CROSS COUNTRY

A&M to open season at Baylor: Texas A&M will begin its 2009 cross country season at the Bear Invitational on Friday in Waco. The 4,000-meter women's race starts at 6:30 p.m. while the men's 6,000-meter will follow.

It will be the first of six meets the Aggies will contest this fall, including the Texas A&M Invitational on Sept. 12.

Graham Northcutt, Mitch Bible and Joe Sauvageau return from A&M's men's team that won the South Central Region championship last season. Bible and Sauvageau will not run until the Texas A&M Invitational on Sept. 12.

Christina Munoz and Sarah Balfour, both of whom have qualified individually for the NCAA Championship, lead A&M's women.

VOLLEYBALL

Batis selected national player of the week: Texas A&M senior outside hitter Mary Batis has been named the National Player of the Week by College Volleyball Update following her tournament MVP performance last weekend in the Texas A&M Invitational.

Batis received the honor for the first time in her career after leading the Aggies to a 3-0 record in the season-opening tournament at Reed Arena.

Batis led the Aggies with 4.80 kills and 3.60 digs per set. She had a .392 hitting percentage overall, including a career-high .667 hitting percentage in the season opener against Iona in which she had 21 kills with just one error. She also had 17 digs against Northern Iowa.

The Aggies will play Saint Mary's College in Moraga, Calif., at 9 p.m. Saturday and the University of San Francisco at 7 p.m. Sunday in San Francisco.