TheBattalion04302012

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inside sports | 5 Big 12 champs

The men’s golf team upset the top-ranked Longhorns to claim the program’s first Big 12 tournament championship on Sunday.

thebattalion ! monday,

april 30, 2012

! serving

texas a&m since 1893

!"first paper free – additional copies $1 !"© 2012 student media

campus

Dustin O’Donnell — THE BATTALION

Ring Dance attendees mingle in the MSC Courtyard during the 2012 Ring Dance.

Photos by Roger Zhang — THE BATTALION

Junior Mikey Reynolds and the Aggies scored 12 against the Longhorns on Saturday, but managed only one run on Sunday.

Deflating victory

A&M claims series win against Texas despite 9th-inning collapses Austin Meek The Battalion

T

he ninth-ranked Aggies came within three outs of securing the series sweep after taking the first two games against the No. 20 Longhorns, but A&M dropped Sunday’s contest in Austin when its old foes made a ninth-inning run. Junior pitcher Michael Wacha stole the spotlight in Friday night’s home game, tossing nine strikeouts to go along with eight shutout innings in the 6-5 Aggie win.

“The story of the night was Michael Wacha,” A&M head coach Rob Childress said. “He was absolutely phenomenal.” The All-American improved to 6-0 on the season but his hard work nearly turned out to be for naught. In the top of the ninth, the Longhorns lit up freshman reliever Jason Freeman for four consecutive runs. Junior Kyle Martin came in to clean up the mess and notched the final two outs and the win. “You knew they were going to make a run at some time. They’re too good of a team not to,” Childress said. “It just so happened they did it in the ninth inning. I’m proud of our composure … We need

Junior pitcher Michael Wacha pitched

See Baseball on page 5 eight shutout innings on Friday.

Ring Dance returns to MSC Kalee Bumguardner

The Battalion Aggies rediscovered lost cities on Saturday by pulling a sword from its stone in Camelot, mingling with the Greek gods on Olympus, swimming underwater in Atlantis and finding gold in El Dorado at the 2012 Ring Dance. The 77th annual Ring Dance was held in the newly renovated Memorial Student Center. Almost 1,800 Aggies attended, 700 more than last year. “We were thrilled about the near 1,800 people we had in attendance. It was fantastic. We had a great, great Ring Dance,” said Tony Rosati, sophomore biomedical sciences major and Class Councils member. The Lost Cities theme for Ring Dance gave Class Councils room for creativity in decorating each room for party-goers. Features of the rooms included karaoke, a live band, dancing, plenty of refreshments and a gambling casino. “My favorite room is Camelot,” junior industrial distribution major See Ring Dance on page 2

student life

Cadets march into leadership Barrett House

The Battalion Despite the Texas heat, the Corps of Cadets spent the weekend outdoors, marching in celebration of another year coming to a close. Select units traveled to San Antonio to march in the Battle of Flowers parade, but returned in time to take part in the 18-mile March to the Brazos. The Battle of Flowers parade is a significant part of San Antonio’s Fiesta season, and an annual destination for the Corps. The Aggie Band, the Ross Volunteers, the Fish Drill Team and Parsons Mounted Cavalry each made the trip. The Corps’ participation is a reflection of the parade’s military tribute to the nation’s armed forces and veterans. Members of the Ross Volunteers, who also marched during Mardi Gras, said marching in Texas was nicer because of the Aggie support present. “It was different from Mardi Gras because there were a lot of Aggie fans,” said Zach Leger, junior history

football

Maroon and White game displays strengths, weaknesses

Running backs shine in up-tempo, innersquad scrimmage Mark Dore

The Battalion

Courtesy of Jennifer Whitney

The Fightin’ Texas Aggie Band marches in the Fiesta Battle of Flowers Parade on Friday in San Antonio. major and Ross Volunteer. “People everywhere were excited when they saw us, it was like Mardi Gras, without all the obnoxious LSU fans.” Caleb Gottlich, junior nutritional sciences major and Ross Volunteer, said it was great seeing the positive response the Corps received from the San Antonio community.

“There wasn’t an empty spot along the whole parade route and everyone was really enthusiastic about it,” Gottlich said. “I talked to a woman who has worked for the parade for a while and she loved having us there. The whole way down the route people See Brazos on page 7

The Midtown wn Men

First National Tour of One of Broadway’s Newest Musical Hits!

The White team — offense — nipped the Maroon team — defense — 48-44 as head coach Kevin Sumlin’s Aggie football team trotted onto Kyle Field Saturday for the annual Maroon and White game that marks the end of the spring practice slate. The scrimmage gave many fans their first glimpse of the new-look Aggies: new coaches, new players and a new conference. Sumlin has brought a new intensity to spring practice in Aggieland, and the Maroon and White game was no exception. The affair featured more than 100 plays in an up-tempo style characteristic of Sumlin during his tenure at the University of Houston. He believes practicing

at a breakneck pace is a necessity. “It’s easier to slow down than it is to speed up,” Sumlin said. “So as we get to the season, we’ll be able to adjust accordingly. It’s hard to speed things up in a game situation if you haven’t practiced it.” One critique of this practice approach is that, in the Southeastern Conference, teams play at a grinding, physical pace. Rather than 100 plays per contest as was the case in the Big 12, most teams run closer to 60. Defensive coordinator Mark Snyder said that though their opponents might not run their offense at the same pace, the high-speed practice will pay dividends in his team’s conditioning. “After this spring ball, I think we’re in pretty good shape,” Snyder said. “We condition every day at practice and practice alone is conditioning, so I think

Carol Burnett

See Football on page 4

Martha Graham Dance

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4/29/12 11:48 PM


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