The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, September 12, 1974, Image 7
USC's first OPPO
Techg
Georgia Tech went into this
football season with an extremely
inexperienced team, but the
Yellow Jackets went about gaining
an education in perhaps the best
way they could--by facing one of
the nation's finest teams in their
season opener with Notre Dame.
Although Tech absorbed a 31-7
trouncing by the powerful Irish,
the Yellow Jackets did not come
away with the physical pounding
many had anticipated for them.
Tech did not sustain any serious
injuries but Coach Pepper
Rodgers, of Kansas and UCLA,
fame, saw his team gain playing
experience, something the
Gamecocks do not yet have, as this
weekend's match-up in Atlanta
represents the opener for Carolina.
The Saturday night game will
Lettermt
Good swi
The Carolina swimming. team
opens it season Nov. 26, but
already the swimmers are going
through the process of pre-season
conditioning.
The Gamecocks, who had a
ranking of 25th In the nation and
compiled a dual meet record of 5-5
last season, are excited and op
timistic about many aspects of the
forthcoming season.
Carolina has a number of out
standing lettermen returning and
has signed nine freshmen, who
should form the nucleus of a good
team.
The best description Qf the
Gamecock's upcoming scedule Is
probably challenging since 5 of the
11 USC dual meet opponents were
ranked last year in the nation's top
20. They Include North Carolina
State, sixth, Miami, seventh, and
Florida, 10th, in the nation.
The Gamecock swimmers and
coaching staff can hardly wait to
move from their antiquated pool
Into the new pool under cons
struction next to the Physical
Education Center.
ment
ins edi
start at 8 o'clock.
In his first season as Tech coach,
Rodgers has inherited a young
team and has attempted to
acquaint the youthful squad with a
new wishbone offense.
Rodgers' team appears suited
for the wishbone attack-the of
fense consists of an experienced
line, big, strong running backs and
two quarterbacks capable of
running on a level slightly below
that of Gamecock field general Jeff
Grantz.
The defense, a youthful squad,
will be aided by the new offense,
since the wishbone typically keeps
defenses on the sidelines longer
than do wide-open style offenses.
Defense is the question mark of
the Tech team, a similar situation
to that of the Gamecocks. In terms
of experience deSensively, Tech is
Lining up for Tech
!n. re-crut
mmin Se
Unfortunately the great
amount of rain the Columbia area
had over the summer, and is
having now, has slowed the process
(construction) considerably," Ed
Miller, assistant swimming coach,
said.
If the pool Is completed by
March, Carolina will be the host
team of the National Independent
Swimming championships.
The USC coaching staff is op
timistic about both returning
swimmers and the nine recruits
signed during the summer by
Coach Al an Gentry.
Tom Schmidt heads the retur
ning swimmers. During the
summer Schmidt was name an All
America choice by the NCAA in the
1,650 free style. He is the first
Carolina swimmer in history to be
named AMI-America.
According to Gentry, Schmidt's
honor was well earned. "Tom Is a
very deserving kid and is a
champion in every sense of the
work," Gentry said.
Meanwhile, Gentry spent the
suminer signing nine top-class
high school swimmers.
lcation'
strongest at linebacker but only
three of the starting four have seen
any varsity action.
The linebacking experience
belongs dhiefly to Joe Harris, 6-1,
212, from Fayetteville, N.C., who is
a senior.
The Tech defensive backfield
totals just two-and-a-half years'
experience, with two of the years
belonging to All-America Randy
Rhino, a cornerback. Junior Steve
Crawford is the only other player
with any experience listed as a
possible starter by Tech.
Rhino's brother, Danny, is also a
secondary starter.
On the defensive line, Tech starts
some juniors, representing some
degree of experience, but a star
ting freshman tends to counteract
that experience.
Please Turn.To Page 9
hint
Lason
Six of the nine recruits are
freestylers, including Steve
Breiter of Lafayette, Calif; Bill
Ehrhorn of Philadelphia; Barney
Giese of Columbia; Gary Jameson
of Nashville; Randy Phipps of Los
Angeles; and Mike Sullivan of
Miami.
Also signed were backstroker
and individual medley performer
Greg Midwinter of Little Neck,
N.Y., and breaststrokers Mike
Grissino of Athens, Ga. and Dave
Gribble of Miami.
Gentry said of the recruits, "All
of these kids have excellent
credentials and we hope they will
keep improving and reach their
full potential. This will give us a
great deal more flexibility and
depth, and we should have a much
stronger team next (this) season."
Breiter, one of the nine recruits,
summed up the team's attitude
when he said, "1 am really looking
forward to this seaann FRvery time
I go by thelnew poo) site I
feel like yelling at tne top of my
lungs, 'Get that thing done so we
can get into it!' " ...A Rau
Steve Parker
Sports Editor
Recruiting has not become any easier for America's
college tennis coaches, despite the recent tennis boom
which has swept the country, filling tennis courts across
America but not increasing the number of quality
players by any appreciable number.
Ron Smarr, who took a losing Carolina team and has
let it to three straight 20-game seasons, admits that the
increase in would-be tennis players has not made his job
of recruiting at USC any easier. If anything, Smarr
says, the boom has made recruiting more difficult.
"The result of the increased national interest in tennis
is that you find more schools pushing the sport," Smarr
said. "So, while you have a few more players, you have
the talent spread out a lot more."
"A lot of schools will become interested in a sport, like
tennis, where you need only two or three good players to
be ranked. A lot of smaller schools will try to get on the
college athletics bandwagon. The same thing is true in
basketball, where three or four top recruits can give a
school a name," Smarr said.
Smarr said some 100 schools probably offer eight full
scholarships for tennis, and there are probably 40 or 50
of those which offer eight full scholarships and have
large budgets appropriated to tennis.
"But there are only eight, 10 or 15 blue chip tennis
players to be recruited every year, and you've got 40
schools going after then," Smarr said.
The lack of quality players available for recruiting
has led the coaches of collegiate tennis abroad, seeking
to find players in foreign countries and entice them to
play in the United States. Smarr has recruited a few
foreigners for Carolina.
Andreas Hufschmid, of Geneva, Switzerland, is the
current number two man on the Gamecock squad. Two
native Frenchmen played for Carolina last year, as did
South African Brian Desatnik the past couple.
While Smarr has had to look abroad for some of his
talent, his situation is not quite as bad as that of many
other coaches in the nation. Carolina is located near an
area acknowledged as playing respectable tennis as
compared to the rest of the nation-the Georgia-North
Carolina area. Notably missing from the name of that
area is South Carolina, and the fact that USC does not
have a scholarship tennis player from in-state may
reflect why.
South Carolina's absence from tennis prominence is
somewhat strange in that the state enjoys warm
weather, as do the top tennis regions of the country, and
the local weather is nicer than that of many tennis areas
better than the Palmetto state.
California, Texas and Florida are considered the
nations' best spots, with South Carolina's neighbors
supplying the next best areas .
"Columbia could stand to have three racquet clubs,"
Smarr said. "And USC could use at least 25 more courts
with all the interest there is on campus in playing ten
But neither Columbia nor South Carolina are yet
equipped to develop top players and so Smarr must look
elsewhere. "We do most of our recruiting in Florida and
the New England area, and also New York and New
Jersey."
.Unfortunately for Smarr, the lack of regional talent
gives the edge to Western schools for developing
national powers.
"But all coaches in all sports will tell you the best
recruiter you have is the word-of-mouth recruiting you
get from your own ex-players and alumni," Smarr said.
"To get the real blue-chippers you need somebody to say
'go to South Carolina.'
Which many quality tennis players across the nation
would take as saying, "go to hell."
Still, Smarr has enjoyed good success in his
recruiting, guiding USC to a 73-16 record in his three
years at Carolina by adapting to the situation he faces
by coaching in an area pretty much void of quality
tennis.