The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, February 27, 1975, Page Page 11, Image 13
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