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MONDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2017 | SERVING TEXAS A&M SINCE 1893 | © 2017 STUDENT MEDIA | @THEBATTONLINE
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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.