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Croi ] Bass Attitude lh BY GEORGE MORRIS Of The Gamecock staff Good attitude, often a missil ingredient in last year's Carolij tennis team, is what coach R Smarr hopes to blend with talent make this year a successful one f the Gamecocks. Last year's team had the talei sure enough, and their 25-9 reco was hardly a bad one, but injuri and a few cases of bad attitu kept Carolina from being the tea Smarr hoped it could have bee But the attitude problems of la year are gone now, and Smarr looking forward to this season. "I think this team has worked hard as any team I've ever had Smarr said. "Without a doubt t team has one of the best attitud in my four years here, and thought my first two teams had super attitude. That's not idle tal that's fact. Of course, you've got have talent and we have that, too he said. When Smarr compares tli year's team with those he's had the past he's saying a lot. Sma coached two national juni college champions at Winga Junior College and his first tv USC teams won 48 of 55 meets. This year's team returns s players that saw action last yea and Smarr added three mo players in what he called an e TENNIS Coach: Ron Smarr Feb. 28-College of Char., 2:15 March 4-Penn State, 2:15 March 6-Western Michigan, 2:15 March 8-Duke, 1:30 March 9-Swarthmore, 1:30 March 11-N. C. State, 2:15 *March 12-Purdue, 2:15 Morch 14-at Jacksonville, 2:00 March 15-at Florida State, 1:30 March 16-at South Alabama, 10:00 March 17-at Louisiana State, 2.00 March 18-at Tulane, 2:00 March 19-at S. Mississippi, 1:30 March 20-at Mississippi, 2:00 *March 21--at Memphis State, 1:00 March 22-at Tenn-Chattanooga, 1:04 March 25-Georgia, 2:15 March 26-Eastern Michigan, 2:15 March 28-Amherst, 2:15 *March 29-Ohio State, 1:30 March 31-Clemson, 2:15 April 1-Harvard, 2:15 April 2-at Furman, 2:15 April 3-Appalachian State, 2:15 April 9-Presbyterian, 2:15 April 10-Georgia Southern, 2:15 April 13-at North Carolina, 1:30 April 19-Georgia Tech, 1:30 April 21 -at Davidsn, 2:00 r. base Richardson oest ever on )n to or doN rd es m n. st is Smarr as cellent recruiting year. ," Top returnees include co-captai iis Jeff Kefalos and Andreas Hu es schmid. Kefalos, a junior froi I Parkersburg, West Virginia, wC a selected the team's most valuab] k, player each of the past two years to Kefalos was 26-7 last season i is Softball and in orri highlight wo te BY LIZ ISHERWOOD ix Of The Gamecock staff r, re Two women's varsity sports x- tennis and softball--will open thei seasons in March and are alread well into their practice schedule of weight training and running. The tennis team, under th direction of head coach Franki Porter, started training in earl I January. The team has bee] running miles a day and liftini *weights twice a week i preparation for the season. The preparation is a very crucia part of the season and Porte described the upcoming contest as "difficult." Porter said, "Thi *schedule is a very rough one. Among the long, 22-match schedull some of the opponents that stani out are North Carolina, Davidsoi and Georgia Southern. The squad, which will have 1 team members, is not complete a of yet. At the beginning of practic 22 women tried out for the tearr )jand ten have been chosen. Th~ remaining three will be picke within the next week. The wome are Connie Albertson, Dee De Easier, Peggy Fowler, Pari Green, Mary Morman, An: Peterson, Sue Smith, Sue Stoll Georgia Taylor and Sue Tinsley Porter said, "The team has a l( of talent with good potential an< they get along with each othe well." Porter added, "Evei though tennnis is considered al individual sport, the women have good team attitude." Porter commented that the goa of the season is to expose the tear hi ball topI Grantz tennis team singles and has a 52-9 record for two years. Hufschmid, a junior from Geneva, Switzerland, received the most valuable player award last year along with Kefalos. Huf schmid won 28 of 34 matches last year and has a two year record of 54-8. Kefalos and Hufschmid teamed up for a 11-3 doubles record last year as well. Also returning are Phil Dukes, Steve Geller, John LeGrand and Mark Rosenblum. All of these players saw more duty than was expected last year when injuries and a player suspension forced Smarr to use his team's depth. Dukes, from New Canaan, .n Connecticut, is this year's co f- captain along with Kefalos and a n former number one doubles player is in New England. He had a 16-6 le record last year as a freshman. n Continued on Page 13 tennis matches men's sports to good tennis through team play and numerous matches. Porter feels that it is good if the women win, but the most important thing is to improve their invidivudal r games. V The first home match of the s season will be against Converse College at the PE Center tennis 0 courts at 2 p.m. The women's softball team, which is the defending state t-champions, also has started its preseason training with rigorous 'weight training and running. The softball team, under head 1coach Vicki Hamilton, will field a r rather young team, but Hamilton is s still optimistic. Hamilton said, "We have 40 women trying out for the team with most of them being Sfreshmen and sophomores. I am optimistic about the season because of the great number of new faces."~ 3 The schedule is not complete yet, s and Hamilton said it is a problem e to get college teams to play in a i, fast pitch softball league. e Hamilton said, "There is not d enough competition for fast pitch n softball. You have to travel long e distances in order to play games." ri Carolina's schedule includes n games with Winthrop, Coker, USC I, Spartanburg and games in Georgia .and Florida. t Hamilton said, "We graduated dl key defensive players. We need to r fill the positions of pitcher and ra catcher. So far our handicap is ra pitching and jgfield. - Our strong a points are outfield and batting." Hamilton said, "Our goal is to I get to the College World Series at Sspring USC's pitching key to tourna BY PETE FEHELEY Sports Editor A return trip to the NCAA playoffs is not a sure thing for the 1975 Carolina baseball team, but a cast of returning veterans and some promising newcomers give reason for an optimistic outlook. Coach Bobby Richardson's squad was runner-up to national finalist Miami of Florida last year and hopes to make it to Omaha, Neb., for the College World Series in June. "It's really important that we get off to a good start because the rainy weather has hampered our practice sessions this month," Richardson said. Richardson thinks his pitching staff and overall team depth are the strong points of this year's squad while relief pitching is an unanswered question. "We will miss Allen Johnson, who was our stopper in the bullpen last year," he said. Carolina's starting pitchers boast some impressive creden tials. Earl Bass, first team All America and the ace of the Gamecock staff, had a 12-1 record last year with an ERA of 1.10. Bass also played first base when it was not his turn in the pitching rotation, hitting .291 with 33 RBI's. Richardson said he will not play Bass at first this season, .but will use him some as a designated hitter. The second starter is Greg Ward, a senior right-hander, who had a 10-4 record last season with a 1.30 ERA. Ward stuck out 116 batters while walking only 25. Lefty Tim Lewis is the third starter for the Gamecocks. Lewis had an 11-2 record in 1974 with a 2.29 ERA. Raymond Lavigne, 5-0 last year, rounds out the starting staff. Lavigne threw a pressure packed 1-0 shutout against Georgia Southern in the NCAA District Three playoffs last year to keep the Gamecocks alive in the tour nament. The bullpen is led by left-handers Scott Thomas and Mike Cromer as long relievers, while Richardson looks to Ed Lynch, freshman Chuck McLean, and veteran Tommy Luckstone for short relief. "I can't help but feel confident when any of my pitchers is on the mound." Richardson said. Richardson brought in four junior college transfers and two of them may end up as starting outfielders. Gry Hancock is bat tling with sophomore Don Repsher for the rightfield spot. And tran sfer Steve Cook is pretty well emented in centerfield. Richardson is all smiles over the return of Steve King to leftfield. King was lost to the Gamecocks all last season with a broken ankle. "Steve has been hitting the ball with authority lately, and I look forward to an outstanding season from him," Richardson said. Carolina has outstanding depth in the outfield with versatile Jim Fleming ready to step in at any position and David Small, who also played several positions last year. Fleming hit .317 last season, as a designated hitter many times, while Small played errorless defense for the Gamecoks. sports and depth rnent hopes The infield situation appears to be still another strong point of the 1975 team. Jim Pankovits will return for another season at third base with a strong arm and good power hitting his main assets. Jeff Grantz will move over to shortstop, replacing the departed Eddie Ford. Grantz plays short in summer baseball and Richardson believes the .287 hitting junior will make the change smoothly. Junior college transfer Mark Van Bever, who stole 25 bases last season, will handle second base. That will leave first base in the quite capable hands of big Hank Small, another Carolina All America returning from last year's team. The "Hammer", as he is known to his teammates, drilled 17 home runs in 1974 and accounted for 65 RBI's. "Hank's bat does his talking for him," said one of the Gamecocks in reference to the slugger's reserved nature. Another junior college transfer, Greg Keatley, will man the cat ching chores for the Gamecocks. Richardson will also use Johnny Hinckel, Don Branham, and Robbie Parrish behind the place. "We have four good catchers any Continued on Page 12 BASEBALL Coach: Bobby Richardson Feb. 28-ot Baptist College, 3:00 March 4-ot Wofford, 3:00 March S-West Virginia, 3:00 March 6-West Virginia, 3:00 March 7-Richmond, 3:00 March 8-Richmond, 2:00 March 10-Duke (2), 1:30 March 11-at Francis Marion, 3:00 March 13-Virginia, 3:00 March 14-Virginia, 3:00 March 17-22-at Stetson Tournament March 24-Hunter, 3:00 March 25-Old Dominion, 2:00 March 26-George Mason, 3:00 March 27-Marshall, 7:30 March 28-at Georgia, 3:30 March 29-at Georgia, 3:30 March 31-Howard, 7:30 April 1-Howard, 3:00 A pril 2-Clemson, 7:30 April 3-ot North Carolino, 2:30 April 4-UNC Wilmington, 7:30 April 5-UNC Wilmington, 1:30 April 7-The Citadel, 7:30 April 8-at Erskine, 3:00 A pril 9-St. Leo, 3:00 April 10-St. Leo, 3:00 April 11 -Wofford, 7:30 April 12-North Carolina, 2:30 April 14-Baptist College, 7:30 April 15-at Georgia Tech (2), 2:00 April 18--at Georgia Southern, 7:30 April 19-at Georgia Southern (2), 1:00 April 21-Newberry, 7:30 April 22-Davidson, 7:30 April 24-Furman, 7:30. April 25-Georgia Southern, 7:30 April 26-Georgia Southern, 1:00 April 28-at The Citadel, 7:30 .May 8-at Furman, 3:00 ,May 9-Jacksonvine, 7:30 May 1O-.Jakraaonle 2:30