The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, June 07, 1979, Page Page 12, Image 12
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Bv Rick Mohn
Gamecock Staff Writer
This time of year is always an
emotional one on college campuses;
old friends, roommates and
lovers are all being separated for
the summer ? or forever. Such is
the case with a Carolina tennis
team which did not quite live up to
its expectations in 1979. But it was
injuries, not a lack of effort, which
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kept the Cocks out of the top twenty
and the NCAA Championships.
i "We really wish we had won
bigger, but once Chuck Hodgin and
Peter Macdonald were hurt and
didn't play, we knew we were in
trouble," head coach Ron Smarr
said. Even with two of his top four
1 players out for most of the season,
Smarr led his team to a 27-13
record. Despite the fact that this
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tennis 1
was not as stellar a slate as was
expected (Tennis mneazinp niok^H
the Cocks in their preseason top
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i,v,ii/, omen i was idi 1 ruin uisappointed.
"Considering everything, we did
very well. We beat Clemson and
they're going to the NCAA's; we
lost to seventh-ranked Tennessee
by one stroke, and we finished
second in our region with a 9-2
record," Smarr emphasized. "Our
team attitude was very good all
year; we played hard. In fact,
because this team gave so much
effort, I may have enjoyed this
season even more than last vear."
Barry Gilbert, one of only two
seniors on the team, agreed with
Smarr's assessment. "Hey, I
enjoyed it ? we didn't have a great
year, but we had a good one. And at
least we Deal uiemson," Gilbert
pointed out. "I would have liked to
have done better personally (he
finished 20-13 in singles) but we
played a lot of matches against a
really tough schedule."
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his career at Carolina was, Gilbert
answered quickly, "When I found
out we made the NCAA tournament
last year; it was in
question for awhile, and it felt good
to know we had made it." After
graduation, Gilbert plans on
"doing some traveling, playing
some circuits, and then I guess I'll
have to get serious about life."
The other senior on the team has
been a mainstav in thp linpnn pvor I
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since his arrival here. "Chris
Mayotte, in my opinion, is the
greatest tennis player ever at
Carolina," Smarr said
unequivocally. "He was AllAmerican
twice, and he's got a
good shot at it this year, despite
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playing hurt the early part of the
season. This may have been his
best year ever, as a matter of fact,
from the standpoint of mental
toughness."
When asked his impression of his
senior season, Mayotte replied,
"However corny this may sound, I
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great bunch of guys who all held
together when things went bad for
us. We were a little disappointed
about our record, but we played
hard and showed our character,
and that's all that really counts."
As the highlights of his career,
Mayotte picked making the
NCAA's as a team in 1978 and
making All-American in 1977. With
a 25-12 singles record and a 17-7
slate in doubles with Arthur
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return to the NCAA championships
for the final time in May. "I'm
looking forward to it, because I
really think I can win the singles
title," Mayotte said. As for his
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itisfied
future, "Tennis is definitely in it.
I'll turn pro later in the summer,
and if I'm not enjoying it in two
years, I'll quit. But I like tennis,
and someday you may see my
name in the top 100."
Before he stopped talking,
Mayotte paid a tribute to the man
who is Carolina tennis. "Of all the
coaches in the United States, Ron
Smarr is one of the best. He's a
very dedicated man, and he gives
his players a lot of his time. All of
us, especially myself, appreciate
him even more than he realizes.
He's a great coach."
Mayotte and Gilbert both played
very well for Smarr in the last few
years, helping boost his record at
Carolina to an astounding 201-49.
But in two weeks or so, the two
players will leave Columbia, while
the coach stays to field vet another
powerful tennis team. This is, after
all, the time of year when old
friends must split up.
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