Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Page 12 - August 31, 1984 Sports THE GAMECOCK Gamecocks By Ray Gronbarg USC soccer coach Mark Berson said V come formidable obstacles to gain nati* 1984. Carolina's season will open 2 p.m. Graveyard, as USC battles Western Caro Playing what Berson called "one of the in the country, the Gamecocks will attei 1983's 8-11-2 record, the first losing seas< six-year history. "OUR BIGGEST challenge is to mc echelon of soccer," Berson said. "We'll 1 of the great teams this year in order to d< The Gamecocks will play Connecticut, a in the 1983 National Collegiate Athletic , ment; Duke, ranked first in national pol season and South Florida, another fixture 20. In addition, USC's schedule includes reg Carolina. IJNC-ChnrlottP. Old Dnminin Clemson. "WE HAVE a difficult schedule becaus< so tough," Berson said. "There are seve teams in the South, and in the end some gr< ting at home during the NCAA tourname "Our goal is to be one of the teams that i nament," he said. Berson said the Gamecocks will have I injury-riddled 1983 offense in order to coi "IN TERMS of offensive performance, he said. "With the schedule that we have, prove in a hurry." The Gamecocks averaged 1.71 goals pei Three players ? Mike Menhart. Aaron E McCall ? accounted for 12 of USC's 34 ] since left the team. Nonetheless, Berson said he expected th< of the team's strengths, citing the addition return of players redshirted last year due t AMONG THE newcomers at striker is America Ragnar Thorarinsson, a transfer (N.Y.) Community College who scored seasons. Three tennis ?2 ggr Forehand Petor Moore, of the Southern Illinois Univer tennis match. Moore and two other SUI-E ath Carolina. open against Freshmen Arni Arnthorssoi lis team must over- pected to contribute, Berson ; onaJ recognition in Senior Tom Norton (18 go career) and sophomore Dan c. tomorrow at the return after sitting out last sej lina. toughest" schedules BERSON SAID he also exp npt to turn around sophomore Danny Ratcliff, wl 3n in the program's last season with eight goals ar Midfield should be a ( Sophomore Bill Hency "ga )ve into the upper ^^ ^ lave to cieteat some i third-place finisher Association tournain the national top ;ional powers North n, iN.C. State and i wT the South region ^ n legitimate top 20 ly :at teams will be sit- P'SSB^^n^k nt." i o improve on their jlpill^ of recruits and the o injuries. junior college All- Let?s dance from Farmingdale Gamecock Tom Rumble square 35 goals in two p m at (h(, Gtaveya[d against v n I a a 01 w0 11 m m a at fjidyeo IUIIUW i sity-Edwardsville Cougars, returns a serve during a 1984 letes have joined new USC tennis coach Kent DeMars at Catamounts 1 l and Doug Allison are also ex- season," starting iaid. Leeper "has don als, seven assists in his college contribute. Joggins (three goals, one assist) USC's defense i ason because of knee injuries. ject," he said. Th the sweeper back \ ects eoals from midfielders like Berra from a nagf no led the Gamecocks in scoring id one assist. CAROLINA 3amecock strength, he sa:d. goalkeepers," Be ined valuable experience last SHB ?? 'jJSt I^SS3^ig?lL \5tL^;?.s ^v\;^^^jTS^yr . -**#<,. g^pgf^lpi ;s off against his opponent in a USC soccer game last y< Vestern Carolina. lew USC coach By Bob Lang and Tracy Mixson use men's tennis coach Kent DeMars said he's trying to bring more than just a successful reputation to the Gamecocks this season. DeMars, former coach for defending National Collegiate Athletic Association Division II champion Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, led the school to awwu tunoctuuvv, uauuiiai V.llctIIl(JIUIlbilip^. Accompanying him in his first year at Carolina are three players from last year's SIU-E squad, DeMars said yesterday. All three are attending USC aided by partial scholarships, he said. BOBBY FOSTER, USC assistant athletic director for non-revenue sports, said the scholarship allocation won't affect the USC athletes already attending under a grant. "Coach DeMars has a lot of respect for the players coach Smarr recruited," he said. "In no way will any USC athletes lose their scholarships to accommodate the new players/' Since the SIU-E players met university transfer and admissions requirements, they are automatically eligible to play here, he said. The three players, Young Min Kwon, Dave Delsini and Peter Moore, are all rising sophomores who have gained national recognition. KWON, OF Philadelphia, Penn.,was the NCAA Division II Newcomer of the Year. Tied for 50th in the nation's individual rankings, Kwon was the Cougar's No. 1 player last season. Delsini, from Maywood, N.J., played the Canadian circuit this summer and is ranked fourth in the Eastern Tennis Association. Playing on the school's No. 1 doubles team, he and his partner combined to win the NCAA Division II national championship in 1984. A NATIVE of Worcester Park in England, ivioore is ine country's No. 1 player in the 18-year-old and under category. He recently won two eastern tournaments, and last winter he defeated the No. 1 and No. 2 American players in his age bracket at the Sunshine Cup in Florida. tomorrow 17 of Carolina's 21 games. Freshman Keith e well in practice," he said, and should s the focus of "a major redevelopment proic Gamecocks have two concerns ? filling position, and the recovery ot All-South Tim >ing preseason ankle injury. POSSESSES two "capable college rson said. Glen Thompson . nd Warren See "Soccer," page 15 T f- n&f w 4^ *5?9&d? ^k. k ^ Il9v U| Photo by Jennifer Wooten jar. Carolina opens its season tomorrow at 2 to Carolina "I don't think they'll have any problems adjusting to Division I competition, because that's all they've ever played,"he said. "We had 33 matches (last season) and 31 were against Division I teams, including 15 rvf tVl/? tAf> ')H I act \tnor t?;n 1 1 K wi iiiv ivp ^v/. i^uoi jfv/ai vy v ?vv,i v, i aurvv^U 1 /III even though we were a Division II school." NOTING SIMILARITIES between his former team and Smarr's, DeMars said combining the two will create a young but powerful USC squad. "It's funny, because lion and I both brought in a good group of freshmen last year," he said. "We both had good freshmen recruiting years, and now it's almost a sophomore team. "That can be both good and bad. Most of the players will be around awhile, but they'll fill Ipavp at tho comrt tima ' ' ??? ?vw T V ui II1V OUJI1V llltll,, LUU. "It's going to be interesting blending the two teams together....We're going to be hard to beat." Kent DeMars USC tennis coach DeMars said he was looking forward to working with the current Gamecock squad this season, and cited depth as Carolina's strength. HE SAID last year's team had a great deal of talent. "USC has a good nucleus of players, like (SIU-E) did last season. "It's going to be interesting blending the two teams together, assuming everything goes as planned. We're probably going to be very deep with good players, because we'll have nine or 10 very talented athletes. We're going to be hard to beat," he said. Following DeMar's resignation at SIU-E, several tennis players asked to be released from their scholarships, according to Cougar Sports Information director Steve Weller. "With Kent DeMars having gone to USC, the athletic department decided to release them, leaving us without any players." As a consequence, Weller said, the depart. i ,j .1 . ,1 ... iii^iu na.-> ucnucu iu temporarily drop the men's tennis program.