The greatest filmmaker in the world couldn’t have scripted the Aggies’ season any better. After years of heartache and losing seasons, every major sport this season had a winning record, while some exceeded their own expectations in a banner year this fall. But as the season comes to a close, it’s only fitting to look back on Aggie sports’ highs and lows.
When the Aggie football season started, nobody in his right mind would have uttered the words “Cotton Bowl” around campus, let alone “bowl game.” After an abysmal 2003 campaign in which the Aggies went 4-8, the goal for this season was to get into a bowl, even if it meant playing in the Independence Bowl.
Instead of looking toward a .500 win percentage, the team reached for higher goals this season. Early on, the Aggies looked like the same team as the previous year after getting annihilated by the University of Utah in the first game of the season. Chalking up another 4-8 season didn’t seem like that far of a stretch as the Aggie bandwagon grew smaller.
However, throughout the remaining 10 games the Aggies beat three top 25, nationally-ranked teams – Clemson, Kansas State and Texas Tech – while taking Oklahoma to the brink of another upset at Kyle Field. In the end, the team proved that numbers and predictions were an aberration, and that heart and determination meant more.
The Aggies returned the pride and Wrecking Crew name that so many had taken away from them and rode that pride all the way to the Cotton ton Bowl. There isn’t a soul in College Station who can honestly say he expected the Aggies to progress this far in one season. The Aggies proved the critics wrong this season as one of the biggest turn-around teams in college football and one of brightest spots on the fall sports calendar.
Just across the street from Kyle Field, the Aggie soccer team again had another outstanding year, winning the Big 12 Championship and the regular season Big 12 title as the best team in the conference.
Considered one of the most consistent teams in the nation, the Aggie soccer team again proved the validity of its reputation, as it recruited one of the best groups collegiate soccer perhaps has ever seen and rode a couple of those freshmen all the way the NCAA playoffs.
With the emergence of freshman forward Ashlee Pistorius, the Aggies looked primed for a season with a potent scoring attack. Pistorius led the Aggie offense this season, posting 19 goals and 44 points en route to receiving Big 12 Newcomer of the Year honors as the team’s brightest star.
The Aggies managed to advance to the NCAA tournament but hit a low point when they were upset by the University of Illinois 2-1 at the Aggie Soccer Complex. The game marked the end of a five-year sweet sixteen streak and a promising year for the young team.
The Aggie volleyball team again proved that consistency goes a long way this season as it advanced to the NCAA volleyball tournament for the 12th straight season.
The team posted another solid year with a record of 19-9 before losing to No. 10 Tennessee in the second round of the tournament. The season’s high point was a come-from-behind victory over in-state rival University of Texas at G. Rollie White Coliseum earlier in the year.
Though many have sports’ seasons have ended or are nearing it, Aggie sports are alive and well after a superb fall season. With many of the current players coming back next year, the Aggies have set themselves up for a possible title run next season in every major sport.