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Desnitp.s men's torn By Rick Mohn Gamecock Staff Wrlt*r Throughout coach Ron Smarr's career at Carolina he has had some very good tennis teams. Since he came to Columbia eight years ago, USC tennis has compiled a phenomenal record of 174-36. Despite such C*1 i ttorinrJ cuonocc fKi o nno? ?./????- "? f! * * ' b.n.wi nig uutvwj niio paoi scuaun was uic iirsi lime in history that its team played in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA, tennis championships. The 1978 team finished 26-7 and bowed out to the eventual champion Stanford in the first round of the NCAA's. Of the top six players, only number-six Jeff Hull is missing. The toD two additions to thp 1Q7Q squad are Ulf Pettersson, the number two tennis player under 21-years-old in Sweden, and junior Bob Dietrich, the top junior college player in California. Carolina was ranked sixteenth in the nation at the outset of the season. ALL THESE ARE reasons why Smarr could probably be excused if his eyes light up a little when he thinks about the 1979 spring season. "We're realy anxious to get the season started . We know we have some good players, and the prospects for the year look pretty good," the USC head man observed before the season began Jan. 31. The rest of the top seven players Smarr has at his disposal include senior All-American Chris Mayotte, who is stil showing the effects of a shoulder injury ; Chick Hodgin, who stepped in quite capably at the number two position this past season as a freshman; junior Peter Macdonald, recovering from an ankle sprain; senior Barry Gilbert, who will likelv alter nate with Dietrich at number six; and junior AilAmerican Arthur Anastopoulo. Three net aid womei n.. ? ?? ?A oy ivucneue nurcneiie Qamacock Staff Wiitar With this past season's top three players returning to form the backbone of his squad, USC women's tennis coach, Jeff Kefalos will add freshman Susan Smith and transfer Gracey Barrie to strengthen the lineup. Smith, who came to Carolina from her home in Lakeland, Florida, holds the number-one spot for USC. The strongest part of her game is consistency, although she feels the areas to work on are serving and volleying. SOPIIOMOKE COLETTE Bennett will occupy the number-two position in singles play. After tranC fnrri r* C r% a.a. 1 *? oivi i uuiu v/iciusuii, Dciuicu nas seiueu in ai Carolina and is pleased with her coach and team. "Everything looked better here," she said about her decision to switch to Carolina. "I have a lot of respect for Coach Kefalos. "Our top three players are real good. We have a suuu uouDies team too. If it comes down to it, they can pull us through," she added. Bennett's game is also strengthened by consistency. "I have a steady game, and I guess what low start | lis stronq I ~ 1 Despite a struggling start (a record of only 6-3), Smarr is far from discouraged. The three losses came consecutively in the NCAA Indoor Championshis, the field of which included twelve of the best teams in the nation. In the tourney, the Gamecocks were plagued with injuries, but "we still could have won two of those matches anyway. The injuries are bothering us now, but we're not about to throw in the towel. We'll just have to regroup and get some wins," Smarr claimed. CAROLINA WILL get a chance to prove it deserves its high early ranking and the high preseason expectations when the team travels to Corpus Christi, Texas, for the Corpus Christi Team Tournament 1V1CIII.II l-o. 1 "The field there will be even tougher overall than | the field in the NCAA Indoor Championships," Smarr observed. ? By that time Mayotte and Macdonald should be I completely recovered, and the newly-healthy ; Gamecocks will have a chance to prove how they can fare against top-flight competition. 1 There will be 36 dual matches in this season, ex- | eluding the Corpus Christi Tournament. Included will 1 be road matches against ACC powers Duke, North uaronna and N.C. State, and a March road trip to Florida and Alabama on which the Gamecocks will f face teams such as Miami, Auburn and Alabama. At home, the Carolina team will entertain perennial Ivy League champions Princeton, Southeastern j Conference leaders Georgia and Tennessee, and J archrival Clemson. Smarr and his players hope there will be at least one more match, that in Athens on May 2\ in the NCAA Championship tournament. Now that the Gamecocks have been there once, they want to go back. vcomers n's tennis you'd call smart strategy," she said. "I'm trying to be a little more aggressive." n?. i: * rujuiuimg oui me lop inree players, is sophomore Gracey Barrie, who transferred from Duke. "I wanted to lay a lot more tennis than I was get- W ting to play at Duke. They have a more rigorous program here and they play against better com- ^ petition." w BARRIE FEELS that growing up in Florida, where W playing tennis on clay courts is very popular, has W definitely strengthened her baseline game. "Now I'm W trying to work on my net game and be a little more M aggressive," she said. Even thouoh the ton arp filloH ? women who are basically new to Carolina's game, M Barrie feels there is no cause to doubt their ability to M work together. "We're pretty new to each other but M already we get along good together. That right there M suggests we should have a good season," she ex- M plained. "I'm really looking forward to it." M M ALTHOUGH KEFALOS is not yet sure what his M doubles lineup will be, he has filled in the singles A squad with Carol Renz, Carol Fullerton, and Missy A Malool at the fourth, fifth, and sixth spots, respec- A tively. See Women, page 12 A ^u<J ^gi^sgsg-^*&&*? * * ww^fip wWli f .fflroit i l^pi^^^B^^L''- .JRP < ? i jjjp^ ^x unB7.- ! : Brltt Andrew ? GAMECOCK All-America Chris Mayotte Schedule Mar. 1-3 Corpus Chrisll Team Apr 10 a| Th? CMade| Tourmament a nr 1 -i cnnru n nm?> .. "!? . i uvwin rLUniUA p.m.) lar. 5 PENN STATE (2 p.m.) Apr. 12 at Georgia Southern lar. 6 TENNESSEE- Apr. 16 GEORGIA <2 p.m.) CHATTANOOGA (2 p.m.) Apr. 19 at Furman lar. 7 WILLIAM & MARY (2 p.m.) Apr. 21 TENNESSEE (1:30 p.m.) lar. 8 at Wake Forest Apr. 22 APPALACHIAN STATE (2 lar. 9 SWARTHMORE (2 p.m.) p.m.) lar. 11 VIRGINIA (1:30 p.m.) May 21-27 NCAA CHAMlar. 13 at North Carolina PIONSHIPS AT ATHENS, GA. lar. 17 at N.C. State lar. 19 WASHINGTON & LEE (2 " n ml lar 20'FLORIDA (2 p.m.) BRSaflSftf: j lar. 21 at Duke lar. 22 VIRGINIA TECH (1:30 p.m.) i | lar. 23 at Jacksonville ;&j lar. 25 at Miami ? lar. 26 at Florida Tech lar. 28 at Florida State lar. 29 at Alabama ^ ~ - - ? 1" "' "3 r 1 tar. 30 at Auburn pr. 3 PRINCETON (2 p.m.) g|g pr. 4 FLAGLER (2 p.m.) ^^' pr. 6 GEORGIA TECH (2 p.m.) ^ N||Mlfl||M kpr. 9 CLEMSON (1:30 p.m.) J 2%. lliilli i u h i ifrXr w?l!ili^?ift n ii a a lk V ^ fc)}ijz-f: { ( /(-./(!j no Free \ ^ BB9 ont chocks hmh| i