URBANA, Ill.  – No. 3 seed Texas A&M, which had reached the NCAA round of 16 only once in school history before this season, has reach the championship match and will face Stanford for the national title after a thrilling 4-3 victory over No. 7 UCLA Monday at the Kahn Outdoor Tennis Complex.

The Aggies overcame a 3-1 deficit and won the last match standing to defeat the Bruins, who were making their third consecutive appearance in the NCAA semifinals and finished runner-up last year.

The match came down to No. 4 singles, where Aggie freshman Ines Deheza had won her first set, 6-4, against Chanelle Van Nguyen. The second set came down to a marathon tiebreaker in which Deheza fought off several set points and had match point at 7-6 before eventually falling, 11-9.

Deheza broke and then went up 2-0 to open the third set before Van Nguyen got on a roll and won four consecutive games to go up 4-2. Van Nguyen was up 40-love in the next game when Deheza rallied and won the game to get within 4-3. Deheza held serve to tie the set at 4-4, and continued a run of 10 straight points into the next game. Deheza was at game point when Van Nguyen began to cramp and was unable to serve in the allotted time frame and therefore was issued a point penalty, giving the game and a 5-4 lead to Deheza.

Deheza was up triple match point in the next game, and despite Van Nguyen hobbling in severe pain, the Bruin scored two points before Deheza clinched the historic win.

The Bruins began the match by winning the doubles point to take a 1-0 lead. The 25^th-ranked duo of Robin Anderson and Skyler Morton defeated A&M’s 18^th-ranked Stefania Hristov and Cristina Stancu, 8-5 at the No. 1 line.

Catherine Harrison and Kyle McPhillips followed with a 9-7 victory over twins Ines and Paula Deheza at No. 3 to clinch the point for the Bruins, snapping the Deheza’s nine-match winning streak. It also marked the first time A&M had lost a doubles match in this year’s NCAA tournament.

Fourth-ranked Cristina Sanchez-Quintanar began singles by pulling off the highest ranked win in her career and knotting the team score at 1-1 with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over third-ranked Anderson at the No. 1 line.

UCLA went up 2-1, as Harrison defeated Anna Mamalat, 6-4, 6-2 at the No. 5 line, and the Bruins widened the margin to 3-1 as McPhillips came back to defeat Stancu, 2-6, 6-0, 6-1 at the No. 2 court.

Hristov won a clutch tiebreaker at No. 6 en route to defeating Courtney Dolehide, 7-6 (5), 6-1 to put A&M within 3-2, and Aggie senior Nazari Urbina won her 101^st career singles match with a 6-4, 6-2 win against Pamela Montez at No. 3 to tie the score at 3-3 and send all eyes to Deheza’s court.

Quotes:

Texas A&M Head Coach Howard Joffe

I’ve seen a lot in my playing and coaching days, but this is just incredible. This match, aside from the fact of the larger context of the match, we were 3-1 down. Then suddenly it’s 3-all and Ines (Deheza) is up a set. Then Ines saves three set points and has a team match point only to lose it. It is kind of cruel and unusual punishment. In the third set, Ines gets 2-love up, gets 4-2 down, 40-love down on what I would call the bad side – the wind is hitting the other way. And at that point, I don’t know that you give us any chance, and Ines plays like…I guess just in sports, once you feel like you are done the pressure goes off. It allowed Ines just to start hitting her shots and the next thing you know, the match turns. It is not an awful shame competitively, but it is an awful shame the way the match ended (with Van Nguyen cramping). I would give a ton of credit to Chanelle Van Nguyen, because she is a great lady. It is just very, very cruel and unusual way for the match to end, and she fought like an absolute animal and deserves a ton of credit.

(On the team’s resiliency)

Our team is a strange arrangement: three seniors and four freshmen. Part of the job of the coaching is to manage that. The (Deheza) twins, Ines and Paula are actually first-semester freshmen. Ines is an awful good player, but you saw her go through the whole myriad of emotions. If I was Sigmund Freud, I might have a guess of what got her back in the match, but truly, truly, truly she is a really, really strong kid, and I have the utmost respect.

(On the wind)

It is interesting because in College Station there is never a day when the wind isn’t 15-20 miles an hour, and I really thought it would be very advantageous to us and yet UCLA handled it magnificently in the doubles. I give our kids great credit, but we handled it poorly relatively to them, so I don’t know that it helped or hindered. It certainly afforded an advantage. UCLA did an awful good job with the wind.

(On if A&M is the underdog in the championship match)

At this stage, I think the biggest thing is to turn it around. In other words get the kids some food and to get out there and have our nine spots, our six singles players and our three doubles teams as fresh as can be and ready to go. I’m sure Stanford had a few licks put on them with the Florida match. Again, I always say this and I learned this in watching our football team at Texas A&M: none of the conjecture and hype is worth a damn thing. It is always a performance-based sport. So tomorrow if we play better than Stanford, we will win the title, and if they play better than us, then they will win.

Texas A&M Freshman Ines Deheza

(On mentality after not getting match point in the tiebreaker)

It was really hard for me. I had a match point and I couldn’t close the match then, and she won that set. And after that, I was up in the third set and she came back and she was up 4-2, 40-love up, and at that point I thought, ‘OK, Ines you have to change your game or you are going to lose in five minutes.’ And also my coach helped me a lot and the girls. They were there all the time and cheered for me. I’m glad I have those teammates.

(Keeping focused when opponent is hurting)

She got cramps, but I was 40-love up, three match points, I lost two points and I was like, ‘Oh god.’ She is hurt but it is difficult for you to keep playing, because you know she is not going to run good. I was trying to play safe, and that is how I lost those two points. I looked at my coach and he told me, ‘you’ve got to be aggressive here or you are going lose.’ So that is what I tried to do, and well, it worked out.

(On being a freshman)

I wasn’t expecting anything like this when I came here in January. I clinched the match in the semifinals of the NCAAs, no. This is a great experience for me. I know that this is going to help me a lot, and I will try to take advantage of this.

Singles
1. #4 Cristina Sanchez-Quintanar (TAMU) def. #3 Robin Anderson (UCLA), 6-1, 6-3

2. #20 Kyle McPhillips (UCLA) def. #68 Cristina Stancu (TAMU), 2-6, 6-0, 6-1

3. #52 Nazari Urbina (TAMU) def. Pamela Montez (UCLA), 6-4, 6-2

4. Ines Deheza (TAMU) def. Chanelle Van Nguyen (UCLA), 6-3, 6-7 (9), 6-4

5. #93 Catherine Harrison (UCLA) def. Anna Mamalat (TAMU), 6-4, 6-2

6. Stefania Hristov (TAMU) def. Courtney Dolehide (UCLA), 7-6 (5), 6-1

Doubles (UCLA wins the point)
1. #25 Anderson/Skylar Morton (UCLA) def. #18 Hristov/Stancu (TAMU), 8-5

2. #49 Sanchez-Quintanar/Wen Sun (TAMU) vs. #38 Dolehide/Montez (UCLA), 4-7 unfinished

3. Harrison/McPhillips (UCLA) def. I. Deheza/Paula Deheza (TAMU), 9-7

Order of finish
Doubles: 1, 3
Singles: 1, 5, 2, 6, 3, 4

Team records
Texas A&M: 26-3
UCLA: 20-6

Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics

The post A&M advances to Finals, Defeats UCLA 4-3 appeared first on WTAW.

The post Kevin O’Connor Kommentary May 20 appeared first on WTAW.

WTAW’s Bill Oliver visits with Kelley McKethan.

The post Bryan PD Update appeared first on WTAW.

But that’s not stopping the building owners from continuing their renovation.

Cliff Collard of Arsenal Tattoo says the makeover of the former Texaco station at 26th and Sims should be completed in 45 days…or the end of June. But it won’t be until mid-July until a newly created P&Z subcommittee reveals its findings about possible changes to all downtown land uses.

Commissioner Bobby Gutierrez voted against the delay, but he supported creating a subcommittee of four other members, who with city staff will look at all land uses.

Downtown businessowner Rene Lawrence, who supports Arsenal’s move, called for banning payday loan offices.

Citizen comments for and against the request.

P&Z member Scott Hickle made the motion to create the subcommittee. He said “We have received a ton of documents from a lot of folks on both sides of this issue. Also the city council has directed this commission to come back with some sort of solution that they can look at in regards to current zoning regulations. And to do a proper job of that and not rush to judgment it’s my belief that we need to take a little bit more of a look at this rather than try to come up with some sort of a solution tonight.”

Scott Hickle makes the motion to table request & form subcommittee.

Joining Hickle on the P&Z study subcommittee are Leo Gonzalez, Nancy Hardeman, and Prentiss Madison.

Comments from Nancy Hardeman & Bobby Gutierrez.

Collard and his wife are also opening an art studio in the same building.

The latest delay follows P&Z rejecting the Collard’s request in January then the city council sending the Collard’s appeal back to P&Z last month.

WTAW’s Bill Oliver visits with applicant Cliff Collard.

Click HERE to read the city staff report that was part of the P&Z meeting.

The post Another Delay for Proposed Tattoo Business in Downtown Bryan appeared first on WTAW.

Kinsler is hitting .302 with seven home runs, 20 RBIs and 24 runs scored in 40
games.

The post Rangers Place Kinsler on 15-Day DL appeared first on WTAW.

Investigators believe five confirmed cases and five probable cases made up an isolated incident and is not an ongoing threat to public health.

It is not known if the cause was due to improper temperature, improper cooking, or cross-contamination.

The health department says the unidentified restaurant has been fully cooperative during the investigation. Control measures have been implemented to prevent further cases including, mandatory glove use by employees and continuous monitoring by the health department.

More information may become available when the health department holds a news conference Tuesday afternoon.

The post Source Of Brazos County E.coli Infection Is Identified appeared first on WTAW.

Photo courtesy of Bryan Police.

The post North Bryan Traffic Advisory appeared first on WTAW.

The Senate must approve regents appointed by Gov. Rick Perry. Monday’s hearing will include testimony from nominees Jeff Hildebrand of Houston and Ernest Aliseda of McAllen.

Hildebrand is a major Perry campaign donor and Texas alum. Aliseda is a former judge who is a graduate of Texas A&M.

The Senate is also considering the reappointment of regent Paul Foster of El Paso.

Any new board members are considered critical to the future of University of Texas at Austin President Bill Powers, who is believed to be fighting for his job.

The post Aggie Nominated to UT Board of Regents appeared first on WTAW.

The post Infomaniacs: May 20, 2013 (8:00am) appeared first on WTAW.

The post Infomaniacs: May 20, 2013 (7:00am) appeared first on WTAW.

The post Infomaniacs: May 20, 2013 (6:00am) appeared first on WTAW.

WTAW’s Bill Oliver visits with Brad McCaleb.

Some of the results, according to MPO Director Brad McCaleb:

• The highest volume entrance ramp the is southbound ramp south of Boonville Road (FM 158) with a 24 hour count of 11,144 vehicles and a peak hour volume (PHV) of 1,246 vehicles between 5-6 p.m.;

• The highest volume exit ramp is the southbound ramp to Highway 40/William D. Fitch with a 24 hour count of 11,624 vehicles and a PHV of 1,248 between 5-6 p.m.; and

• The highest Turning Movement Count (TMC) is 4,759 vehicles between 5-6 p.m. on the westside of Highway 6 at the southbound frontage road intersection with University Drive (FM 60).

McCaleb says the MPO is in the process of notifying stakeholders, located a quarter mile on either side of exits, of a meeting has been scheduled for May 30 at 10 a.m. in Bryan at the Brazos Valley Council of Governments board room.

Public meetings for area residents will be scheduled for late June/early July once the data analysis is complete.

Map of MPO’s freeway traffic study area.

MPO graph of vehicle count by hour of traffic using onramp from FM 159 to the southbound freeway.

The post Some Freeway Traffic Data Compiled appeared first on WTAW.

URBANA, Ill.  – No. 3 seed Texas A&M continued its historic run, blanking No. 6 seed Miami, 4-0, Sunday at the Kahn Outdoor Tennis Complex to advance to the NCAA Championship semifinals for the first time in school history.

The Aggies will take on No. 7 seed UCLA Monday at 5 p.m. The Bruins advanced after upsetting No. 2 seed North Carolina, 4-1.

Senior Nazari Urbina capped A&M’s win with her 100^th career singles victory as the Aggies improved to 25-3, breaking the school record for most wins in a season. Miami, making its nation-leading fifth consecutive appearance in the quarterfinals, ends its season 23-6.

A&M twins Ines and Paula were first off in doubles, winning seven consecutive games in a dominating 8-2 victory over Brittany Dubins and Stephanie Wagner at the No. 3 line. It was the ninth consecutive victory for the Aggie freshmen, who improve to 19-5 in dual matches.

Minutes later the Aggies’ 18^th-ranked duo of freshman Stefania Hristov and junior Cristina Stancu also completed a convincing 8-2 victory at the No. 1 court, defeating Monique Albuquerque and Clementina Riobueno to clinch the doubles point and give A&M a 1-0 lead heading into singles.

The No. 2 court was on serve with A&M seniors Cristina Sanchez-Quintanar and Wen Sun, ranked No. 49 in the nation, leading Miami’s Melissa Bolivar and Kelsey Laurente 5-4 when play was stopped.

A&M, looking to improve on its 18-1 record when winning the doubles point, got off to a quick start in singles by winning the first set on five of six courts. Miami, however, was making a bit of a comeback before Urbina clinched the win.

Stancu, ranked No. 68 in singles, dropped her opening game against 81^st-ranked Laurente at the No. 2 line before reeling off six consecutive games to win the first set, 6-1. Stancu then jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the second set and went on to win, 6-4, to put A&M up, 2-0.

Fourth-ranked Sanchez-Quintanar overcame a 5-3 deficit against 60^th-ranked Wagner to win the first set, 7-5, at the top of the lineup. Sanchez-Quintanar also fell behind in the second and was trailing 4-2 before the two-time All-American won the next four games to complete the 7-5, 6-4 come-from-behind victory, putting A&M ahead, 3-0.

Urbina, ranked No. 52 in singles, opened her match by winning the first four games against No. 105 Lina Lileikite at the No. 3 line. Urbina went on to win the first set, 6-1, and continued the momentum into the second set, winning the first three games. Urbina went on build a 5-3 lead and had three match points, but Lileikite came back to win the game to get within 5-4. Lileikite also fought off match point in the next game before Urbina closed out the 6-4 second-set victory.

Aggie freshman Anna Mamalat had won her first set, 6-4, against Albuquerque at No. 5. Miami was on the verge of splitting, taking a 6-5 lead in the second set before Mamalat tied the score at 6-6 to force a tiebreaker. The tiebreaker was knotted at 6-all when Urbina clinched the historic win.

Hristov also was locked in a battle at the No. 6 line. Trailing 5-4 in the first set, Hristov won three consecutive games to close out a 7-5 win in the opening frame. Hristov also made a comeback in the second set, trailing 5-3 before winning the next two games to even the score at 5-5 before play was stopped.

Miami won its only set at the No. 4 line, where 102^nd-ranked Riobueno held off Ines Deheza, 7-5. Riobueno jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second set and was holding a 4-2 lead when play was stopped.

A&M improved to 5-2 and posted its fourth consecutive win in the all-time series against the Hurricanes. This was the teams’ first meeting since 2002, and it marked the first time the teams met in the NCAA tournament.

Quotes:

Texas A&M Head Coach Howard Joffe

(On the win) “It feels absolutely awesome. I couldn’t be more proud of the girls on our team. Anyone who watched the match could tell that we actually outplayed them, and yet Miami is an awful tough team. They fought us and actually started to turn the thing around, so you have to give them credit. I just read in the paper this morning that Miami is the only team in the nation that has made the quarterfinals for the past five years, which talks about what a tough team they are, what a well-coached team they are. I’m delighted with our kids.

“It’s such a silly cliché in sports, but it really does help if you are peaking and playing your best tennis, in this case the NCAAs. I felt like I’ve been able to see this for the past two weeks, our kids just playing better and better and better. Certainly we were focused, but the tennis was really high quality on our part.”

Texas A&M Senior Nazari Urbina:

“We are really happy right now. It was one of our goals, but right now it is finally coming true. We are looking forward to tomorrow and to see who we are going to play, but we are really happy.

(On her match) “I could have won 6-2. I had two games where I was 40-15 and 40-love up, and (Lileikite) is a fighter so she was having to play great and win points. But at the end I was looking at Anna’s court and she was 6-all, so I was like I better clinch now and finish this because things could start getting worse.”

(on being in Final Four) “It feels great. One of my goals when I came to A&M was to give them a conference championship and become one of the top 10, top five teams in the nation. It was one of my goals, and it is a dream come true. It is so special for me and the girls, because right now we are making history at the university. I’m just really happy for my teammates, for the coaches and for all the team and the university, because they just deserve that and even more. We’ll see how it goes tomorrow, but we are really happy.”

(on career win No. 100) “I did know it, but wasn’t really thinking about it. But that is something that feels nice to achieve for the university, and just to represent A&M is great.“

No. 3 Texas A&M 4, No. 6 Miami 0
NCAA Championship – Quarterfinal
Kahn Outdoor Tennis Complex, Urbana, Ill.
May 19, 2013Singles
1.         #4 Cristina Sanchez-Quintanar (TAMU) def. #60 Stephanie Wagner (MIA), 7-5, 6-4
2.         #68 Cristina Stancu (TAMU) def. #81 Kelsey Laurente (MIA), 6-1, 6-4
3.         #52 Nazari Urbina (TAMU) def. #105 Lina Lileikite (MIA), 6-1, 6-4
4.         Ines Deheza (TAMU) vs. #102 Clementina Riobueno (MIA), 5-7, 2-4 unfinished
5.         Anna Mamalat (TAMU) vs. Monique Albuquerque (MIA), 6-4, 6-6 (6-6) unfinished
6.         Stefania Hristov (TAMU) vs. Melissa Bolivar (MIA), 7-5, 5-6 unfinished

Doubles (Texas A&M wins the point)
1.         #18 Hristov/Stancu (TAMU) def. Albuquerque/Riobueno (MIA), 8-2
2.         Sanchez-Quintanar/Wen Sun (TAMU) vs. Bolivar/Laurente (MIA), 5-4 unfinished
3.         I. Deheza/Paula Deheza (TAMU) def. Brittany Dubins/Wagner (MIA), 8-2

Order of finish
Doubles: 3, 1
Singles: 2, 1, 3

Team records
Texas A&M: 25-3
Miami: 23-6

Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics

The post A&M Blanks Miami to Advance to NCAA Semifinals appeared first on WTAW.

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – For the fifth time in program history, the 16^th-seeded Texas A&M softball team is headed to the NCAA Super Regional after stunning Baylor with an 8-0 five-inning walk-off win for the College Station Regional title on Sunday.

The Aggies (42-16) dropped a 9-5 game to Baylor (42-17) to force a second game before caging the Lady Bears in the final game of the doubleheader on Championship Sunday at the College Station Regional.

“Obviously, I’m very proud of our ball club,” Head Coach Jo Evans said. “It was a long, hot day. Really, the first thing I want to do is congratulate Baylor, I thought they were really terrific and gave us everything we could handle. The way they came back in the first game, it looked much like yesterday. They left a lot of runners on base and weren’t able to take advantage and we ended up finding a way to win yesterday. It kind of flipped on us today and the same thing happened. I just thought they did a really great job of forcing our hand and attacking. It made it very challenging for us going into the second game.

“I say it all the time, I really love our fight. We never quit. We came out and I think it was huge for Lo (Lauren Ainsley) to do what she did in that first inning. That gave us such a huge boost and then to step up and have Jenna (Stark) draw the walk followed by Garza’s big home run. So many players were on in that game and our kids wanted it really bad. Every player, all 19 of them, really played their hearts out. This wouldn’t have happened if Lo didn’t go out there and give us a chance to stay in the game and let us score some runs.”

A&M will travel to Norman, Okla., next weekend to face No. 1 seed Oklahoma in the Norman Super Regional. Tickets for the Super Regional go on sale Monday at 8:00 a.m., online at SoonerSports.com and over the phone at 405-325-2424 or 800-456-GoOU. Dates and times for the best-of-three series are to be announced, via AggieAthletics.com.

The Aggies are in the midst of a banner season, reaching the 100-home runs mark to lead the NCAA in 2013 tonight, and adding one more for good measure in the walk-off run-rule of the Lady Bears. Senior Meagan May now owns both the A&M career home run record (68) and the career RBI record (188) outright.

The Baylor win in game six of the College Station Regional forced a seventh contest for the double-elimination tournament as the Aggies and Lady Bears rematched on ESPN2.

A&M refused to give the Lady Bears momentum in game two, retiring the side in the top of the first and taking an early lead in the bottom of the inning.

After a leadoff walk and a single down the left-field line, Garza turned a 1-1 pitch into a hard-hit home run over right field for the 3-0 lead.

Garza carried the dominance into defense in the next half-inning, turning her second double play of the day and the Aggies’ 18^th of the season.

Expanding the Aggie lead, May hit a leadoff solo shot over left-field for the 4-0 run in the bottom of the second.

May sent another solo home run in as many at-bats over the exact same spot in the bottom of the fourth to stretch the Aggie lead to 5-0. The senior slugger hit three home runs on the day to expand the A&M career record to 68, and now owns the A&M career RBI record outright with 188 in her four years as an Aggie.

A three-up, three-down top-of-the-fifth that included a highlight-reel catch by Albus in centerfield, went quickly as the game reached what would be its final half-inning.

Albus carried the momentum of her impressive play over to the bottom of the fifth and led off with a perfect bunt single. With her second home run of the game, Garza made history with the Aggies’ 100^th home run of the season, a feat accomplished by few teams in NCAA history.

The long ball pointed to the scoreboard as it topped the fence in right-centerfield and pushed A&M out to a 7-0 lead.

The Aggies needed just one more run for the run-rule, and Lanphear was ready for it. The freshman’s walk-off homer over left was the 20^th bomb of her rookie season.

Sophomore Lauren Ainsley (14-7) tossed five shutout innings for the victory in the circle, fanning four hitters and giving up just two hits while walking three. Baylor starter Heather Stearns (12-5) threw one inning, allowing four earned runs on three hits and a walk, while fanning two.

A&M faced Baylor three times throughout the College Station Regional, picking up a 2-1 record vs. the Lady Bears on the weekend and moving the all-time series record to 60-22-1.

The Aggies turned three double plays on the weekend and pounded 11 home runs to lead the nation with 101 this season.

To learn more about Texas A&M softball, log on to AggieAthletics.com and follow @AggieSoftball on Twitter.

Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics

The post A&M Run-Rules Baylor to Win NCAA Regional Title appeared first on WTAW.

Other seeds in A&M’s portion of the bracket include No. 4 South Carolina, No. 5 Mississippi State and No. 12 Missouri. The other side of the bracket includes No. 2 LSU, No. 3 Arkansas, No. 6 Ole Miss, No. 7 Alabama, No. 10 Alabama and No. 11 Kentucky.

Texas A&M and Florida have met on seven prior occasions with the Aggies holding a 6-1 advantage in the series. Texas A&M swept the Gators in a three-game series in 2007 and won two-of-three in Gainesville in 2006. The first meeting came at the 1992 NCAA East Regional in Gainesville when the Aggies posted a 6-5 win to eliminate the host.

The Maroon and White won three of the last six Big 12 Championships, all in Oklahoma City. Texas A&M played in 14 of 16 Big 12 Championships, only missing out on the 2005 and 2006 editions.

The Aggies ended the regular-season with a 30-25 overall record and a 13-16 mark in league play.

SEC Tournament Bracket

Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics

The post Aggies Baseball Draws Florida in First Round of SEC Tournament appeared first on WTAW.

In a 28-2 vote on Friday, the Senate approved a program similar to medical residencies for doctors. The bill goes to the House, which has passed a similar version.

Arlington Republican Representative Diane Patrick has said her proposal would help prepare teachers to work in poor urban schools. It’s modeled on programs in Boston, Memphis and Chicago.

The program would be run through a public university in partnership with a nearby school district. Residents would work with university faculty members and serve as apprentice teachers. They would get stipends and job placement assistance. They would earn master’s degrees and certification.

A budget analysis projects the program would cost the state about $1.3 million annually.

————————————–

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ Texas will keep testing public high school athletes for another two years under the state budget deal agreed to on Friday.

The 5-year-old program began as one of the largest testing programs in the country, but has been gradually scaled down as testing of tens of thousands of athletes has resulted in only a handful of cheaters being caught.

Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst, who has championed the program, said lawmakers will spend $1 million over the next two years on testing. The program is run by the University Interscholastic League.

The program initially tested athletes in all sports. It has been scaled down to focus only on a few sports, including football, baseball and track.

The post Texas Lawmakers Advance Apprentice Teachers & Continuing Steroid Testing appeared first on WTAW.

The Aggies roughed up Volunteer starter Dalton Saberhagen from the get-go. Mikey Reynolds legged out a double on a hit to the right centerfield gap and Blake Allemand laced a single through the left side of the infield to put runners on the corners. Cole Lankford launched a first-pitch offering over the rightfield fence for his second home run of the season and a 3-0 lead just three batters into the game.

Tennessee (22-30, 8-20 SEC) bounced back to trim a run off the lead in the bottom of the first inning. With one out, AJ Simcox singled to rightfield and stole second base. A groundout by Will Maddox pushed Simcox to third and he scored when Scott Price threaded a single through the right side of the infield, cutting the lead to 3-1.

Texas A&M (30-25, 13-16 SEC) claimed the run back in the top of the second when Krey Bratsen launched a 1-2 pitch over the leftfield fence for a lead-off home run, his first dinger of the season and the second of his career.

The Aggies increased the advantage to 5-1 with a run in the fourth. Daniel Mengden bounced a leadoff single up the middle. With one out, Kratsen doubled down the rightfield line to put two runners in scoring position. Jace Statum drew a walk to load the bases and driving Saberhagen from the game. Allemand lined a ball off the glove of reliever Eric Martin to plate Mengden for the four-run lead.

The Volunteers trimmed two runs off the lead in the bottom of the fourth. Price was the catalyst of the rally hitting a leadoff single to the gap in right centerfield. Ethan Bennett followed with a single to rightfield. A fielder’s choice grounder by Christin Stewart forced Bennett out at second and put runners on the corners. Taylor Smart drove in Price with a double down the rightfield line. After Jeff Moberg was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Parker Wormsley smoked a ball to the hot corner where Hunter Melton made a heroic stab to prevent a multi-run double. Melton got to his feet to make the putout at third, but Stewart scored to cut the lead to 5-3.

Tennessee claimed its first lead of the game in the seventh. Moberg and Wormsley singled to start the inning and Zach Luther put down a sacrifice bunt to push both runners into scoring position. Simcox tripled to the gap in right centerfield to tie the score at 5-5 and scored the go-ahead run on a single through the left side of the infield by Price.

The Vols tacked on an insurance run in the eighth. Bennett was hit by a pitch to start the inning and replaced at first by pinch-runner Heath Loyd. Stewart followed with a five-pitch walk. A sacrifice bunt by Smart pushed both runners into scoring position and Loyd scored on a wild pitch, inflating the cushion to 7-5.

Bratsen paced the Aggies offense hitting 3-for-4 with one double, one home run, one run and one RBI. Allemand went 2-for-5 with one run and one RBI.

Price led the Volunteers at the plate going 3-for-4 with one run and two RBI. Simcox batted 2-for-4 with one triple, two runs, two RBI and one stolen base.

Jason Freeman (1-2) was saddled with the loss, yielding three runs on four hits in 1.1 innings of relief. Starter Rafael Pineda worked 5.0 innings, allowing three runs on five hits and one walk while striking out three over 5.0 innings.

Eric Martin (1-0) picked up the win out of the bullpen for Tennessee. He pitched 4.0 scoreless innings, scattering four hits while striking out four. Trevor Charpie earned his second save of the season, with one strikeout in 1.2 scoreless innings.

Texas A&M moves on to the SEC Tournament in Hoover, Alabama. The Aggies, who enter the fray as the No. 9 seed, will play No. 8 seed Florida in a 4:30 pm contest on Tuesday.

Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics

The post Aggies Drop Regular-Season Finale at Tennessee, 7-5 appeared first on WTAW.

The post Dramatic Four-Run Seventh Lifts Aggies to Regional Finals appeared first on WTAW.

TEMPE, Ariz. — For the sixth consecutive year and the 29^th time in program history, the Texas A&M men’s golf team has advanced to the NCAA National Championship as the Aggies posted a fourth-place finish on Sunday at the NCAA Tempe Regional.

“Our guys played fantastic today,” Texas A&M head coach J.T. Higginssaid.” They really came out and executed the game plan so well. Golf doesn’t lend itself to perfection very often but we did such a good job of keep the ball in play off the tee, hitting the right spots and converting on the keys to your hole. Our guys made it look easy at times out there today. That’s what we talked about last night and they went out an executed. For all that we’ve been through this year, I couldn’t be happier for our guys.”

The Aggies (280-277-272=829, -11) teamed up to shoot the day’s second lowest team round at eight-under par, finishing behind tournament champion UCLA (268-273-269=810, -30), Georgia (280-274-273=827, -13) and UCF (280-272-275=827, -13). The top five schools in the standings, which included tournament host Arizona State (284-274-274=832, -8) in fifth place, advance to the NCAA Championship which will take place on Atlanta’s Capital City Crabapple Course on May 28-June 2.

Johannes Veerman (67-70-66=203, -7) finished an impressive showing at the event, ending play in a tie for fourth place after a final round four-under par 66, a season low for the junior. The Sugar Land, Texas, native’s day was highlighted by five birdies as well as an eagle on the par-five 17^th hole.

Sophomore Ty Dunlap (73-69-66=208, -2) joined Veerman in going under par and collecting his season-low round on Saturday, firing a 66 as well to finish in a tie for 17^th place.

“Both Johannes and Ty got off to great starts and didn’t give anything back early,” Higgins added. “I think the other guys were able to catch a little momentum from them and it took a little pressure off, knowing that we were out to a great start and under par. They both played so well and are extremely talented young men. They looked like professionals out there.”

Senior Cameron Peck (68-73-70=211, +1) completed the event in 29^th place while classmate Drew Evans(74-72-70=216, +6) wound up tied for 45^th. Sophomore Greg Yates (72-66-82=220, +10) could not carry the momentum of a second-round 66 into Sunday, shooting 82 on his final run through the course to finish in a tie for 54^th.

Texas A&M, the 2009 National Champion, will carry an impressive run of success into the National Championship as the Aggies are one of only two programs nationally (USC) to have finished in the top 1

The post Men’s Golf Advances to Nationals appeared first on WTAW.

The Aggies, who improve to 24-3 to tie the 2004 squad for the most wins in school history, will play either No. 6 seed Miami or No. 11 seed Northwestern, Sunday at 4 p.m. in the quarterfinals.

“It feels really great, not even looking at the content of the match per se, but just the fact that it is the first time we have managed to get to the Elite Eight and get a win at the final site,” A&M second-year head coach Howard Joffe said. “I’m just really happy for each person as an individual, I’m happy for our group, and I’m obviously very happy for the university, because it is a great thing for Texas A&M athletics.”

A&M was playing in the round of 16 for only the second time in school history, having made its only other appearance in 2004. Virginia (19-10) was making its third consecutive NCAA Round of 16 appearance, and both teams were aiming to advance to the quarterfinals for the first time. The match marked the third time the teams had ever met, with A&M having defeated the Cavaliers in the two previous meetings earlier this season.

The match began with A&M twin sisters Ines and Paula Deheza giving the Aggies the early advantage in the race for the doubles point as they broke away from a 2-2 tie to defeat Maria Fucillo and Li Xi, 8-3, at the No. 3 line. It was the eighth consecutive victory for the Aggie duo, which improves to 18-5 in dual matches.

A&M clinched the doubles point at the No. 1 line, but it wasn’t easy. The Aggies’ 18^th-ranked pair of Stefania Hristov and Cristina Stancu was up a break at 7-6 with triple match point against Stephanie Nauta and Erin Vierra. The Cavaliers fought back to break A&M and even the match at 7-7. A&M broke back to go up, 8-7, and then held to win, 9-7, to put the Aggies ahead, 1-0.

A&M’s 49^th-ranked team of Cristina Sanchez-Quintanar and Wen Sun had jumped out to a 4-1 lead and were winning 7-4 against Julia Elbaba and Hana Tomljanovic at No. 2 when play was stopped.

“It was definitely a strange match because at the very beginning we were a little bit down and then we got in some commanding positions only to sort of falter,” Joffe said. “We had three match points at 7-6 for Stancu and Hristov, but we were able to sort of not let it freak us out and get going. The doubles point absolutely helped a lot.”

A&M had the momentum early in singles, winning the first set on five of six courts. However, three of six matches had gone to a third set when the overall victory was clinched.

“Every team that is here has just competed so much that there is a certain amount of parity,” Joffe said. “So the thing that I was really proud about today, I didn’t see us beating them in all six positions easy, but when the clock was stopped, we had won four of the courts in singles, and Anna [Mamalat] was up on her court. That’s very good when a lot of the matches were nip and tuck.”

Ines Deheza gave the Aggies a 2-0 lead after cruising to a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Xi at the No. 4 line. With the win, the freshman improved to 14-1 over her last 15 decisions.

Nazari Urbina, ranked No. 52 in the nation in singles, gave the Aggies a 3-0 lead and posted the 99^th win of her four-year singles career with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Tomljanovic at the No. 3 line.

Although A&M built the 3-0 lead, Virginia was holding its own on the remaining four courts. Nauta, ranked 78^th, had earned a split with 68^th-ranked Stancu at No 2, and Caryssa Peretz also had forced a third set against Hristov at No. 6. In addition, A&M’s Anna Mamalat had made a nice comeback at No. 5 against Vierra to force a third set.

Meanwhile, fourth-ranked Sanchez-Quintanar had battled to a hard-fought 7-5 first-set victory over 12^th-ranked Elbaba at the No. 1 line. After pulling off the first-set win, Sanchez-Quintanar took command in the second set, jumping out to a 5-0 lead.

A&M eventually gained the lead on all of the remaining courts. Stancu and Sanchez-Quintanar were both at match point on their respective courts, and in a bang-bang finish, Stancu topped Nauta, 6-4, 2-6, 6-1, and Sanchez-Quintanar defeated Elbaba, 7-5, 6-2, for the 5-0 victory, sending the Aggies to the next round.

After dropping her first set, 6-2, Mamalat, playing the No. 5 line for only the second time this season, won her second set, 6-2, and led, 4-1, in the third set against Vierra. In addition Hristov was up, 6-1, 3-6, 5-2, over Peretz at No. 6.

“It was a great job for Anna,” Joffe added. “I’m so happy for her. She got a well-deserved opportunity, and she really did a great job. In the context of the match, a lot of the matches had split. The fact that Anna had lost the first and she was able to split, gives the team a little bit more insurance, so I’m really proud of her and her effort.”

A&M is 4-2 in the all-time series against Miami. The teams last met in 2002, with A&M winning its third consecutive match against the Hurricanes.

Northwestern holds a 6-1 lead in the series against the Aggies and has won the last five meetings, including the most recent in 2005. A&M has never faced either team in the NCAA tournament.

Live scoring of the NCAA Championship matches is available at http://www.fightingillini.com/ncaatennis2013/livestats.html

Visit AggieAthletics.com for more information on Texas A&M women’s tennis. Aggie fans also can keep up to date with the A&M women’s tennis team on Twitter by following @AggieWTEN or on Facebook at:http://www.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tnmn#!/pages/Aggie-Womens-Tennis/143874782434654

No. 3 Texas A&M 5, No. 14 Virginia 0
NCAA Championship, Round of 16
Kahn Outdoor Tennis Complex, Urbana, Ill.
May 17, 2013

Singles
1.         #4 Cristina Sanchez-Quintanar (TAMU) def.. #12 Julia Elbaba (UVA), 7-5, 6-2
2.         #68 Cristina Stancu (TAMU) def. #78 Stephanie Nauta (UVA), 6-4, 2-6, 6-2
3.         #52 Nazari Urbina (TAMU) def. Hana Tomljanovic (UVA), 6-3, 6-4
4.         Ines Deheza (TAMU) def. Li Xi (UVA), 6-2, 6-1
5.         Anna Mamalat (TAMU) vs. Erin Vierra (UVA), 2-6, 6-2, 4-1 unfinished
6.         Stefania Hristov (TAMU) vs. Caryssa Peretz (UVA), 6-1, 3-6, 5-2 unfinished

Doubles (Texas A&M wins the point)
1.         #18 Hristov/Stancu (TAMU) def. Nauta/Vierra (UVA), 9-7
2.         Sanchez-Quintanar/Wen Sun (TAMU) vs. Elbaba/Tomljanovic (UVA), 7-4 unfinished
3.         I. Deheza/Paula Deheza (TAMU) def. Maria Fuccillo/Xi (UVA), 8-3

Order of finish
Doubles: 3, 1
Singles: 4, 3, 2, 1

Team records
Texas A&M: 24-3
Virginia: 19-10

Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics

The post Texas A&M Advances to NCAA Quarterfinals With 5-0 Victory Over UVA appeared first on WTAW.