BASEBALL
A&M baseball team opens practice today: The Texas A&M baseball team will start spring drills with an open practice at 2:30 p.m. Friday at Olsen Field.
"We can't wait to get back out on the field as a team and continue preparations for what should be an exciting year," fifth-year head coach Rob Childress said. "Our players and staff have worked extremely hard ever since the final out of last season, and we're looking forward to that hard work paying off when we take the field for the first time on Feb. 19th against Seton Hall."
A&M returns 17 letterwinners, five position starters and 10 pitchers from a 37-24 team.
HOCKEY
A&M to face UT tonight: The Texas A&M hockey team will play rival Texas at 5:45 p.m. Friday at Arctic Wolf Ice.
A&M (13-6) will be trying to snap a three-game losing streak. UT is 6-14.
The two teams will play at 8 p.m. Saturday at Chaparral Ice in Austin.
A&M won the first two meetings, winning 5-4 in Austin in October and rolling to a 7-1 victory in the Pride of Texas Cup at the American Airlines Center in Dallas in November.
SWIMMING & DIVING
Aggies travel to SMU for dual meet: DALLAS -- The No. 19 Texas A&M men's swimming and diving team will face SMU at 7 p.m. Friday at Perkins Natatorium on the SMU campus.
The Aggies have lost four straight to the Mustangs. The two teams competed at the Southwest Collegiate Plunge in October when the Aggies placed second and the Mustangs placed fourth.
TRACK & FIELD
Big 12 to face SEC, Pac-10: The Texas A&M track teams will team up with Baylor and Texas to comprise the Big 12 team that will face the SEC and the Pac-10 on Friday and Saturday at the A&M Challenge at the Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium.
The SEC will be represented by Arkansas, Florida and South Carolina. The Pac-10 team will include Oregon, Stanford and Washington State.
"Of the meets I've been involved in, and I've been involved in a whole lot of indoor meets, this might be the best field I've seen, ever, at one site during the regular season," A&M head coach Pat Henry said.
The meet will start at 6 p.m. Friday with the pentathlon and heptathlon. Track finals will be the distance medley relay and 5,000 meters.
Saturday's action will start at 11 a.m. with the heptathlon and field events at noon. Prelims for the 60 hurdles and 60 meters will be at 12:30 p.m. with running finals at 2 p.m.
-- Eagle staff reports