www.aggiecentral.comMonday, March 11, 2013 Volume 88 Issue 6

The Cameron UniversiTy

CollegianAggies shine at 2013 Scholarship

Donor Appreciation Dinner

An evening of thanks: (Upper left) PLUS Scholar Anna White shares her college journey with the audience. (Upper Right) Student Sarah Vrla welcomes donors and scholars as they arrive for the banquet. (Below) Students Molly Walker and Julie Duncan share their experiences at CU and express gratitude for having received the Buck and Irene Clements and Bernice Pittman Moss Scholarship, and the Heinz Family Scholarship.

Photos by Tiffany Martinez

Tiffany MartinezManaging Editor

Cameron University hosted a Scholarship Donor Appreciation Dinner on March 5 at 6 p.m. in the McCasland Foundation Ballroom at the McMahon Centennial Complex.

The event was planned months in advance, requiring all attendees to call or email in order to reserve their seats.

A reception preceded the dinner just outside of the ballroom where art students on scholarship were able to show off the product of the funds they had received.

Twenty-year-old Art major Amanda Coates stood alongside her personal composition during the reception.

“My painting is called ‘Confinement,’” she said. “I drew it to relieve some stress I was experiencing a while ago. It took me about six and a half months.”

Coates said she appreciated the chance to put her talents on display, and explained that a predominant inspiration behind her piece was her long-time favorite artist, Clive Barker.

After the 30-minute reception, guests piled into the ballroom at previously-arranged tables. Appetizing salads and deserts, decorations and pamphlets brightened approximately 30 tables around the room.

Vice President of University Advancement Albert Johnson, Jr. took the podium first to welcome the students, faculty and donors of the event.

“This dinner gives us an opportunity to match our students with our donors,” he said. “The opportunity that our donors provide our students is something that we are extremely proud of.”

Vice President Johnson went on to introduce several prominent figures involved in the CU scholarship programs. Dinner was

served shortly after he spoke.Bacon-wrapped asparagus

and fried chicken atop

buttered mashed potatoes was plated and served as the main entrée of the night

while faculty and donors mingled with students throughout individual tables.

President Cindy Ross then addressed the audience while attendees continued to

work on their dinner. “This is an opportunity for

our students to say thank you to the individuals who have provided them scholarships and it’s an opportunity our donors to see the impact of their generosity,” she said.

President Ross asked the students and recipients of such scholarships to raise their hands.

“These are the recipients of your generosity,” she told the donors, “Students whose lives have changed because of you.”

President Ross expressed gratitude toward individual donors while speaking. She said she accredits much of the continuous rise of enrollment and affordability of the university to their spirits of giving.

Students were then cast into the limelight, carrying out words of appreciation and musical performances.

Presidential Leaders and University Scholars (PLUS) scholarship recipient and senior Biology major Anna White was one of several students who were featured during the event.

“I have been honored to receive the PLUS scholarship for the duration of four years,” she said. “Not only did the scholarship assist me financially and will allow me to graduate without any debt but, more importantly, my scholarship has provided me with great opportunities throughout my college career.”

She said that the contributions of scholarship donors are very much appreciated, and it was because of the funds provided to her through them that she made the ultimate decision to attend CU.

Chairman of the Cameron University Foundation, Dr. Wayne Johnson wrapped up the evening, thanking all who attended and voicing his pride in the notion that CU now has over 70 endowed scholarships.

An abrupt goodbye: Former head men’s basketball coach Wade Alexander is seen coaching his team to victory. He unexpectedly resigned on Monday, March 4, two days prior to his team entering the Lonestar Conference Tournament.

Matt BerbereaSports Editor

A SUDDEN RESIGNATION

Cameron University Men’s Basketball players received unexpected news March 4 when they learned their head coach Wade Alexander had tendered his resignation just two days before the start of the Lone Star Conference tournament.

CU Athletic Director Jim Jackson appointed assistant coach Nate Gamet as the interim head coach for the remainder of the season. Jackson issued the following statement but was unavailable for additional comments while travelling to Allen, Texas with the team.

“Wade Alexander has tendered his resignation as Cameron’s head men’s basketball coach, effective immediately. I have

appointed Nate Gamet as interim head coach for the rest of the season and I have total confidence in his ability to direct our team. I am looking forward to Coach Gamet leading our Aggies as we head to the Lone Star Conference tournament this Wednesday.”

Coach Gamet is in his fifth season with the Aggies and previously served as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Northwest Missouri State University, where he helped lead the team to three Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) championships and one regional championship.

Coach Gamet said it is business as usual around the Aggies’ camp as they prepare for a possible bid in the NCAA Division II regional tournament.

“I’ve been with the guys four or five years now, I recruited the majority of them,” Coach Gamet said. “Our coaching style is a little different, they’ve been around me enough that it will be difficult but should be a smooth transition. For the situation, I think it will be as smooth as possible. We’re not going to change a whole lot of what we do and how we do things, it has worked and put us in the situation we are in. Just a few tweaks here and there and I think we will be ok.”

The Collegian Staff has been unsuccessful in attempts to reach Alexander for comment on his resignation. His departure comes on the heels of an undefeated home record as well as Alexander being named conference coach of the year.

Questions left unanswered as coach Wade Alexander says goodbye to CU community

Photo by Brandon Neris

News2 March 11, 2013www.aggiecentral.com

International Club holds concert in memoriamPaying tribute with poetry

and music, the Cameron University International Club held a concert in memory of students, friends and faculty that have died in recent years.

Students gathered on the evening of March 3 in the McCasland Ballroom for a memoriam concert held to remember and celebrate the lives of many, including Michael Augustin, Shea Byron, Sharmaine Hanna, Julous Kosegi and Laura Laudat.

International Club member Merita Tyrell-Mitchell was responsible for planning the memoriam concert and served as its host. Tyrell-Mitchell earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from CU in 2003 and went on to graduate with a Masters in Behavioral Science from CU in 2005. When she started attending classes at CU, she met and befriended another student. She ealized the other student had died when she picked up an issue of the university newspaper and saw her picture.

“When I first came here, there was this young lady in

my class. We would always talk about life, and she would always talk about her kids and her endeavors, and I started missing her — not knowing she had died,” she said. “I couldn’t believe it because nobody in the class knew — not even the professor.”

Staging the memoriam concert fulfilled plans she had made after one of her classmates died, Tyrell-Mitchell said.

“I really missed her. So I said, ‘someday, I wish to remember some of the students.’ I don’t remember her name, but I remember her story very well and I can see her right now — and that was probably 11 years ago,” Tyrell-Mitchell said. “She’s still with me.”

Tyrell-Mitchell began the evening by reading scripture from the Bible, and throughout the concert, she shared the story of each student with the audience before seguing to the next song or poem listed in the program. The songs selected for the evening included “Because You Love Me” by Celine Dion and “You Raise Me Up” by Josh Groban.

Tyrell-Mitchell said she had a specific ballad by Beyoncé in mind to convey

the tone of the memoriam concert.

“The song ‘I Was Here’ — I wanted that to play specifically. Even though these people are dead, they were actually here with us at some point,” she said. “We’re still remembering these people because they have touched our lives tremendously. So even though they’re not with us, the reality is that we still

think about them.”As the memorial concert

drew to a close, the CU International Club included the names and photographs of the deceased during a PowerPoint presentation. According to Tyrell-Mitchell, that included the names of people the members of the International Club wanted to remember.

“I asked students to send

me names of family, friends and loved ones that they wished to include, and some of them did that as well,” Tyrell-Mitchell said. “So it was a wide variety of people that we remembered.”

Junior Communication major Chaira Flanders honored those who died with her renditions of “Who You Are” by Unspoken, a contemporary Christian band,

and “Temporary Home” by Carrie Underwood, a native Oklahoman country star.

Flanders said she felt at ease while singing both songs.

“I felt very comfortable singing that song because it just seems to touch me,” Flanders said. “I wanted songs that would say what I was feeling, but not in a sad way. I wanted to sound like we were celebrating life. You can change who you are and this is my temporary home,” Flanders said, referring to her song selections.

In addition to family members, Flanders said she knew a student that was honored during the memoriam concert.

“There was one student in particular — I did not really get to meet her, but she is a friend of my friend, and I heard really, really good things about her, so I never could say I had a personal connection with her. When you have good relationships with friends, when anybody they know dies, it affects you as well,” Flanders said. “It’s just amazing the way that people could touch you, and you don’t even meet them, that really tells you about how they lived while they were here.”

Sarah BrewerCopy Editor

Rememberance: A group of International Club students join in the singing of “Kumbaya” while at the memoriam concert. The concert took place on March 3 in the McCasland Ballroom, and was a way to remember the lives of students who have passed.

Photo by Sarah Brewer

Duncan campus workshop offers financial advice

Prospective college students seeking financial aid advice on an affordable college education found assistance at an informational workshop held on Feb. 28 at the Cameron University-Duncan campus.

Emily Prichard, Academic and Financial Assistance Adviser at CU-Duncan, along with Cameron University Director of Financial Assistance, Donald Hall, orchestrated the workshop to benefit current and future students as well as parents of college students.

Frank Meyers, Cameron’s Associate Director of Enrollment Management, also attended the workshop, answering questions on the many complex facets of college financial assistance.

The workshop was the first of its kind to be hosted on the CU-Duncan campus. Financial aid workshops have been held in the past at CU’s Lawton location. The evening’s program promised “to provide information about grants, loans and scholarships.”

Prichard explained beforehand that the workshop was also intended as a recruitment tool for CU by helping students to realize there are options for an affordable college education.

“We just want to get [students] introduced to our campus, hopefully to promote not only Cameron as freshmen coming in, but to bring in some nontraditional students as well,” Prichard said.

Chris Whiteman, a senior at Marlow High School, along with parents Stephen and Donna, attended the workshop.

“We’re just considering our options,” Donna said. She explained they would like for Chris to attend the

Duncan campus upon his graduation.Director of CU-Duncan, Susan Camp, welcomed the group

and introduced Prichard, who would act as the main speaker for the evening.

Thirteen people, a mixture of high school students, parents and prospective college students, looked over financial aid packets as Prichard began her PowerPoint presentation.

Prichard opened the workshop by asking how many students would like 100 grand. She then handed out 100 Grand chocolate bars before delving into the more serious financial questions.

Prichard’s lecture outlined the basics of financial aid, answering the questions of what it is, how much can be received and how to apply. She also explained the process of preparing for and filing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid application.

The presentation also served to introduce audience members to Cameron staples such as Aggie Access and the AggieOne Card.

Throughout the evening, Prichard, Hall and Meyers discouraged loans, unless necessary and explained the difference between subsidized and unsubsidized loans.

The workshop concluded with Prichard opening the floor for questions, and the computer lab was reserved afterward for students and parents to receive assistance in filing their FAFSAs.

Meyers explained that financial assistance is an area on which CU prides itself as a university.

“Our financial aid office works really hard to keep students from taking out loans when they don’t have to,” Meyers said.

Meyers broke down the statistics, explaining: “Three of the last four years we have ranked in the top three of our category. Sixty-eight percent of our students have graduated with no debt, which is something in a world where two thirds of students nationwide graduate with debt.”

Kaylee JonesA&E Editor

Financial aid: CU-Duncan’s Academic and Financial Assistance Adviser Emily Prichard gives scholarship and financial advice at the workshop on the CU-Duncan campus. The workshop took place Feb. 28.

Photo by Kaylee Jones

CU Succeed tells students to dress for successCameron University

students received dress and interview tips during the CU Succeed Dress for Success and Ace the Interview workshop.

Career Services Coordinator Angie Best both lectured students on the ins and outs of dressing for interviews and provided tips for wardrobe malfunctions. Best also presented students with an interactive portion of the workshop where she conducted mock interviews with the attendees. The event took place at 1:30 p.m. in the Centennial Room in Shepler on Feb. 28.

Best began the workshop by describing how to dress for success in a nutshell. While she said people do not like to judge others based on appearance, it becomes critical when applying and interviewing for jobs.

“As much as we don’t like to base our opinions on appearance, it is very important,” she said. “If you take the time and effort to make

sure you are put together, are prepared and well dressed, that is going to convey a lot.”

Best said research is the key for dressing for success. She emphasized the importance of looking at companies’ websites in order to learn the organization’s colors and proper

attire. “Please, please, please do

your research. Learn as much as you can. You want to have as much knowledge as you can before you walk through the door,” Best said. “See what the company’s colors are. If you were to interview at Cameron

University, and you had on black and gold, we would probably love it. We may not love it if you were am OU tie.”

Best said if students are having difficulties in obtaining professional dress attire, they are invited to stop by Career Services and visit their lending closet.

“We actually have a lending closet in Career Services where local businesses will bring suits and blazers. If a student needs one, he or she is welcomed to take it,” Best said. “We give it to them. They don’t have to bring it back. It is just a free service offered by us.”

Best also offered tips on the topic of wardrobe malfunctions. While she said students should always be resourceful and not be afraid to ask a receptionist for a paper clip, she emphasized trying on the outfit the day before.

“If it is an obvious wardrobe malfunction, it is okay to excuse yourself to the restroom and adjust as necessary. Do a run through the day before,” Best said. “Even if you just wear

your outfit around the house for a bit, if it is going to rip or if it is too tight, you are going to know.”

Best continued the workshop by stating the services offered by her department. She said Career Services is able to set up practice one-on-one, panel and even phone interviews for students and alumni.

“We can pull industry specific questions and mix those in with common questions and do a practice interview. It will give you an idea of what to prepare for. It is amazing some of the interview questions that are floating around out there that people are asking on a routine basis,” she said. “We just want to give you a chance to be prepared.”

Best also said she enjoys working on interviews with students that speak English as their second language. She said she has the opportunity to learn from the experience as well.

“If English is not your first language, a practice interview could be helpful. I know there

are slang terms and phrases in English that my friends from other countries would question what I am saying,” she said. “We would just be learning as much as you.”

Best, along with Diversity Affairs Coordinator Taylor Thompson ended the workshop with practice interviews for students. Best offered students a question that would have them consider what color M&M they would be.

“There’s no wrong answer for this. The interviewer wants to know if you are creative and able to think on your feet,” Best said. “They are either going to try to trip you up or see how fast you can recover.”

Best and Thompson said students and alumni can contact Career Services and Student Development for any questions concerning dress and interview tips or to make appointments for mock interviews.

“We work with students and alumni. We offer our services to alumni no matter how long ago you graduated,” Best said.

Kaitlyn StocktonStaff Writer

Dressed for success: Diversity Affairs Coordinator Taylor Thompson sits in the workshop, lectured by Career Services Coordinator Angie Best. Thompson worked with Best in practice interviews at the event.

Photo by Kaitlyn Stockton

News 3March 11, 2013www.aggiecentral.com

Robotics competition comes to CUThe Texoma Regional

VEX Robotics Competition was held at 9 a.m. on March 2 in the Cameron University Fitness Center. Over 60 teams from middle schools and high schools throughout the Texoma Region competed for the chance to attend the World Championship VEX Robotics Competition to be held in April in Anaheim, Cali.

During the Texoma Region competition, students competed in a game called Sack Attack. According to the Vex Robotics website, the Sack Attack competition was developed by Vex Robotics. Students involved in the competition were required to have their robot built to VEX standards.

In Sack Attack, the objective was to score the most points in two minute rounds. There were four robots in each round, two for team blue and two for team red. Each round began with a 15 second autonomous period where students had to pre-program their robot to carry out its

own functions to be able to score. After the autonomous period, the competitors used the remaining time of the match to score the most goals by driving their robot through the arena.

On the field, there were five goals for each team: two f loor goals, two midlevel goals and one high goal. The scoring sacks included 98 green sacks and eight bonus sacks. Green sacks scored in the low goals were worth one point, while green sacks scored in the midlevel goals were worth five points and in the high goal worth 10 points. The bonus sacks were worth six points, 10 points and 15 points respectively. The competitor who had scored the most during the autonomous period received a 10 point bonus, and any student who had parked their robot back on the starting square in the regular game mode received a 10 point bonus.

After 95 rounds of the qualifying matches, the best eight robots and their owners went on to the finals. Each competitor of the finals chose two other robots and their owners to become a part of their alliance.

The winners of the match included 14-year-old Braiden Maggia, a student from Purcell Middle School, and the two teams he chose to be in his alliance from the Gigabots group and from the Cyborgs group. Maggia won a Middle School Excellence Award as well as his regional trophy.

“It feels pretty great to win regionals, because you’re going through the whole thing and you’re trying to make sure nothing goes wrong,” Maggia said. “Even during a match, even if the scoring isn’t close, you’re still thinking that something could happen.”

Maggia said this

experience helped him realize some things that he could improve upon before the competition in Anaheim.

“We found that there were a few things we need to fix with our robot,” Maggia said. “I’m looking forward to meeting new people at the world’s competition.”

The robotics interest has been a part of Maggia’s family for some time. His brother, the first of the family to pick up robotics, started Maggia’s interest while their mother became a part of the team as the coach.

Mother and coach Melinda Maggia said working with her son has been a bonding experience.

“He tells me exactly what I need to know,” Maggia said. “It works really well because we can spend a lot of time together formulating everything. We strive to be good sports and to learn how to work together, and it’s not always about the winning, but we want him to grow. Programming is the thing he wants to do, and we really need to grow in that area. It is just such a learning experience to go out there and experience the different cultures that will be participating at Worlds.”

At Worlds, the Maggias will be competing against teams from the different region of the country as well as countries around the world, including — but not limited to — Japan, China, India, Canada, Brazil and New Zealand.

Charlene BelewStaff Writer

Real Steel: Team winner Braiden Maggia (right) and his mother and coach Melinda Maggia (left) practice with their robot before the competition. The VEX Robotics Competition took place at 9 a.m. on March 2 in the Fitness Center.

Student Veterans Association fundraise for spring semesterJames Meeks

Staff Writer

Cameron students go rolling with the AggiesTaking school pride along

for a ride is the business of Rolling with the Aggies — a program that provides Cameron students a way to away games.

Created in 2007, Rolling with the Aggies provides transportation, a ticket and a free meal for students supporting Cameron athletics.

Zeak Naifeh, Cameron

University Director of Student Activities, drew inspiration for the program from his alma mater, the University of Arkansas.

“[UOA] had a program for their football team called ‘Rolling with the Razerbacks’ where they go to away football games,” Naifeh said.

Naifeh explained that he created the program to keep students involved in a CU athletics when the games were off-campus.

“At that point, we had a really good volleyball season going on,” Naifeh said. “We met with athletics department on how to encourage students to keep getting involved in that season.”

As a result, Naifeh said, “We loaded up a bus and went down to Wichita Falls.”

Naifeh explained that students are required to sign a waiver, as there is limited space on trips. The mileage is covered, along with admission

into the games and a quick meal like pizza.

Rolling with the Aggies travels with Cameron’s basketball and volleyball teams, which have the highest attendance Naifeh said. Sometimes, when baseball and softball have higher numbers of attendance, the Aggies will travel along as well.

Megan Canfield, Student Activities Specialist, has traveled along for three games, two for which she drove the

Aggie bus. “I think it’s really cool

that Cameron offers the opportunity to take students to away games,” Canfield said. “I really like being able to watch the games with the students. They tend to be the most spirited students, the most excited students, the ones who are willing to take time out of their weekends or their evening to actually travel to see a game.”

Students who “roll with” can earn Pickaxe Points,

ultimately earning themselves free Cameron goods.

“It’s a good deal,” Naifeh said. “Free meal, free transportation, free ticket, free t-shirt and potentially free Cameron swag in the end.”

Canfield agreed, “There’s really no downside. All we ask is you give up some of your time.”

Students can find upcoming Rolling with the Aggie trips on Cameron’s website.

Kaylee JonesA&E Editor

Despite the winter mix of rain and snow causing cancellations for Cameron classes and related events on Feb. 25, Cameron University’s Baptist Collegiate Ministry continued to encourage students to set aside their schoolwork from the evening of Feb. 26 through Feb. 28 to focus on something different — purity of heart, mind and body.

BCM hosts Focus Week once a semester, and according to Director Danny Toombs said the theme for Focus Week was Purity of Heart, Mind and Body.

Toombs said the event was not called Focus Week when he was a student at CU, but it has has been a tradition at the BCM for years.

Toombs, as well as the BCM Leadership Team — which consists of CU students who are involved in leading worship and assisting in planning and organizing BCM events — prepared by inviting guest speakers such as the Minister of College Students at Cameron Baptist Church, Matt Wolf, Youth Minister of Central Baptist Church, Joseph Drueke and Toombs’ daughter and son in law, Jacey and Leonel Franco, to speak to the students

throughout the week about the meaning of purity. “Each speaker discussed a different aspect of purity each

night,” Toombs said. “Everyone who spoke did an excellent job of really relating to the students — making it personable.”

The selection of the theme was the key priority of BCM Focus Week. There were specific goals that Toombs and the Leadership Team hoped to accomplish.

“Our main priority is that we want to encourage students in their relationship with God,” Toombs said. “In order to choose a theme, I ask the Leadership Team for input and we work together to select a theme that they believe is relevant and is a need they believe students can connect with and identify with.”

In addition to choosing a theme for the week, Toombs said they also have to try and select the best week available to set aside as BCM’s Focus Week.

“There are two Focus Weeks per semester,” Toombs said. “And in order to choose a week dedicated for this event, we have to try and find one that seems to work best with students’ schedules — a week without numerous events happening on campus.”

Although Toombs admitted selecting a week could be difficult, he said that he was pleased with the turnout of CU

students at the event throughout the week. “The attendance was really good,” Toombs said. “The

students seemed to enjoy the message and theme because the guest speakers spoke openly and honestly and did a great job of communicating the message.”

BCM Focus Week’s nightly regimen consisted of volunteers and members of the leadership team leading students in a time of music and worship prior to the message. The music was followed by a message presented to the students by the speaker for that evening. The night ended with a time set aside for response and small group sessions which Toombs said were designed for students to get together and discuss what was important to them about the message and to ask any questions they might have.

In addition to a nightly service, the BCM also hosted a free lunch available to students throughout the week.

“We had a free lunch provided from 11 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. Monday through Thursday,” Toombs said. “Each church selected a day to volunteer and serve lunch to the students. The churches who participated were Paradise Valley Baptist Church, Geronimo Baptist Church, Indiahoma Baptist Church and Sterling Baptist Church.”

Sadie JonesStaff Writer

Focus Week held at Baptist Collegiate Ministry

The Student Veterans of America, a student organization that formed last semester, held a meeting in the Buddy Green Room at the MCC Complex on Feb. 28 to discuss what the group will do for the remainder of the spring semester.

The CU chapter of SVA consists of student veterans, active military and members of military families. Robert Johns, a junior Political Science major and veteran of the Army and Marines, has served as SVA President since its inception.

“We advocate veterans benefits, helping student veterans on campus whether

they are disabled or not, attracting attention to veteran’s affairs and serving veterans off campus like the ones at the VA center in Flower Mound road,” Johns said.

Johns stated that their mission reflects the national SVA organization, and they are a chapter of that group.

“Our mission here at Cameron reflects the national organization nationwide in terms of serving student veterans, pushing for additional veterans rights and benefits,” Johns said. “They do some lobbying, they have ties to the entertainment industry, defense contractors and major corporations in terms of hiring student veterans who are graduating from colleges

around the country.”Johns explained that his

focus for the organization this semester is holding fundraisers to raise money to host events geared toward veteran students on campus.

The group recently held a bake sale to raise the money as part of their semester goal. Johns said that the organization plans to offer chili, Fritos, cake, red beans and rice during its next bake sale on March 12. Johns also said the organization has plans to hold another bake sale sometime in April.

Johns is also trying to get SVA involved with the Folds of Honor Foundation, a scholarship organization that helps the family members of

service members that were killed or disabled in battle receive financial support for a college education.

During the upcoming fall semester, Johns said the CU chapter of SVA plans to host events from the funds raised from this semester to set out on their mission, to assist student veterans.

“Next semester, we’ll start doing what we set out to do as far as setting up awareness campaigns, doing some fundraising for the disabled veterans in Flower Mound and maybe hold drives for veterans on campus,” Johns said.

SVA will hold its next meeting at 3:30 p.m on March 14 in the Buddy Green room at the MCC Complex.

Getting down to business: President of the SVA Robert Johns (center) conducts the SVA meeting. The meeting took place in the Buddy Green Room on Feb. 28.

Photo by James Meeks

Photo by Charlene Belew

Crossroads4 March 11, 2013www.aggiecentral.com

Giddy Up N’ Go therapeutic horseback riding

Safety first: Volunteers at GUNG put safety first as they work with the clients. (Left to right) Volunteers Rick Johnson, Vince Cambron and Ray Jolin hold Poncho while Occupational Therapist Laura Gil assists client rider Vicky Lee get situated on the saddle. All four volunteers stayed with the horse and rider throughout the session.

Members of the Lawton community and some Cameron University students, faculty and staff are aware of the benefits from animal therapy programs such as the therapy dog program on the CU campus for many types of issues such as stress, depression and loneliness.

However, the benefits that can be reaped by those involved with the Giddy Up N’ Go (GUNG), Inc. program are not as widely known.

According to GUNG President Nancy Arntz, GUNG is a 501(c) (3) organization that provides therapeutic services to individuals with special needs through equine-related activities. She said that the GUNG therapeutic team consists of a horse, instructor, therapist and

trained volunteers who help each individual rider progress in physical and cognitive development as well as help to promote a positive sense of well being.

Arntz said that more could be achieved by forming a partnership between a person and a horse or pony than by physical therapy alone. She said that therapeutic horseback riding is not only one of the most efficient treatment tools for improving posture, balance, mobility, sensory integration and muscle tone, but it also elicits equally important healing effects and positive emotions.

“Enjoyment is one of the strongest motivators for improvement, for both riders and their families,” she said. “Saddling up on a horse is still an enjoyable pass time for many, but for those with a disability, it can mean much more — a road to recovery and

freedom.”Arntz said that GUNG

operates within Suncrest Stables owned by Jane Ann Whisenant. The facility includes an indoor arena where as many as 25 students from several communities in southwest Oklahoma participate during each nine to 10 week session.

“We have some Autism clients who are just wonderful,” she said. “Actually, we had a client, a little guy who would not communicate with a person, but he would talk to the horse and he would pet it.”

As a result of spending time with the horses, Arntz said the boy eventually went on to participate in other activities.

“Because of sensory integration deficiencies that he had, he didn’t want to touch the hair but eventually, he got to the point where he wanted to just pet and soothe,” she

said. “At the time that little guy was 6-years-old; he is no longer riding with us because he is now swimming and he is doing basketball — he was able to transfer this kind of therapy into a regular program.”

She said that the funding comes from fundraisers, grants, donations and therapy fees.

“It gets into your blood and it gets into your heart and it is just hard to say no when you are asked to perform a service like this,” she said. “We just continue to give everything we have; we are a 100 percent volunteer organization.”

According to Arntz, GUNG tries to provide for anyone who would benefit from the program.

“All of the money that we receive — donations and fundraisers — goes back into the program for the care of the horses or we do offer riderships for families who can’t afford to pay,” she said. “We charge twenty dollars for a lesson or for a therapy session or if the parents can’t pay that much, we figure out a sponsor or someone who can help pay for the session.”

Arntz said that the long-range plan is to continue providing the best equine assisted therapy for special needs individuals in southwest Oklahoma as well as expanding the program to include at risk youth and individuals in the Wounded Warrior Program at Ft. Sill.

“It is just an amazing thing to see how people just change their whole demeanor or their whole expression and everything as soon as they get on that horse,” she said. “It is just amazing.”

Anyone interested in more information about the therapeutic horseback riding program or about volunteering time or making monetary donations may call 580.248.3701. Giddy Up N’ Go, Inc., is located at 7205 SE Bishop Road.

Dianne RiddlesCrossroads Editor

At the end of the day: Cole Griffith leads a pony back to the stables. Griffith also helped take care of the pony.

Vicky Lee and Poncho: Lee enjoys her rides with Poncho. Lee has benefitted from her therapy with Poncho.

Giddy Up N’ Go horses, clients and volunteers: Poncho is ready for Vicky Lee’s ride while Nathaniel Santistevan and Buttons make another lap around the arena. Nathan’s mother, Cathleen Dutton (not shown) said that Nathan has actually improved a great deal since he first started in the therapeutic horse riding program at GUNG.

Photo by Kali Robinson

Photo by Kali Robinson

Photo by Kali Robinson

Photo by Kali Robinson

Photo by Kali Robinson

Photo by Kali Robinson

Saddled up and ready: Buttons is ready for the today’s therapeutic horseback riding client. Button’s previous show name was On the Dotted Line.

Photo by Kali Robinson

A&E 5March 11, 2013www.aggiecentral.com

Jazz bands use jazz handsPhilip Harrington

Staff Writer

Play that funky music: CU Jazz Ensemble and Lawton Jazz Ensemble team up to perform for the Cameron University Jazz Festival Concert. Dr. Michael Compton served as host and director for the evening’s concert.

The Three Pianists celebrate a CU 20th in songCarson Stringham

Staff Writer

Cracking the cover:Story time as a teaching tool

Sarah BrewerCopy Editor

Each week, the Lawton Public Library invites babies, toddlers and children for reading, rhyming and playtime during its Get Loose with Mother Goose story time sessions.

From 10:15 a.m. each Thursday — and again that day, starting at 11 a.m. — the Lawton Public Library encourages early literacy skills and enthusiasm for reading among babies and young children, respectively.

Sara Herrera assists the children’s librarian during the sessions. For her, watching the youngest participants learn and play as the program become more popular is, with each session, especially rewarding.

“I especially love baby story time — it’s so interactive and fun. We have nice crowds that come out week after week, and it’s growing a lot,” she said. “We actually just started baby story time. It’s just a few months old, so it’s great that we’re getting a loyal following already.”

Using felt cut-out pictures to illustrate stories and tossing colorful scarves to act out nursery rhymes, Herrera said she hopes hands-on methods included in the sessions help children to pick up language skills and build their attention spans.

“We focus everything on early literacy — on rhyming especially. We use egg shakers a lot of the time and that helps build a sense for rhythm. Other than that, just getting kids interested in literature is a huge part of the battle,” Herrera said.

Parents like Sarah Dines think the program is successfully meeting these objectives. Dines has been bringing her children, Gwendolyn and Freddy, to the Get Loose with Mother Goose story time session for about a year and a half. She said she likes bring her children to the weekly activity because it helps them learn how to behave and interact with other children and adults in a structured, public setting.

“We love it. We do it every week if it can fit it into our schedules,” Dines said. “I think it’s good for socialization, and I also think it’s good to help for them to learn how to sit down and listen to a storyteller.”

Dines said she has watched her three-year-old daughter develop as a result of bringing her to the library each week.

“Gwen has been coming since she was two, and we’ve seen a lot in changes in how she is during storytelling. She started off where she just kind of wandered around all the kids and wanted to be with all the kids, but now she can sit down and listen for a least one story — and Freddy is just starting out.”

Receiving instruction from another adult has also helped her children grow, Dines said.

“Just getting out and being with the other kids, but especially having from instruction with other kids I think is really important. I think it is important for them to hear some of the same things that I say from somebody else.”

According to Dines, Gwendolyn is excited to read each week.“She loves to read books together,” Dines said. “I wouldn’t say

we have a favorite, because we read everything.”

The sound of some serious saxophone was heard at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 28 in the University Theatre when the Cameron Music Department held the Cameron University Jazz Festival Concert.

This year, the concert featured 1983 Cameron Alumnus Dr. Michael Cox. Professor Dr. Michael Compton, a professor in the Music Department, hosted the concert and directed the two jazz ensembles that accompanied Dr. Cox.

The Cameron University Jazz Ensemble, a group made up of Cameron students, and the Cameron University/ Lawton Jazz Ensemble which included members of the community as well as Cameron students performed at the festival.

Dr. Compton said the jazz festival is an annual event at Cameron that dates back decades.

“It has been going on every year for over 35 years from my understanding,” Dr. Compton said.

Dr. Compton was in charge of this year’s concert for the first time. He said that, like this years featured artist, he will continue to look for musicians that can connect with the students.

“You want to get someone high profile who can relate to both high school and college students,” Dr. Compton said.

Dr. Cox is a career educator who has taught at Capital University for 23 years. Since 2008, Dr. Cox has served as the coordinator of the Master of Music Education-Jazz Pedagogy degree at Capital.

Even though he has made the commitment to teach full time, Dr. Cox has maintained a full schedule as a freelance musician. He has performed with a number of orchestras and musical groups as well as occasionally leading his own trio or quartet, focusing on jazz standards, originals, and crossover styles.

Dr. Cox said his interest in music started at an early age.“I have been playing music since I was 12 years old,” Dr.

Cox said. “I was always sneaking into my older brother’s band practice and trying to play drums.”

He said his fondness for jazz developed from the beginning.“I actually remember one of the first things I tried to play

was a bad version of ‘When the Saints Go Marching In,’” Dr. Cox said.

Dr. Cox said his love of jazz extends beyond just the sound of the music.

“I suppose I love the feel of it,” Dr. Cox said. “Because jazz comes from the blues and gospel, there is emotion to it. It is that direct stimulus of emotion that I think we need as humans.”

Dr. Cox said the music and accolades are only part of what drives him at performances.

“You always get the immediate reward from the audience when you perform,” Dr. Cox said.

He said that immediate gratification wasn’t what necessarily motivates him any longer.

“My mission in my 20’s was to be the best musician I could be. But now that I am in my 50’s, I want to use music to bring people together.”

Dr. Cox said he felt he had achieved that mission to some degree with this festival.

“We got a lot of people together tonight that might not have been together otherwise,” Dr. Cox said. “For me, it’s not about getting people to love jazz — just to love music.”

The evening’s performance was the finale to events that included a workshop with area jazz bands from Western Oklahoma State College and Eisenhower High School.

Dr. Compton said he thought the workshop portion of the festival was a success.

“I thought it went really well,” Dr. Compton said. “Each group got an hour, and then Dr. Cox and I critiqued them.”

Dr. Compton said this festival has historically included many more local school jazz bands, but the number has dwindled in recent years.

“When the festival got started, most of the area high schools had jazz bands,” Dr. Compton said. “But through the years, budget cuts and other factors have caused most of them to go away.”

Dr. Compton said he hopes that the festival can be used to change that trend.

“Eisenhower High School performed here today, and they just started a jazz band program,” Dr. Compton said. “I hope that, through this festival, we can help reinstate jazz bands in all of the local schools.”

The Cameron University Theatre was recently filled with the sounds of the precise playing of piano keys.

At 7:30 p.m. on March 1, two Cameron Music Professors — Dr. Thomas Labé and Dr. Hyunsoon Whang, McMahon Endowed Chair in Music — and Dr. Jerry Wong, visiting Associate Professor of Piano at Kent State University — performed the “Three Pianists Concert” as part of the weekend’s events for the 20th Anniversary of the Cameron University High School Piano Competition.

Dr. Whang, who founded the competition, said she wanted to create a competition where students would be exposed to what it is like to perform in a concert environment.

“There are many local contests for high school students where they only have to play one piece of music,” Dr. Whang said. “I wanted

to have a competition where each student would play ten to fifteen minutes of a contrasting repertoire, more like a mini program.”

Dr. Whang, Dr. Labé and Dr. Wong were the judges for the competition, which took place on March 2. Dr. Wong was also invited to give a master class for Cameron piano students on Friday. The piano concert was included as a way of celebrating the double decade success of the event. The concert was split into three different sets, with each pianist playing their own repertoire of music.

Dr. Labé was the first to perform, leading off with two very intricate, long pieces of music. The first was “Prelude, Fugue and Variation, Op. 18” by César Franck; the second was “Bénédiction de Dieu dans la Solitude” by Franz Liszt.

Dr. Labé said that originally there was going to be a theme that all three pianists were going to adhere to when picking their music for the evening, but because

Dr. Wong had recently had surgery on his right elbow, that idea was scrapped. Instead, Dr. Labé said he picked his two songs based on what he thought would work for the event and his own personal taste.

“I chose the first piece because it is a good piece to begin with,” he said. “The second piece is one of my favorite pieces in my whole repertoire. I learned it last year and, basically, I just wanted to play it again.”

Dr. Labé said that he was really pleased that a concert was added to the competition this year because it gave the competing students a chance to see the judges perform, but it also helps to bring attention to the music program at Cameron.

He said, “We’re always trying to build up and raise the level of talent in our music program.”

After Dr. Labé, Dr. Whang came on stage and played Franz Schubert’s “Impromptu Op. 90, No.’s 2, 3 and 4.” Dr. Whang said that

while Schubert wrote four “Impromptu” pieces, she chose to only play three of them for the concert. She said the main reason for picking Schubert was simply because neither of the other two pianists had chosen to play anything by Schubert; besides that, she just likes Schubert’s music.

After the intermission, Dr. Wong started his portion of the concert. Dr. Wong said that because he was still recovering from his elbow surgery, he opted to play only songs that were written for the left hand. Even though his song choices became limited after the surgery, Dr. Wong said that when picking music for the performance, he didn’t have to give up any of his favorites because he doesn’t really have any.

“I always say that my favorite music to perform is whatever I am performing at that moment,” he said. “I try to fall completely in love with whatever piece I am working with at the time, and it always happens.”

Dr. Wong started with

Seymour Bernstein’s “Etude for the Left Hand Alone.” Next, he played “Prelude for the Left Hand, Op. 9, No. 1” by Alexander Scriabin.

For his next piece, Dr. Wong chose to play a composition that is comprised of five smaller pieces of music. “Five Little Pieces for the Left Hand” by Alberto Nepomuceno consists of short pieces of music that differ from each other in theme and

composition. Lastly, Dr. Wong finished

his part of the concert with “Élégie” and “Alla fuga” from Camille Saint-Saëns’ “Six etudes pour la main gauche, Op.153.”

To end the concert, all three pianists sat down at the piano and played “Romance” by Sergei Rachmaninoff. The piece was written for six hands, though Dr. Wong only played with his left hand.

Reading rainbow: Sara Herrera reads from a storybook to Lawton toddlers. Lawton Public Library hosts story time sessions every Thursday morning.

Voices6 March 11, 2013www.aggiecentral.com

Editorial StaffManaging Editor - Tiffany MartinezAssistant Managing Editor - Tyler Boydston Crossroads Editor - Dianne RiddlesA&E Editor - Kaylee JonesSports Editor - Matthew BerbereaCopy Editor - Sarah BrewerAggie Central Editor- Mitch WatsonArchivist - Mitch Watson

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Newswriting StudentsPhilip Harrington, Kella Haire

Faculty Adviser Dr. Christopher Keller

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THE CAMERON UNIVERSITY

Alex Rosa-FigueroaStaff Wrtier

Tyler BoydstonAsst. Managing Editor

The big picture: We are but antsWe are incredibly small.Now, I don’t mean in an

ethical or moral sense, nor does my meaning lie in the realm of spiritual discourse. No, I won’t be dragging this editorial down into the metaphysical, hard-to-follow rhetoric of my previous works — that part of the sentence is what is known in the business as “a bold faced lie” — because this week’s subject lies in the realm of glorious science.

For when I say that we are incredibly small, I mean so by the measure of a cosmic scale. In prior editorials, I brought to question the tired and borderline trite notion of looking at the big picture — the idea that, in the greater context of things, seemingly-insurmountable odds appear significantly smaller — and we will begin by applying that idea in a more literal sense.

Consider the ant.According to my trusted

colleague and beloved friend, Wikipedia, the average height for the humans claiming the United States as their home is roughly 5 feet 9 inches. The rest of the planet’s humans fall around or slightly under that number as well, with some exceptions on both sides of the size chart; for the sake of simplicity, I will use this respectable figure as a scale for humans as a whole. Because I am an English major, I can get away with such broad numerical generalizations, as numbers are as scary and confusing to me as split infinitives and prepositional phrases are to the Science majors I’ve just inflamed.

I digress, though. Once again, consider the ant.

Say what you will about their overwhelming and objectively terrifying collective strength — and you really should, because when the Formicidae Revolution comes, you’ll want to have

all the brownie points you can if you want to survive — when it comes to the size of a single member, we have the advantage. I mean, we use “ant” to describe anything that makes us feel huge. Anthills are our childhood playthings, seemingly designed for us to stomp out, wash out or burn out with the intense glare of an angry sun. What I’m saying is, as far as pre-revolution human-ant relations go, we are gods, and they are, well, ants. Keep that in mind.

Now, consider the human.The size of the city of

Oklahoma City, as my informant and blood brother Google tells me, is about 621 square miles. That is well, well over 17600 human bodies, and many, many more ants than that. The City of Lawton has

significantly fewer ants large — a commendable-for-effort 75.1 square miles. Our city is small, but it’s still over 79,000 humans bigger than you, and Oklahoma City is still over three times bigger than that imposing figure. With that in mind, let me bring to attention that the entire state of Oklahoma is over 100 times bigger than the single city of Lawton, which is within sneezing distance of being over 100,000 times bigger than you.

We are but ants crawling along the surface of a body of land mercifully not alive — until the Science department finally figures out how to animate dirt golems that large. But we only look smaller and smaller the farther out we scale — keep in mind I haven’t even broken the state line yet.

Oklahoma isn’t exactly the

smallest state, but we’re number 20 in terms of area ranking. Our glorious state, which outsizes us by over 100,000 square miles, is just Texas’ hat. That is to say, in terms of post-Alamo human-landmass relations, the state of Texas is a god among 50 other, differently scaled but generally smaller gods.

Texas’ size is about 268,800 square miles. The United States outsizes it at 3,794,000 square miles, which the entire continent dwarfs at about 9,450,000 square miles. The planet Earth wins the lightweight trophy at 196,900,000 square miles, though. And no, I didn’t mistype — in the arena of this year’s Solar System Size Competition, the Earth wouldn’t dare stand up to the

heavyweights of Saturn (over 12 times bigger than Earth), Jupiter (over 15 times bigger than Earth) or the Sun, which can and will devour our entire solar system three times over before it realizes it’s done anything. And before I go about mentioning how our Sun dwindles in size and is in fact reduced to the comparative size of a speck of dust when faced with other celestial bodies like Aldebaran or KY Cygni — which I can assure you that I did not just make up – let me simply remind you that the city of Lawton alone outclasses you in size by nearly 100,000 times over.

So look up sometime, my fellow ants, for we have an obscene amount of existence to live in.

And we are incredibly small.

MCT Campus

The disappointment of unoriginality

“Oz: The Great and Powerful” is now in theaters. “Whose Line is it Anyway?” is coming back to television soon. A remake of “The Evil Dead” is fast approaching, and I sit here typing about the whole thing.

I have written in the past about Hollywood’s originality, but here I sit a year after I first wrote about it to discuss it again.

Let’s look at this year’s summer releases and I’ll pinpoint the problems within.

First, there is “Iron Man 3,” a sequel in the hit series starring Robert Downey, Jr., as well as a film based on a comic book franchise. While I will say that I’m looking forward to it, there is not much originality in this concept. “Iron Man 3” is set to kick off the summer movie season, and considering the box office take of “The Avengers” last year, it may very well kick it off in a big way. Yet again, I’m looking forward to this movie, but it’s obvious to see a lack of originality here.

Then, we have “Star Trek

Into Darkness” two weeks later. If I have to explain the background of the “Star Trek” series, then somewhere along the way, someone close to you has failed in showing you the worst fight scene in television history ever. Quick, go look it up. It’s Captain Kirk (played by William Shatner) fighting a guy in a horribly made alien costume while fake boulders are thrown, and it’s real fun.

You back? Did you see it? How hilarious was that? Now, back to my nearly incoherent rambling about Hollywood.

“Star Trek Into Darkness” is the second tentpole release of the summer, and, considering it’s a “Star Trek” film, there will

not be too much in the realm of originality, considering the filmmakers have a large sandbox of characters and situation in which they can play.

A week later, “Fast and Furious 6” and “The Hangover Part 3” will both be released to theaters. Now, while I enjoy the “Fast and Furious” films for their sheer ridiculousness, the same can not be said for “The Hangover” films, and both franchises can kiss away any shred of originality by now. Once you reach a sixth film, it’s hard to say there was anything original to begin with (and when dealing with a movie that’s already a knock-off of

“Point Break,” that is saying something).

Four weeks later, “Monster’s University” and “World War Z” come out on the same day. A prequel and a movie based on a book (albeit loosely, based on the trailer and my knowledge of the book’s Wikipedia page) will both be released. Thankfully, we have a three week lull period of originality, including an M. Night Shyamalan movie, a movie starring Ethan Hawke and another one starring Vince Vaughn. I didn’t say it was going to be a good three weeks.

After another two weeks, “The Lone Ranger” and “Despicable Me 2” will both

be released. At this point, I will have probably given up on film as a whole, citing a severe lack of originality as my reason for doing so, and then walking out of a screening of “The Lone Ranger” with a severely disappointed look on my face.

For the sake of you as a reader, I won’t cover the rest of the summer movie season, but I will preview this for you: a sequel to “Wolverine,” “Smurfs 2,” a prequel to “300” (currently slated for release in August, but that could change), sequels to both “RED” and “Kick-Ass” as well as a concert film following One Direction. I may not be able to do this whole movie thing anymore.

MCT Campus

SportsMarch 11, 2013www.aggiecentral.com 7

CU softball finds success on the roadMatthew Berberea

Sports Editor

After starting the season 3-9, Cameron University’s softball team looked to gain momentum in a doubleheader March 2, against The University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma Drovers in Chickasha, and another back-to-back matchup against the Southwestern Oklahoma State Bulldogs on March 6 in Weatherford.

The first game against USAO saw the Aggies bats come alive as they produced 12 runs and put the Drovers away 12-0 in five innings. Junior pitcher Samantha Betts was equally impressive as she took the circle and carried a no hitter through the first three innings and finished with seven strikeouts and a one-hit shutout.

The Aggies started slow in the first inning with no runs scored and one left on base but picked up the pace in the second when senior catcher Sonia Foutch reached on an error and freshman Sonora Zukerman hit a two-run blast to give Cameron a 2-0 lead.

CU added a run in the third and three more in the top of the fourth and took a 6-0 lead into the top of the fifth inning where the Aggies sealed the deal thanks to a grand slam from senior outfielder Leslie Martini. The Drovers were unable to plate any runs in the bottom of the fifth giving the Aggies a 12-0 victory.

Martini led the Aggies on offense going 2-4 at the plate with five RBIs, one run scored and a home run. Junior

outfielder Tara Martini finished the game 2-3 with 3 RBIs and a run scored while Zukerman finished 1-4 with two RBIs.

The Black and Gold found themselves in a nail biter in the second half of the doubleheader. Both teams struggled at the plate and ultimately the Drovers outlasted the Aggies and USAO pulled out a close 1-2 win.

The Aggies were able to get on base with nine hits and two walks but were unable to bring

anyone around and left at least one runner on base in six of seven innings.

Cameron scored the first run of the game in the top of the first inning as a T. Martini ground out brought home senior outfielder Claren Hurlbut. The Aggies held on to the slim lead until the bottom of the fifth inning when the Drovers’ Sara Reeves singled to center field bringing in Kayla Adams to knot it up at one run apiece.

USAO struck the decisive blow in the bottom of the sixth inning on a double down the left field line from Taylor Smith sending Katie Jirak home from second base. The Drovers held the Aggies scoreless in the top of the seventh and came out on top 1-2.

After splitting 1-1 against USAO, the Aggies traveled to Weatherford to take on SWOSU. The Black and Gold played spoiler to the home team

and took both games of the doubleheader 6-1 and 6-5.

Once again CU pitcher Samantha Betts put on a clinic going seven innings of one run ball with nine strikeouts. Neither team was able to get anything going at the plate until Cameron exploded with four runs in the top of the fifth inning.

With two outs and freshman Spencer Ferrell on second base, T. Martini singled into left field

advancing the runner to third. An error by the Bulldogs’ third baseman put L. Martini on first and brought Ferrell around for the first run of the game. After another SWOSU error put S. Foutch on to load the bases Zukerman cleared them all with a three-run double putting the Aggies up 4-0.

The Aggies scored one run in the sixth and added another in the top of the seventh inning and went on to secure the 6-1 win. Zukerman led the Aggies with three RBIs while Ferrell finished 3-4 with an RBI and one run scored.

Cameron had a tough battle on their hands the second game of the doubleheader and held off the Bulldogs, 6-5. The Aggies used a quartet of pitchers to get the victory with junior pitcher Kelsy Hebert recording the win.

Game two started off similar to the first with both teams unable to get on the scoreboard through the first two innings. The Aggies got the ball rolling in the top of the third, plating three runs but the Bulldogs answered right back with three runs of their own.

Both teams were held scoreless in the fourth and in the fifth inning CU scored two runs on a jack from Zukerman scoring L. Martini. In the bottom half of the frame SWOSU was able to get one back and scored a run again in the bottom of the sixth inning to bring the score within one.

The Aggies ended the top of the seventh with three left on base but were able to retire the first three batters faced to hang on to win 6-5.

Bringing the heat: Junior pitcher Samantha Betts delivers a pitch Feb. 24 against Emporia State at Cameron. Betts was instrumental in the Aggies’ road wins, throwing a one-hit game against USAO March 2.

Photo courtesy of Brandon Neris

Aggie baseball rebounds after tough weekend Aaron GillStaff Writer

The Cameron University baseball team dropped two of three in the Abilene Christian University Tournament on March 1-3. The first two games were lost by scores of 9-6 and 8-2, respectively. The third game however was an Aggie victory by a score of 14-8.

The first of the three games was played on March 1 against Tarleton State University. The Aggies started their scoring in the second inning after senior Nick Smith singled, advanced to second after a single was hit by senior Tyler Cox, and Smith finally found his way across the plate after an error by TSU’s shortstop.

Tarleton answered with one of their own in the bottom of the inning TSU player Colton Boothe had a solo shot and the Texans scored once again after the bases were loaded and an RBI single brought in two Texans.

Needing to close the gap, the Aggies came up big in the third when senior Thomas Galvan doubled, putting him in scoring position for Smith to bring him in on an RBI single. Tarleton scored one more run off another RBI single in the third and added to their lead in the bottom of the fourth when they plated three runs off of two RBI singles and one run on a groundout to the shortstop.

The Texans widened the gap even further in the seventh inning when a run was scored off a wild pitch from junior Brent Hendy, to bring the Texans’ lead to six, 8-2. The Aggies made a run for it in the eighth inning when the bats started to show a little promise. Cox singled, bringing up junior Kaz Sanders who walked and then senior Kenny Acosta showed tournament fans the true meaning of “boomstick,” sending a three run blast over the left center wall, scoring Cox and Sanders. The Ags had another walk and single before Galvan drove in the fourth run of the inning with a groundout to short putting the Aggies within striking distance at 8-6, Texans. Unfortunately, this is where the Aggies scoring streak ended. The Texans scored one more in the bottom of the eighth and the Aggies failed to follow suit in the top of ninth giving TSU the 9-6 victory.

The Aggies next played on March 2 against tournament home team, Abilene Christian University. There were only five total hits through the first three innings, but that quickly changed in the fourth, when the Wildcats plated four runs off of an RBI single, RBI double and a sac fly to center. The Wildcats put together another four run inning in the sixth. The Aggies did not score until the eighth inning when junior Brandon Raidy had a leadoff double, putting him in scoring position for Galvan, who brought Raidy in on an RBI single. The Aggies plated one more in the ninth, but it was just not enough to close the six run gap and the Aggies recorded another loss by a score of 8-2.

Day three of the tournament came around with the Aggies down two games and sending them into a third against Eastern New Mexico. The victory for the Aggies was thanks, in large part, to the bottom of the lineup, which went a combined 9-13 with seven RBIs and eight runs scored. Junior Brad Blumer had an exceptional day at the plate, going 3-4 with 4 RBIs and two runs scored. Sanders also went 3-4 on the day with two RBIs and Raidy went 3-5 with three runs scored.

Aggies jumped to an early lead in the bottom of the third after both Sanders and Raidy got on base and were moved around into scoring position on a sac bunt from Blumer. Smith stepped up to the plate and hit a single down the left side, scoring Sanders

and Raidy, and giving the Aggies the go ahead lead of 2-0. The Greyhounds were hot at the plate in the top of the fourth scoring five runs off of four hits and taking a 5-2 lead. The fourth inning started with a pair of walks and a single by Blumer down the right side, sending junior Kevin Waukau across the plate.

In the fifth inning the Aggies showed some light offensively after two walks. The Aggies went on another run scoring four runs in the bottom of the eighth and ending their scoring for the day with 14 total runs. The Greyhounds made a valiant effort but came up short scoring only eight total runs, leaving the score 14-8, Aggies.

Cameron Baseball Assistant Coach Taylor Lyons explained how he felt the team played throughout the tournament and how the Aggies have come together as a team getting ready to go into conference play.

“I feel like we learned a lot about our team,” Lyons said. “I feel in the game against Tarleton we showed that we can come back late in the game and contend for the win but as a team we need to finish off games and work better as a team and I think that will come into play as the season goes on. I believe that against Eastern New Mexico we played really well, we were stealing bases, moving runners over exceptionally well and I believe that game the guys really did come together as a team to get the win.”

On March 6, the Aggies traveled to Goodwell, OK to play a double header against Oklahoma Panhandle State University, where they came home with a two game sweep. Game one was a

shutout for the Aggies thanks to senior Aaron Kleekamp, who threw a no hitter and helped the Aggies to a 4-0 win over OPSU.

Game two for the Aggies was a slow one, scoring one run in the first and second and then two more in the seventh inning. After getting on base on a fielder’s choice, Davis advanced quickly around the bases and scored on an RBI single from Sanders. The scored again in the second when Tyler Cox hit into a two out fielder’s choice, but not before Blumer crossed the plate for the Ags. The Aggies put the game away in the top of the seventh, scoring two more runs the first coming off a Blumer single that scored Sanders. The second was an RBI single by Smith that scored Raidy bringing the Aggie lead to 4-0 going into the bottom of the seventh where the Aggies defense retired the side and ended the game with a 4-0 victory.

Lyons said he felt the Aggies really started to play some sound baseball against Panhandle State and he would like to see them continue to play that way going into conference. He also stated that Kleekamp was throwing some good balls and making it move across the plate for his no hitter.

“It showed in the games against Panhandle that we are starting to play ball better as a team.” Lyons said. “Kleekamp had everything going for him that day. It was windy and everything he was throwing was dropping right where it needed to. He definitely was a big factor in the first game that got the momentum going for us to play well in the second game as well.”

Turning two: Senior infielder Thomas Galvan attempts to complete a double play Feb. 24 against William Jewell College. The Aggies have been on a road tour and return to McCord Field March 15 to take on West Texas A&M.

Photo courtesy of Brandon Neris

Sports8 March 11, 2013www.aggiecentral.com

Aggies stumble early at LSC tourneyBest of the best: Junior guard Craig Foster collects a loose ball in transition March 6 against West Texas A&M in Allen, Texas. It was announced a day earlier that Fos-ter had been named Lone Star Conference Player of the Year, giving a Cameron player the honor two straight years after Milt Garner accomplished the feat last year.

Cameron University men’s basketball team traveled to Allen, Texas on March 6 to face West Texas A&M in the first round of the 2013 Lone Star Conference Basketball Tournament.

CU entered the tournament as the second seed but found themselves facing a seventh seeded Buffs team that had previously beaten the Aggies 57-38 earlier in the season. For the second time this season the Aggies were held in check offensively by West Texas A&M and came up short 50-65.

The Aggies played their first game in five seasons without head coach Wade Alexander who unexpectedly resigned two days before the start of the tournament. Assistant coach Nate Gamet was named Interim Head Coach and led the Aggies as they faced the Buffs.

The Aggies struck first on a layup from senior big man Rudy Harrell and from there both teams traded punches with four lead changes in the first 10 minutes of action.

With the teams tied up at 10 each and 13:23 remaining in the half, West Texas A&M went on the first run of the game outscoring the Aggies 16-5 over the next nine minutes.

The Aggies found themselves down 28-17 with only 2:54 left in the half when they turned up the heat and closed out the half on a 7-0 run of their own to bring the score to 24-28 in

favor of the Buffs.Harell led the Aggies in scoring in the first half with seven

points to go with five boards while recently named LSC Player of the Year Craig Foster chipped in five points, three boards, two assists and a steal.

The Buffs held the rebounding advantage, 23-17 in the first half and looked to continue to dominate the boards in the second half. Donald Sims led West Texas A&M in the first half with six points and five rebounds.

Cameron jumped out quickly in the second half behind Foster as he drained a three and hit two free throws to put Cameron ahead 29-28 with 18:39 left in regulation. In similar fashion to the first half, both teams traded leads until the Buffs were able to go on what proved to be the defining run of the game.

Down one point with 15:27 remaining, the Buffs went on an unbelievable 20-4 run to put them up 52-37. Cameron was unable to generate any offense and Foster struggled to find open looks as West Texas A&M turned missed field goals into points the other way.

The Aggies continued to struggle down the stretch and were unable to climb back into the game as the Buffs maintained a double-digit lead for the final eight minutes of the game.

Harrell led the Aggies in scoring with 13 and seven rebounds and Foster added 12 points, four rebounds and two assists.

Kennon Washington paced the Buffs attack with 16 points and eight rebounds while Sims added nine points and 15 rebounds.

The Aggies were not able to compete with the Buffs on the glass in the second half and scored 11 second chance points. The Aggies were out rebounded 14-21 in the second half and 31-44 for the entire game.

Coach Gamet said the Buffs came out strong on the boards and played with more toughness than the Aggies on the night.

“They’re a very physical team and they showed it tonight,” Coach Gamet said. “They outrebounded us by quite a bit and just showed their toughness tonight.”

Craig Foster said the Buffs played strong defense and he had a difficult time finding space to work.

“They just stayed with me on the pick and roll they didn’t leave,” Foster said. “They went over the screens, basically the same thing they did last game but I wasn’t able to adjust.”

Coach Gamet nor any players had a comment about the resignation of Alexander or the effect it had on the outcome of the game.

The loss leaves CU with more questions than answers as they now await the regional rankings to determine if they will play in the NCAA Division II Tournament. Coming into the tournament the Aggies were ranked fifth in the region but were dropped to seventh just before tipoff although they did not lose any games the previous week.

Matthew BerbereaSports Editor

Photo courtesy of Jeremy Enlow

Cameron tennis off to fast start in spring semesterTyler Boydston

Asst. Managing Editor

Cameron University’s men’s and women’s tennis teams have started their spring seasons with multiple wins, both at home and away.

The men’s tennis team started out the season in Dallas against Dallas Baptist University, where they had a perfect game, winning 9-0.

The team would however lose the next day against University of Texas-Arlington, 6-1. Sophomore Nicolai Ferrigno won his singles match, receiving the number one singles spot.

On Feb. 13, the men’s and women’s teams both secured wins against Cowley College, both winning their matches 9-0, receiving perfect games. On the women’s team, each singles matchup got two set wins.

The tennis teams then travelled to Ft. Smith, Ark., on Feb. 16 and faced

off against the University of Arkansas. Both teams got further wins, the men securing an 8-1 win while the women’s team won 5-4.

The next day, the teams would stay in Arkansas but travel to Arkadelphia, where they would play against Ouachita Baptist University (OBU).

In the matches against OBU, the women’s team would win a 9-0 sweep, while the men got by with a 5-4 victory. Senior Amanda Moberg won 6-3 and 6-1 in the singles matches while senior Julia Puckhaber won 6-1, 6-1.

The women’s tennis team then went to Dallas to compete with Dallas Baptist University (DBU) on Feb. 26, where they would win 5-4.

The team lost two of the three doubles matches of the day, but took four of the six singles matches to secure their win over DBU. Amanda Moberg lost in

one of the singles matches while Julia Puckhaber, Elvira Sholles, Florencia Tornero and Antonia Moberg won their singles matches.

On Feb. 28, the women’s tennis team played their first home game of the season, in which they played against Southern Nazarene University and won 7-2. Amanda Moberg and Florencia Tornero lost 8-3 in doubles while the other two doubles – Julia Puckhaber and Laura Winter with an 8-3 and Elvira Sholles and Antonia Moberg with an 8-4 – won, securing the two other doubles matches. The Aggies won all but one of their singles matches that day.

On March 1 and 2, the men’s team took the court to compete with Colorado State University-Pueblo (CSU), East Central University (ECU) and Southwest Baptist University (SBU), winning all three.

On March 1, the Aggie men took on CSU-Pueblo and ECU. In their bout against CSU-Pueblo, the Aggie men swept, winning all of their singles and doubles matches. Against ECU later that day, Cameron won 7-2, winning all of three of their doubles matches.

The next day, the Aggie men won 7-2 against SBU,

earning another clean sweep in doubles – the third one in a row – but did not win all of their singles matches. Nicolai Ferrigno won two of his three singles sets.

The tennis team also

recently traveled to Colorado for matches set March 8 through the 11, and are set to take on Western New Mexico University on Saturday, March 16 in Silver City, and will follow that

up the next day by going to Phoenix, Ariz., where they will take on Arizona Christian University and Grand Canyon University on March 17 and 18, respectively.

It takes two: Freshman Dennis Merdan strikes a backhand as teammate junior Nicolai Ferrigno moves towards the net March 2 against Southwest Baptist. Ferrigno and Merdan helped Cameron sweep doubles and defeat SW Baptist, 7-2.

Photo by Kali Robinson