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;*ffj w^afSBKs^mSBKvT^ui l&Sw ^i!H|^KHi^HKHH?nHRHHi ^^DaveRoback^AMtCOCK ^ +1*1"**'* ?2L? +i*o V/^ *? HlfV/iU' i/i IIIC7 w C?cf/. George Rogers Parsons' influen rise of women's By Tammy Kilpatrick (women's athlet Gamecock Staff Writer the gilis Can han Public awareness and national prominence of competition the> women's athletics are growing indications of the "That's what ha coming of age of women in sports at the college level. a state power to; Women's athletic director Pam Parsons believes Parsons said v that recognition of USC's women sports program is history of men's nnn mn inr ftoin i?-? ' - " 1 " ...ujv. &C.IW in me giuwui ui wumen s ainiencs as periences. "We a whole. and deal with p 4'In my opinion, the biggest thing we've achieved is women can dev< appreciation for young women sports and the can gain," she sj awareness that women can play and play com petitively," Parsons said. PUBLIC SUPPORT around the state has increased Parsons' confidence in the program. "Now that I J fY" people are aware we can compete nationally, we've V~^ T-' made our giant step," she said. "Now we will move j Parsons' clrean in inches Iowards mnrp mmnocc u/*? timnn..,,!,..,.?-i 'I _ . v? ?f tu\; tuaLHt'a if fill ! 1 I cM/r I M^?l the athletes, have established a good foundation." According to Parsons, USC has gone from having ' two sports at the outset of the women's athletic 'r, :;pi ogram in liKi7 to having four teams in a national top " - . .. . "Vr twenty poll in 1979. "I think the South Carolina1 '. " V people, the faculty, and the students should be pleased, because in the past two seasons we've i moved to having basketball ranked 15th in the country, tennis finishing seventh, swimming being ranked tenth, and Softball finishing 13th." *" Parsons said that women's athletics has moved to < the point where people are identifying individual schools and recognizing good women's programs. SBf Jgy "You can be on an airplane and people sitting next to fljlffipIWi you will talk !\. you about women's sports," she said. * ' The university's policies towards women's sports ' ' was aided by government direction. Originally under * '^ 3 tl e jurisdirt'' n of student affairs, the program as r UJC now has <.? full-time athletic director and awards fHi KO scholarships a year. USC also began housing its ^ women athletes in the same facilities instead on having them scattered around campus. THE GROWTH RATE of women's athletics has "mushroomed" to &uch proportions that women are M now faced with Higher levels of intensity in com t petition than they Save ever known l>efore. They are B *1 now conmg with many of the competitive pressures lhat Uc litionally only men have faced. "It's I i -^7 y iNexi i ear Gamecocks vi By Willie T. Smith III Gamecock Staff Writer The 1979 football season was a very momentus one for USC. It was a year of many firsts, the biggest one being an eight win season. Big things were expected before the season began. USC was ranked in several pre season top 20 polls. All expectations of a good season were crushed when Carolina dropped a 28-0 decision to open the season against rival UNC at Chapel Hill. Thousands of Gamecock fans made the trek to the game ex <>i U ii in t iifhlh fiiimUSC reaches pinnacle of football success v? a ,~r"' sS?SK jrw. uamecock seniors enjoy /irst win over Clemson ?VO L JSC falls to Tigers iti soccer play-off ce leads iip| athletics 1 ic program) growing so fast, I hope piJraT |m die the pressure of being thrown into fW 've never had," Parsons explained. ppens when teams move from being a national power." /omen could benefit by looking at the :*||? Jfctar ? sports and learning from their ex- -Jlr jlflPiM need a little time to get on our feet - ^ ressure. It all depends on how fast SV ^ elop and how much experience they lakes Final Four \ J true as B^l SB I n> \H I ' -^PjSwir Wf* t? nun >t>*i1>/?*' kit* M. - a arrives as isit bowl game pecting the Gamecocks to totally humiliate the Tar Heels, but it was not to be. ALL-AMERICAN candidate George Rogers looked awkward at tailback after being switched to that position because of a pre-season injury to teammate ir?hrmi*? Wrioht Thn fi-9 990 nonnd Rogers Gained 90 yards, but missed several opportunities for big yardage by consistently reading his blocks wrong. The Gamecocks opened their home season the following week against Western Michigan and were unimpressive in a lackluster 24-7 win. Rogers gained 93 yards in the game, but he still looked uncomfortable in his new position. The Duke Blue Devils rolled into town the next weekend and most Gamecock hopefuls were worried i about the game. As it turned out, they had no reason to worry because USC finally showed top 20 form in an impressive 35-0 victory over their ACC opponent. The Carolina defense stood out when they made a goal line stand early in the game that seemed to spur the offense on. Jim Carlen stuck with his two tight end offense which he had begun using in the second half of the Western Michigan game. The extra blocking paid off. Rogers finally showed AilAmerican form gaining 160 yards. | BEATING THE Georgia Bulldogs is something Gamecock fans dream about. But in 1979, the Gamecocks made it two years in a row against Vince Dooley's Bulldogs with a 27-20 win at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Ga. | Although the offense struggled and made several turnovers, the Gamecock offense moved with relative ease against the Bulldog defense. Carlen opened up the aerial attack for the first time and quarterback Garry Harper consistently hit tight end Willie Scott for good yardage. Homecoming was on tap the next Saturday when the Gamecocks faced the Oklahoma State Cowboys. The game was close all the way, but the Gamecocks came away with a hard fought 23-16 victory. Rogers had 123 yards in the game. The Gamecocks experienced their first letdown against the Ole Miss Rebels. Although they hung on for the victory USC was not very impressive in the 2114 win. Rogers stretched his streak of 100-yard games to four and Carolina's took their fifth win. see Football, page 14 ftiiy UBM I. "":".-'-;-V-- "'; ~|j^Bpy/:.:: :'|j^B j iihhiiiiiiihi 11 ~ wrufrimmbbht'" Coach of the Year: Pam Parsons J