State 16-1
onday at .6 p.m. WTSU ranked
fourth in the nation is the defen-
ding conference champion.
McCoy said the game against
TWU pleased him because of the
team's defensive efforts and its abil-
ity to continue to play tough after a
long road trip
"I thought we played very good
defense" McCoy said. "Wc got on
bbbVt' JbbbbbVMbbbbbbbbbbhS1 'vHHfcL ?' MqJPIIblebbV
I BBBBBBHbBBbWbLBbBhbW H 'jr 4. H?iuBLLLLLr Hhb) tUEwKt' mE TOBaB
bbHvelIbbHHHbF "&'? f& & -tvftAIf IBLHiHiH SBK1.3risflBH PUsLLI
EBBbWiK1 kIbBBBbIBBBHBvB y fli! " $ aK tt J BBBBsBIBBbIbBBBBbY' cBBBMSCWYVWaBBBBfi ' mflBBBBBD
Kw1 LBBBBBBBBKREuk 'mfltpK'b. $n yk SstfiSffiSQrwSBSiw.''' imk m ' ll J wf SsBBLhLB
Headless sportsman noycid.whn.wimw
Wildcat Clint Fletcher freshman from Deer Park appears to put his head through the wall as he
drinks from one of the inset water fountains outside Moody Coliseum after practice Wodnesday
afternoon. The men's and women's basketball teams will serve as host to Eastern New Mexico Uni-
versity Saturday night and to West Texas State University Monday night. Both sets of games will be
played In Moody Coliseum.
Browne is the defending outdoor
national champion in the triple
jump and Phillips placed fifth at
the national meet in the 400 meters.
Edwards placed eighth in the 110-
meter hurdles.
Dyes said other upperclassmen
who have a good chance to qualify
for the national indoor champion-
ships include Ralph Roberts junior
from San Juan Trinidad and Dex-
ter Steele sophomore from Moruga
Trinidad in the 60-meter dash;
Michael Garcia senior from Anson
in the 8Q0 meters; and David Bed-
ford senior from Duncan Okla. in
the high jump.
Women's Coach Wes Kittley said
the Texas Tech meet will be better
and tougher than the meet last
weekend.
"This track is fasterand the field
event facilities are much better"
Kittley sald.V'We have '"a better
chance to qualify more people for
nationals."
The team has been training on
J L
the boards well and wc contained
their inside people as well as we
could have. Also Texas Woman's
was fresh and we were playing our
third game on the road in four
days."
The Pioneers' ceriter Peggy Allen
is the conference's leading scorer
and rebounder. Michelle McDaniel
freshman from Clayton N.M. and
Linda Evans freshman from
Anderson played well defensively
against Allen McCoy said. Allen
finished with 20 points and nine re-
bounds to lead the Pioneers.
Suzanne Johnson Senior from
Fort Worth led the Lady Cats with
several different surfaces because
the track at Elmer Gray is undergo-
ing renovations Kittley said and
changing surfaces is hard on the
athletes' legs.
"Overall we're just trying to keen
everyone healthy" Kittley said.
"We're running some at McMurry
and the track has a hard surface."
Dyes also said the lack of training
facilities has been inconvenient but
the athletes are most bothered.
"The guys are a little anxious
about the matter" Dyes said.
"They're getting a little tired of
loading up to go find a track to run
on."
Kittley said five or six athletes
have a good chance of qualifying for
nationals. Among them are Daphne
Harvey senior from Portland and
Denise Lewis freshman from
Gasparillo Trinidad in the shot
Eut' Wendy Ator sophomore from
urleson in the high jump; and
Racheal Honea freshman from San
Antonio in the long jump.
i iciitfiuuiHiuc
23 points eight rebounds four
assists and four steals.
"Suzanne is just nn amazing
player" McCoy said. "She's carry-
ing such a heavy load that I don't
know how she does it. She works
Unbelievably hard."
Johnson is second In the con-
ference in scoring with 19.0 points
a game ninth in rebounding with
an average of 7.0 fourth in assists
with 4.4 a game and second in
three-point shooting percentage
with .425.
"Suzanne guards the opponent's
toughest player and she gets several
steals a game" McCoy said. "She's
' I
Bbb1bbbmb1bbbbHbbBSBBb7 )m UNmHShbbHBBBBbBIbBBBBV
bbbb1bbhbhbbVbHbVbHiLJRb7 " bb8KbVb1HebbbbbbbbbbH
BBflBBBB9BjHBflBBBJBJBHBB9MPr dtffKBBEHSUBBIBEUEKBUl
BHBSBfwinBtnlwffin ' HmmWma&ISSBSB
Straight swing
Wildcat Kurt Atkerson sophomore from San Antonio makes a swing during practice Wednesday
The men travel to Lubbock Tuesday to meet Texas Tech University for a dual match.
my tvrvB'T u"
the best crumb-snutcher I've ever
seen."
The games against ENMU and
WTSU wiU be difficult McCoy
said although Eastern New Mexico
has been struggling lately.
The Zias arc 3-3 in league play
but have lost their last two games to
Central State and Cameron Univer-
sity. The ENMU defense is third in
the conference holding its oppo-
nents to 63.5 points a game. But the
Zias are scoring only 64.3 points a
game despite being the top free-
throw shooting team with a .746
percentage.
West Texas State has a good
Cager size a problem
at LSC midway point
By Lucas W. Hendrlckson
Sports Editor
The 1989-90 basketball season will
reach its midway point this
weekend when the Wildcat men's
team faces off against Eastern New
Mexico Saturday and West Texas
State Monday at Moody Coliseum.
Head coach Dee Nutt's charges
aie 3-14 on the season and 1-4 in
Lone Star Conference play.
The young Wildcat team held its
own against LSC leaders Texas A&I
and East Texas State but the team
still finds itself outmatched in some
areas.
"It's a real struggle because all of
these clubs have big strong guys
inside who can jump out of the
building" Nutt said. "It takes a toll
on our kids because they're not that
big."
Nutt said the team was beginning
to overcome some of its match-up
problem because of the progress of
centers Clay Halla freshman from
Abilene Christian High and Ken
Cunningham sophomore from Port
Lavaca.
"We are using our strength inside
more" Nutt said. "Cunningham
and Halla arc playing more and
their progress is going to keep get-
ting better."
He said the 6-7 Halla and 6-8
Cunningham were getting more
E (laying time due to their individual
mprovements in practice.
"They have the physical tools to
do it and we're looking to them to
spell those guys who get in foul
trouble" Nutt said.
Foul problems have been evident
for the Wildcats most recently for-
ward Joffcry Jones senior from.
Houston fouling out during an
ACU rally against East Texas State.
But Nutt said the problem does
not stem from lack of hard work by
the team.
"We really are playing better
defense but you get caught in situa-
Week of Jan. 28-Feb. 3
Jan. 28 Women: Cameron
at Texas Woman's
Jan. 29 Men: West Texas
State at Abilene Christian; East-
ern New Mexico at Angelo State;
Cameron at East Texas State;
Central State at Texas A&I
Women: West Texas State at
Abilene Christian; Eastern New
Mexico at Angelo State;
Cameron at East Texas State;
Central State at Texas A&I
H0yC.j.wwtwopun
TUCtCDnUUIU VflTtO lau.-'tttarMyv
team with several players back'f
from last year's team and several
junior college recruits.
McCoy said handling the Lady
BufT full-court press will be a key to
the game. Josephine Longorla
WTSU's 5-5 guard is the team's
intirnidator McCoy said and
Denlsi Hunt 6-0 junior forward Is
averaging 1 5.8 points a game.
"If we play the way we did
against Central State we have a
chance of winning both games"
McCoy said. "But we arc not
mature and consistent enough to
know if we will play w a good ball
game." - ; '
tions that aren't anyone's
fault
sometimes" Nutt said.
"I don't think it's a major pro?
blem other than the fact that if you
get two quick ones early in the first .'
half you have to sit them down or (
you're going to lose them down the
stretch Nutt said.
The Wildcats lost to first-place
Texas A&I by 15 points but Nutt
said other factors contributed to the
team's loss.
The Cats left Abilene at 5:30 a.m. f L
Saturday for Dallas and caught a "f
flight to Corpus Christi.
When they arrived the transpor-
tation to Kingsville that had been
arranged for them was not there
which altered their schedule.
Nutt said he was glad not to have
to make the drive to Kingsville
from Abilene but the delays
distracted his team.
"It was the best way to do it; it
was cheaper and we weren't in that
bus for so long" he said. "But it
made Saturday a much longer day
than we had expected."
Nutt said the Cats were further'
along as a team this year than last"0
season but have a long way to go to
be in contention in the conference. ' '
"We're jusjawfujly young" Nutt
said. "But aaw-lttn see'us'playugr
more like I thought we would much
earlier.
"Wc have on occasion played
much better than even that but it'? J
been real spotty" Nutt said.
The Wildcats will face these two
opponents twice within ten days
when they travel to Portales N.M.
next Saturday and then on to Can-
yon the next Monday.
- Now that the team will have seen
all seven LSC opponents Nutt said
one team has the best chance of re-
maining atop the league.
"I would say A&I is the only
team in there that's going to proba-
bly stay at the top all the way
through" Nutt said. "But of
course they have to travel too."
Feb. 1 Women: Texas A&I
at East Texas State
Feb. 2 Women: Texas
Woman's at Cameron
Feb. 3 Men; Abilene
Christian at Eastern New Mex-
ico; Angelo State at West Texas
State; Texas A&I at .Cameron;
East Texas State at Central State
Women: Abilene Christian at
Eastern New Mexico; Angelo
State at West Texas State; Texas
A&I at Cameron; East Texas
State at Central State
y i. .. ... .
P
1
4
".
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
The Optimist (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 78, No. 35, Ed. 1, Friday, January 26, 1990, newspaper, January 26, 1990; Abilene, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101556/m1/6/: accessed July 10, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Abilene Christian University Library.