A CLOSE PLAY AFTER CONSIDERING EAST COAST, THAYER HAPPY HE CHOSE UCLA.Byline: Chris Cocoles Staff Writer Robert and Sandra sandra (sänˑ·dr  ),adj Thayer looked at each other on the plane ride home from North Carolina North Carolina, state in the SE United States. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean (E), South Carolina and Georgia (S), Tennessee (W), and Virginia (N). Facts and Figures Area, 52,586 sq mi (136,198 sq km). Pop. . Their son Matt was going to college far away from their Woodland Hills home. It's not that the Thayers, UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX grads both, weren't supportive of Matt's choice. He was recruited by top academic schools for his brain and major Division I baseball programs for his bat. But when Matt finally decided on a school, the family's blue and gold blood flowed further. ``It was a happy surprise actually,'' Sandra Thayer said of Matt following in their footsteps through Bruin Walk in the center of the Westwood campus. The UCLA baseball team is happy to have this talented center fielder, too. The sophomore, who played at Harvard-Westlake of Studio City, is among the Bruins' best hitters, batting Batting has several meanings:
abbr. Baseball runs batted in Noun 1. rbi - a run that is the result of the batter's performance; "he had more than 100 rbi last season" run batted in . He is an underrated defensive outfielder with occasional power and a team-leading eight steals. After redshirting in 2001 and making 31 starts as a part-timer last season, Thayer primed himself for a starting role. ``He wasn't real ready last year. But he's matured a lot in the three years he's been here,'' Bruins coach Gary Adams said. ``He's been Mr. Consistency.'' He could have been Mr. Ivy League Ivy League Group of eight universities in the northeastern U.S., high in academic and social prestige, that are members of an athletic conference for intercollegiate gridiron football dating to the 1870s. if he desired. He loved his visit to Dartmouth, and ultra-competitive Harvard-Westlake regularly sends its graduates East to Harvard, Princeton, Penn and the Ivy set. Eventually, however, Thayer concluded a strong school, with a history of baseball There are a number of articles about the history of baseball:
UCLA remained a viable option. The school's tradition in its classrooms and baseball stadium were attractive. And Thayer didn't forget Mom and Dad, an uncle and grandfather attended the school. But there was no meddling med·dle intr.v. med·dled, med·dling, med·dles 1. To intrude into other people's affairs or business; interfere. See Synonyms at interfere. 2. To handle something idly or ignorantly; tamper. , no UCLA catalogs or baseball caps conveniently left next to breakfast dishes or on pillows. ``Parents tend to sort of get involved a lot,'' Matt Thayer said. ``They let me look at other schools and weigh all my opportunities. And they didn't really didn't have much of a say.'' The family went together to check out Wake Forest's campus in Winston-Salem, N.C., and chat with the Demon demon, supernatural being, generally malevolent in character. In general, the more civilized pagan societies came to consider demons as powerful, supernatural beings who lacked the dignity of gods and who, depending on the circumstance, might be either benevolent or Deacons' coaches and players. Wake Forest offers a quality education with a baseball program making annual appearances in the national polls. ``They showed me a great time,'' Matt Thayer said, ``and my parents fell in love with the way they did things out there, and they were like, `He's gone. We're never going to see him again.' '' That was the most difficult feeling to comprehend. His parents attended most of his high school games, and Winston-Salem is 2,513 miles from Woodland Hills. Covering that distance through the air on the way to California California (kăl'ĭfôr`nyə), most populous state in the United States, located in the Far West; bordered by Oregon (N), Nevada and, across the Colorado River, Arizona (E), Mexico (S), and the Pacific Ocean (W). allowed for plenty of time to ponder Ponder - A non-strict polymorphic, functional language by Jon Fairbairn <jf@cl.cam.ac.uk>. Ponder's type system is unusual. It is more powerful than the Hindley-Milner type system used by ML and Miranda and extended by Haskell. the choice. When weighing both sides of the argument, the parents were convinced what the answer was going to be when Wake Forest offered. ``It was a two-airplane flight coming and going, so it was all day,'' Robert Thayer said. ``And I looked at Sandy and said, `He's going to Wake Forest.' It was a beautiful school and a great tradition.'' But UCLA brought the same intangibles into the equation. ``I just wanted the baseball that was out here,'' Matt Thayer said. ``When I finally came up with the decision to come here, (my parents) were really happy about that. They're able to see my games.'' Almost all of them, in fact, this season. The Thayers traveled to UCLA's series at Hawaii and the Texas A&M tournament. But they love the idea of driving the 405 Freeway to see the bulk of Matt's games. And at a school so easy for the folks to root for. ``It's easier to count how many games we haven't been to,'' Robert Thayer said. ``We look at the other parents who live back East and only get out here occasionally, and we just feel very lucky.'' CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Despite being lured by Ivy League schools and Wake Forest, Matt Thayer decided to play near home at UCLA. Charlotte Schmid-Maybach/Staff Photographer |
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