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Freshman Jorge Gutierrez tripled, singled and walked twice in the series finale.
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Aggies outscore Bowling Green 50-8 on opening weekend PHOTO VIA 12THMAN.COM
The A&M women’s swimming and diving team earned its sixth title in program history this weekend.
Women’s swim takes home SEC championship Aggies finish with school record-breaking 1,304 points, sixth title in program history By Matt Koper @MattKoper After five days of competition, the Texas A&M women’s swimming and diving team are SEC Champions for the second-straight year, while the men’s team finished seventh in Knoxville, Tennessee. The women led throughout the entire span of the competition, finishing with a school-record total of 1,304 points. Georgia took second place with 1,113 points. The win in the 2017 SEC Championships marked the sixth title in the program’s history and the sixth under A&M head coach Steve Bultman. The 200-meter breaststroke saw the team score 163 points which helped them secure first place. A&M swept SWIMMING ON PG. 2
WARRANT AMNESTY ENDS MARCH 3 The spring warrant amnesty period for College Station and Brazos County began Feb. 13 and will continue through March 3. Citizens with outstanding warrants can avoid paying a $50 per case warrant fee if the fine is paid in full. Warrant status can be checked at cstx.gov/ warrants if the warrant was issued by the College Station Police Department. During the warrant roundup March 4 through 12, city marshals, police officers, reserve police officers and constables will arrest those with outstanding warrants. — Staff Report
True freshman Jorge Gutierrez hits 2 home runs, triple in first collegiate series of career By Heath Clary @Heath_Clary
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ost of the question marks surrounding the 2017 Texas A&M baseball team were about whether or not its offense would be productive enough to win games. If the first series is any indication, the Aggies (3-0) are not going to have any problem scoring runs. A day after an offensive explosion produced 15 runs in the season opener, A&M poured it on the visiting Bowling Green’s pitching staff. The Aggies easily swept Saturday’s doubleheader, beating the Falcons by scores of 19-2 and 16-5 at Olsen Field. “It’s unbelievable,” starting pitcher Stephen Kolek said of the offensive output. “To have an offense like that behind you lets you go out there and pitch with no fear. You can throw the ball
Cassie Stricker — THE BATTALION
over the plate knowing that your defense has your back and the offense is gonna get you ahead. It’s not easy when you have to wait around after a nine-run inning but I’ll take it.” Similar to Friday, the Aggies ambushed Bowling Green’s pitchers, repeatedly taking advantage of the Falcons’ inability to throw strikes and their eight errors on the day. The Aggies got two quality outings from their sophomore starting pitchers. Kolek pitched five innings of one-run ball in the first game of the doubleheader, scattering three hits and striking out three, while Mitchell Kilkenny struck out six in five innings, allowing three hits and three runs in the nightcap. “I thought they both did a great job,” head coach Rob Childress said. “Stephen’s attack and tempo was the best I’ve seen in his time here at Texas A&M. Mitchell couldn’t have commanded the ball any better.” Senior outfielder Nick Choruby continued to be a dynamic force atop the Aggies’ lineup, reaching base nine times on the BASEBALL ON PG. 2
Texas A&M hosts 9th annual Acappellooza A cappella groups from 6 universities showcase talents at annual event in Rudder Auditorium By Alexis Alvarez @alexisalvarez_2 Nine A cappella groups from across Texas came together at Rudder Auditorium Saturday to showcase a variety of A cappella performances, each with their own unique sound. This year, the lineup included groups from Rice, SMU, Texas State, UT, U of H and four groups from A&M. Each group performed a set composed of three songs, with genres including pop, country, R&B, hip-hop and more. Ben Ikwuagwu, supply chain junior, member of HardChord Dynamix and co-host of Acappellooza said the event lived up to his expectations. “I think it was amazing. This is probably the best Acappellooza we’ve had in my two and half years of experience,” Ikwuagwu said. “I think all the groups were amazing tonight.” Alexander Ron, sophomore from Rice University and member of the Rice Philharmonics said it’s difficult performing in front of such a large crowd. “This was one of the best A cappella shows I’ve ever been to. At Rice we have a small school — this is massive,” Ron said. “I get so nervous when I see 500 people [in the audience]. I was ACAPPELLOOZA ON PG. 4
Leah Kappayil — THE BATTALION
Junior Akshara Pasashar performed her rendition of “Duaa,” a Hindi song, during Acappellooza Saturday.
A&M quidditch competes in USQ Southwest Regional Championship By Mariah Colón @MariahColon18 Twenty-one quidditch teams competed for spots to attend the national championship during the 2017 USQ Southwest Regional Championship held at Veterans Park this weekend. Among those 21 teams was Texas A&M’s own quidditch team. A&M played four games on Saturday, losing only one to Texas State. Before the Regional Championship Rachel Nicoletti, English senior and chaser for the quidditch team and keeper Keaton Mallory, mechanical engineering junior, said Texas State was going to be their biggest competition this weekend. “Texas State has been a big competition of ours … Our quidditch programs both started getting really big and became rivals in the past two years,” Nicoletti said. Shawn Erwin, biomedical engineering junior and chaser for the A&M Quidditch team, said Saturday the team worked well together despite the low number of players they have due to injuries. “Our first game went over pretty well. Texas A&M Quidditch really enjoys playing a very fast-paced game, we like controlling the game and we’re definitely one of the fastest teams out here so we like running up scores on teams but we definitely need to work QUIDDITCH ON PG. 4
Spencer Russo — THE BATTALION
The Texas A&M Quidditch team holds a small Yell Practice in preparation for their final match of the day against UT.
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The 2017 crown is the sixth conference title in program history, all of which have been under A&M head coach Steve Bultman.
PHOTOS VIA 12THMAN.COM
SWIMMING CONTINUED
The Aggies celebrate after winning the SEC title. PHOTOS VIA 12THMAN.COM
BASEBALL CONTINUED day, scoring seven runs with four RBI. His biggest hit of the weekend came in the second inning of game one, when he launched a fly ball off the foul pole in right field for the first home run of his career. “He’s really transformed his body over his career and worked really hard on improving his swing,” Childress said of Choruby. “He’s playing with a lot of confidence right now. He’s no longer just a great defender and a shortgame guy—he can turn some outfielders around now.” Choruby said his teammates made sure to remind him that he hadn’t hit a home run in his first three years with the Aggies. “It was pretty funny, everybody has been giving me a hard time about it for a while because I hadn’t hit a home run since I’d been here,” he said. “It was exciting and I couldn’t have asked for much more from my teammates.” With all the runs, several Aggies had big days at the plate but freshman Jorge Gutierrez made a strong case for player of the day. The utility player from Sugar Land crushed home runs in each of his two atbats in game one, then proceeded to triple, single and walk twice in the series finale. Gutierrez hit two home runs in his senior season at Kempner High and matched that total in his first game.
“It’s a pretty awesome way to start my collegiate career,” Gutierrez said. “In the fall I was really struggling. I talked to all the coaches and they told me I needed to work hard to put myself in the picture. I did what I had to do, whatever it was, work on my swing, lose weight, run more, or working on my swing. Hard work payed off.” In all, the Aggies cranked out 31 hits in the two victories, 15 of which came from freshmen. Logan Foster went 2-for-4 in both games with four runs scored, Braden Shewmake recorded three hits and drove in four runs and Hunter Coleman went 2-for-3 with a triple and two runs scored. Childress was able to give several pitchers some work out of the bullpen with the Aggies jumping out to convincing leads in both contests. Landon Miner threw two perfect innings of relief in the first game and fellow freshmen Kyle Richardson and Mason Cole closed out the win with one inning apiece. In relief of Kilkenny in the series finale, John Doxakis and Cason Sherrod each worked a scoreless frame before closer Corbin Martin struck out four and gave up two runs in two innings. The Aggies now set their sights on Stephen F. Austin, will comes to Aggieland on Tuesday for a midweek matchup. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Doxakis will get the ball for A&M.
the podium — sophomore Sydney Pickrem won the race in 2:06.66, senior Ashley Mcgregor took second in 2:07.54 and junior Bethany Galat finished in third in 2:08.09. Senior Franko Jonker finished in fifth place in 2:10.02, followed by junior Esther Gonzalez in sixth place in 2:10.11. Junior Jorie Caneta and sophomore Monika Gonzalez-Hermosillo, finished first and second in the C final in 2:10.10 and 2:11.50, respectively. Juniors Lisa Bratton and Laura Norman along with freshman Sara Metzsch, combined to score 36 points in the 200-meter backstroke. Bratton placed fifth in the B final, and Metzsch and Norman finished in 19th and 20th place, respectively. The 100-meter freestyle helped the Aggies score 79 points, and the best finishes came from juniors Beryl Gastaldello and Kristine Malone. Gastaldello finished in fourth in 48.02 and Malone captured seventh in 48.82. The women closed out the night with a second place finish and season’s-best time in the 400m freestyle relay. Senior Sarah Gibson, Gastaldello, Malone and freshman Amy Miller turned in a time of 3:13.37 — the fourth-fastest in school history. The men’s team finished in seventh place with a total of 759 points. Florida (1170.5) won the meet and Georgia (932) took second place. Senior Brock Bonetti broke his own record in the 200-meter backstroke in a time of 1:41.77, taking sixth place. Both teams will return to action at home Feb. 23 to 26 for the Speedo Sectionals at the student Rec Natatorium.
Morgan Engel — THE BATTALION
Senior Nick Choruby went 8-12 in three games producing five RBIs, including a home run.
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U.S. Navy Adm. Michael Rogers speaks about homeland security at this year’s SCONA.
SCONA hosts delegates from 22 universities in annual conference By Jonathan Handel @jhandel18 This weekend, more than 200 students from 22 universities gathered at the Texas A&M campus for the 62nd annual MSC Student Conference on National Affairs, or SCONA. Each year since it began, SCONA has hosted prominent alumni from career fields such as public health, journalism and government, as well as various high-ranking military officials. The conference brings delegates from around the nation and world to talk about topics of national importance through networking events, roundtable discussions and keynote speakers. “The purpose of SCONA is to grow your knowledge and understanding of how things work on a bigger scale when it comes to international politics and diplomacy,” said international studies sophomore and conference delegate Monica Bartler. This year’s conference theme was “Against All Enemies, Foreign and Domestic: Securing the Homeland.” Students were divided into 17 roundtables, which focused on a specific topic of their preference. These topics included Weapons of Mass Destruction, Domestic Terror, Technological Innovation, Media Bias and many others. Each roundtable was led by a facilitator who had experience in the fields they were discussing. Rolando Santos, Class of 1978 was the facilitator of the group “Good Morning America: Deciphering the Hidden Agendas of the Media.” “Everything makes [our Homeland] vulnerable,” Santos said. “We’re more susceptible [to those problems] than we like to think we are at almost every lev-
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el.” Santos, a former CEO of CNN Chile, has more than 30 years of experience in the broadcasting industry, and said things like the media, infrastructure and the nation’s energy policy are equally important when it comes to defending the country. During the conference, students were tasked with writing a presentation within their specific round-table on their topic as it applies to the state of the country’s domestic and foreign policy. Of these, the best were chosen to be taken to Washington, D.C. and given to a United States lawmaker. In attendance at the conference was Major Gen. William Rapp, Commandant of the U.S. Army War College, who judged the students’ presentations on their assigned topics and concluded the conference by speaking at a banquet on Saturday. “These are really hard problems, and the solutions to them are not going to be easy,” Rapp said. “But [the delegates] must feel that they have to be part of the solutions, because my generation’s not going to solve them. We’ll still be dealing with how we secure our homeland 30 years from now.” Aside from participating in nearly 10 hours of discourse and debate, students attended lectures on various topics, including the state of United States cyber security led by Adm. Michael Rogers, Director of the NSA and U.S. Cyber Command and Charlie McMillan, the Director of Los Alamos National Laboratory. Danny Vegel, U.S. Naval Academy senior, stayed with the Corps of Cadets during the conference. “It’s been a really cool opportunity to see Texas A&M. It’s really the first time I’ve been exposed to the culture, what it means to be an Aggie,” Vegel said. “I love the interactions I’ve had at SCONA.”
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QUIDDITCH CONTINUED on our passes,” Erwin said. “We’re doing a really good job playing together as a team and we’re really making it work with the few numbers we have because we are really beat up at the moment.” Sean Church, sports management junior and chaser who started playing quidditch his freshman year, said he and his teammates have their eyes set on qualifying for nationals. “The first two games we played well, but it was a little sloppy,” Church said. “Our goal is trying to get this weekend to get us to qualify for nationals.” Despite Texas A&M’s strong playing on Saturday, Sunday’s games began with a win against Phoenix but ultimately ended with a loss against Texas. Mallory said through quidditch he was able to find a new athletic activity in college. “I guess for me because I swam in high school I messed up my shoulder so I pretty much had no other outlet for like some sort of athletic activity so finding this was something new that I could do and not potentially get hurt,” Mallory said. Nicoletti also spoke on the importance that quidditch has had on her time here at A&M. “For me I have met really great people through this program. I’ve met my roommates, I’ve met some of my best friends and I get to hang out with them all the time and play sports with them so I think that’s been the most rewarding for me,” Nicoletti said.
Spencer Russo — THE BATTALION
Texas A&M player defends against University of Texas’ attempt on a goal.
ACAPPELLOOZA CONTINUED
Leah Kappayil — THE BATTALION
UT Austin’s “One Note Stand” performed a complication of songs including “You’re nobody ‘til somebody loves you.”
just intimidated on the drive over.” Texas A&M’s all-female A cappella group, the Femmatas, impressed the audience with their unique sound. Cassie Brawner, education junior, president of the Femmatas and co-host of Acappellooza, said she was proud of the performance they put on. “I thought it was really great,” Brawner said. “I know speaking for the Femmatas we’ve worked so hard, this is the first year we’ve implemented choreography into our set list and I’m really proud of the girls it turned out really great.” Nathan DeVera, president of SMU’s Southern Gentlemen said the event exceeded his expectations for an A cappella showcase. “I thought it was phenomenal. I’ve never attended an A cappella event like this, and this one kind of blew it out of the water for me for my first time,” DeVera said. “It was phenomenal being here, I think it was great for us, it was great for the other groups and we’re really excited to be here for next year.” Richmond Dewan, member of SMU’s Southern Gentlemen said they wanted to incorporate inclusiveness into their performance. “The idea for our set kinda came from, we picked two of our legacy songs and then one a kind of a recent song. The idea was these songs we thought would be different maybe than what other A cappella groups would do,” Dewan said. “Maybe something a little bit older, something a little bit newer, and something you know very classic, and just make it into a cool performance that no matter who’s here someone would find something from.”
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PODCAST COURTSIDE CONVO WILL TAKE LISTENERS THROUGH AGGIE MEN’S BASKETBALL’S 2016-2017 SEASON.
ON SOUNDCLOUD AND ITUNES
DIAMOND DISCUSSION A
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BATT SPORTS REPORTERS BREAK DOWN THE 2017 A&M BASEBALL SEASON ON SOUNDCLOUD AND ITUNES.