Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Wrestli: Battles F Wrestling, a major sport at Northern and Midwestern schools, is still struggling at Carolina as a club sport, and USC Coach Tommy Cox would like to see that status change. Carolina competes in tercollegiately under NCAA rules, but is currently operating on a budget of $1,000 given to them by the Student Allocations Com mittee. The main financial squeeze will come in the way of transportation expenses. The team will travel to Furman, The Citadel, Western Carolina, Clemson and Southern Tech for matches. USC also has four-team meets with Pembroke State, Kutztown, Pa. State and Southern Georgia and another with Duke, Ap palachian St. and a team to be announced later. The sites of these meets have not been determined. At home, the Gamecocks take on Southern Tech, Clemson, Western Carolina and North Carolina. The location of the USC-SC State match has not been determined yet. Cox said the money donated by the SAC, some of which has already been used, will last "through the first couple of meets." Negotiations are planned with the SAC for more money, and The photographs on the front and back covers of this special edition were taken by Mickey Holoman, a member of USC's parachute club. Cycling Club Sponsors Races, Weekend Trips With all the 10-speeds on the Carolina campus, it would seem that there should be some sort of organized club for these hike owners--and there is. The Cycling Club is open to all USC biking enthusiasts and holds such events as overnight trips, races and weekend rides. The club meets every Saturday at 7:45 a.m. at The Cyclist, a bicycle shop run by .Joe Azar. Azar also helps organize the club. All of the events take place on weekends, and anyone interested in such trips should come to any of the meetings. Azar said that no one should worry about being left behind oti these outings regardless of how leisurely his or her pace may be. Azar said "Some people really gc fast, others go slower and others really take their time. People always have someone to ride with them no matter what their pace." Future plans include a trip tc Santee State Park this December, and more races and overnight trips for next semester. If anyone is interested in participating, the Cycling Club welcomes their participation. rig Team or Money Cox feels the chance of receiving money from the Athletic Depart ment are slim at this time. The main obstacle holding wrestling back from becoming a major sport is money and the lack of competition in the state's high schools. Competitive wrestling exists in South Carolina high schools only on a limited basis. However, Frank McGuire did not build a basketball power here by using local talent, and his success has certainly helped the high school program. There appears to be no reason why wrestling could not do the same. A successful team at USC, followed up with some clinics, could add wrestling to the small list of South Carolina high school sports, which would, in turn, help the USC program. Cox said, "I would like to see wrestling become a major sport here, whether I'm here or not. I just love the sport." Besides money, what Cox wants now is more wrestlers. About 20 wrestlers practice on a regular basis and, although more are expected to join after the football and soccer teams finish their seasons, Cox said all those in terested in wrestling should con tact him at the P.E. Center. BY GEORGE MORRIS Coach Claims Girls Womei Women's basketball is similar to men's, except women players are more skilled, according to the coach of USC's women's basketball team. "I know Frank McGuire won't like this, but I'm going to say it anyway," said USC women's coach Pam Backhaus. "Women basketball players have to be more skilled because they are not as strong as the men. "When a man does something wrong he can recover with his strength, but girls don't have this strength. They have to be better at the fundamentals," Backhaus said. ....... ........ A3A Wrestling club player Iouck lifts a teammate off in a recent practice session More Skilled s Basked Last year Carolina's women's team won the state title and finished sixth in the country. This year I3ackhaus says the team will fast break and use a pressing defense as much a possible. "We would like to use a zone press as much as possible," said Backhaus. "When our zone press doesn't work, we will go into a man-to-man defense. "Women's basketball is very similar to men's basketball," said Backhaus. "The only difference is that we either shoot one or two foul shots when we are fouled--there is no one-and-one foul shooting." Women's basketball does differ eia 3~ ~ ~ ralt'v.. Quick Fall coach Ike practices e' the ground about 20 stu The club )all Has E with the way men's college teams play. They have a 30 second time clock rule. "The 30-second clock tends to the favor the underdog," said the first year coach. The Gamecocks will employ mainly a three-guard double post offense and hope to set a fast tempo with a lot of fastbreaking. On defense a combination of defensive set ups will be used, but a 2-1-2 zone defense will be used most often according to Backhaus. Eight players return from last year's squad that went to the National Tournament in New York where they competed with teams from throughout the country. In Orace En An Upide-Dwn World Rarely does athletic competition approach the graceful fluid movement that is ever present in the field of gymnastics. USC's Women gymnasts were skilled enough last season to to cpature the state title and Coach Helen Tim mermans is optimistic that the girls can repeat the feat. Russ Jeffcoat ery weeknight and has dents on the team. citement New York they received a lot of publicity after finishing sixth in over-all competition. This years home games will be played at the P.E. Center. Twelve girls will comprise the traveling team. "We will use a different lineup at home so the girls who don't travel with us will have a chance to play too," said Backhaus. The women's basketball team will tackle a 14-game schedule. The season begins at home with the Alumni. Dave Medin will assist Backhaus with her coaching duties. BY BILLY BAKER n a /