The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, April 21, 1993, Page 9, Image 9
Tennis du
By ANDREW PARKER
Staff Writer
^ Helen Crook and Victoria Davies transferred
to USC from Northeast Louisiana.
However, that has not scratched the surface
of where the two Lady Gamecocks have
taken their tennis talents.
The talented doubles team has surprised
many SEC competitors this season with an
overall record of 13-10, including three
wins against higher-ranked opponents. On
Marrh 73. Ornnk anH Davids heramp thp
first Lady Gamecocks doubles tandem to
move into the national rankings in almost
three years at No. 35 in the country.
Crook, a native of Essex, England, and
|Davies, hailing from Bridgend, South
Wales, did not play together until two and
a half years ago. In two summers playing
the collegiate circuit, the women have won
seven doubles tournaments.
Crook remembers one tournament in
which the only thing denying the duo victory
was a plane.
"We reached the semi-finals of a tournament
in Algeria, but had to default that
match because we had made plane reservations
thinking that we'd never make ii as
far as we did in that tournament," Crook
' said.
Crook and Davies have played in several
Junior Wimbledons, as well as several
warm-ups to "The Championships." At the
Buckingham tournament prior to
Wimbledon last summer, the duo lost to
Nicole Provis and former doubles champion
Liz Smiley.
Both women agree that, having compatible
personalities on and off the court as
. Cheerleading j
By NANCY SALOMONSKY tics <
Sports Editor practi
The cheerleading duo of Pat 75 da
Wedge and Casey Ward placed W<
first in the doubles competition in honoi
the College Cheerleading National m? 0
Championships this past weekend
at Sea World in San Diego, Calif. "C;
In the overall team competition, amou
USC placed fifth. mane
"We know* that we could have studei
| done better, but placing fifth in a really
national competition is a great winni
achievement," Coach Bill Boggs 11 lal?
said. F?'
The squad performed a two-and- ^e o
a-half minute routine that consisted f^an
of cheers, dancing, stunts, gymnas- in JJ?
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o brings inl
well as possessing a sixth
sense for each other's style of
play are important reasons
why their record together is
an impressive 35-11.
In singles, each has vast
international experience as
well. Crook reached the final
eight of the British National
Junior Singles Championships
three of die last four years
and has held down a world
singles ranking as hish as No.
131 - -
Davies, meanwhile, was
ranked No. 1 in die under-18s
in Wales while playing in (
tournaments throughout South America, j
Sweden and Spain.
With the growing expense of playing die |
QJltpllitP four cimcifpnrc qtiH tho rlocirf*
?- ?. ?V w wi.1 uiiiuivuio U11U lilW UUilil V tv/ ?
further their education, the girls began (
looking at small U.S. colleges. ,
Head coach Luis-Castro Malaga recruit- i
ed Crook to play at Northeast Louisiana,
and Davies followed her partner a year lat- ^
er. t
In two years, Crook posted singles
marks of 19-9 and 25-8 and won the t
Southland Conference No. 2 singles title t
her sophomore season. >
When Davies joined her friend in j
Monroe. La., last season, die pair began to (
establish a formidable doubles reputation. r
Among their 23-5 overall record were wins t
at the Arkansas-Little Rock and Memphis
State invitationals. t
Both young women were excited by the [
possibility of coming to Columbia and ?
)air wins nation:
tnd pyramids. USC has been program," B
icing the routine for the past school prograr
tys. on television, a
idge and Ward captured top best squads to
s in the partner division, edg- helps with recn
ut four other finalists from a South Carol
of over 50 entries. tryouts lor the
asey and Pat put a tremendous and in die fad
nt of effort into their perfor- out l?r die in?
e representing USC and the die squa<
nt body," Boggs said. "People football games.
don't realize what goes into e are
ng a national championship. ed people wh<
es a lot of time and effort." oiiented and pi
ao AntrtAinr. " D
w*m I time mission. We tr
be ready for the on
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Lirteen teams participated in c" Th^'ivf .u
ompetition. There were moie . iltl?
150 teams across the country S TP! 'p
overall competition. ESPN June . ai
is a tremendous boost for our in2 thioughout
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Jr 'j?l relief is an lmnortar
ternational
Crook
competing in the nation's top tennis con- .
[erence. the SEC. .e
"We actually didn't make up our minds tej
o come here until three weeks before the
;nd of die spring semester," Crook said. "1 jyj
hink the facilities here are top notch, and fia
ve've both been impressed with the friend- in
iness of everyone here at USC." M:
As the other 11 conference schools can po
ittest, Crook and Davies have played fear- vk
essly from day one at Carolina.
At the SEC Coaches Classic in October, th<
lie Lady Gamecocks pair shocked va
Mabama's Titis Wilmink and Marouschka Ci
/an Dijk, who were, ranked ninth national- re:
y and were the tournament's No. 2 seed. m<
'rook and Davies advanced to the semifilals,
falling to the eventual champions ^ 1
iom Auburn. , '
hp
This spring. Crook and Davies have
im
:linched the decisive victory at No. 1 dou- M
lies in USC's 5-4 wins over Texas A&M ^
md 23rd-ranked Tennessee and a 5-2 upset
il title I Women's i
oggs said. "High By TONY SANTORI
ns watch the show Staff Writer
nd they look for the The Lady Gamecocl
go to, so it really finished 11th in a 19-t<
dting.' 'the Southern Intei
ina will be holding Tournament, hoste<
icain in uit: spung University of Georgia
will have a big try- past
loming freshmen to usc [ed a dlree.
d that performs a. of 9g5 |0 finish 59 sf
pace set by the toumai
ting lor well-round- ions San jose State
' are academically Caro)ina ,m
lysically tit as well .... . .
J . . out the tournament, h
oggs said. . .
nal Cheerleading Ah,01 ?>"f=uuve
will begin airing on '
nd will continue air- Leading the Lady (
the summer. individually was sen
Bates. The Farragut, Ti
shot rounds of 82, 79
finish in a tie for 24tl
M MWKM total was the bes
I m Gamecock career.
I u mm Six strokes behind a
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le thing in common, life we would become. Toda
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te pieces. Disaster vears from now. One thine. 1
it part of our peace- is certain. When we're need
ain year round to Army National Guard will t
e day you need us. and well be there,
re when our coun- If you're ready to be yoi
iny of the 42,000 feel the pride of serving you
'mbers who served and community, contact:
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?o no one knew 74^-4272
mericansAtTheirB
lOvemment as represented by the Secretary of Defense. All rig!
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recognitic
- -i of 22nd-ranked Kentucky.
Neither player has been
Slk a slouch in singles either.
Davies won five consecutive
matches to take the
L consolation title of the
I SEC Indoors, while Crook
P . has been ranked as high as
58th in the IT A Collegiate
|||^^i|* tennis poll.
mk: Crook leads the team
j with a 21-14 overall
record, including an
-? impressive 10-8 mark at
Davies n0 i singles spot. She
won seven matches in a
row during March and
feated five of the 11 ranked opponents
e faced during the fall and spring semes s.
In USC's dual match widi Vanderbilt in
arch, Crook notched the greatest comeck
of her career. Down one set and 5-1
the second to the Commodores'
ichelle Dodds, Crook saved three match
ints and stormed back for a 4-6, 7-5, 6-4
dory.
"I had beaten her in straight sets during
; fall, so I know if 1 had patience and
ried my shots that 1 could come back,"
ook said. "(Teammate) Claire Hammond
illy helped pull me through that match
mtally," Crook said.
Resiliency and mental toughness were
ook's trademarks throughout the season,
gainst 23rd-ranked Tennessee, Crook
lped the Lady Gamecocks capture an
portant road contest, defeating Debbie
oringello 6-2, 3-6, 7-5. Crook, serving
wn 5-4 in the deciding set, fought off a
?olf team finishes i
1. San Jose State 921
k soil team ;2> Furman IHHi 931
;am field at 3. Georgia 932
collegate & Tennessee . 948
, hv%hp 5. Ohio State 961
.If 6. Indiana m 11*11 963
in Athens 7 Texas Christian 97C
-round total
nff Rachel Bates ?
lots ott the C|anssa Childs
nent cham- SlewAlUm ?'
Jill Darr
re through- vJulie Norris
owever, as r . c. * >
, . Ireshmen Siew Ai Lim
rounds ot Qarissa Childs Lim fired a
C ? I TO/"**- 1
r, , ounuay iui u:>v s oesi rou
Gamecocks ... .
D . . the tournament. Tliey tied loi
101 Kacnei .
place,
enn., native 1
and 80 to finishing in a tie tor 67th
h Her 241 was sophomore Jill Darr.
t of her shot a 258 for the three rounc
Rounding out the Gamec
t 247 were scoring was freshman Julie f
?|| G' W(
;W | ALTEl
K And in this
W weighing
r: f
XJ 1 l
y, no one ife
nr best, to
rmuntrv Summer living can be a m
experience.
Especially if you've got a s
I By sofa the size of Nevada.
At Whaley's Mill, you ha
option of selecting convenient,
i furnished apartments while
XjOj comfortably close to campus
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in to use
match point and rallied to defeat the
Tennessee senior who had beaten her twice
during the fall.
Crook and Davies say playing college
tennis and in summer tournaments presents
a different type of pressure.
"It's different when you're playing for
world ranking points for yourself as
opposed to playing for your teammates and
school," Crook said. "But I think the
rewards are much greater in the team concept."
Looking back over the course of the 21match
regular season, Crook and Davies
see much room for improvement individually
and from a team standpoint.
"I don't come to the net enough," Crook
said.
Davies, meanwhile, would like to
become more aggressive with her top-spin
backhand and see the Lady Gamecocks
"mature and improve as a team."
Both giils note that Coach Arlo Elkins
has made a positive impact on their games.
"Arlo enjoys the game as much as any
coach I've had." Crook said. "He is so
enthusiastic and has a uemendous will to
win."
Crook, a journalism major, hopes to one
day write for a British tennis magazine,
while Davies, a geography major, is undecided
about her future plans.
However, both girls agree that making
the NCAA tournament is a top priority on
the Lady Gamecocks future agenda. With a
couple of wins in the SEC tournament
April 29 through May 2, Gainesville, Fla.,
site of this year's NCAAs, will be another
entry in Crook and Davies extensive travel
log.
11th in tournament
? 8. New Mexico Stat? 971 B
J;' 9, Alabama ::1B $ &:iff! 97$
10. Mississippi Stat? 983 //
Jiiii'l^.SOUThCAROUNA: 985 //
12. Auburn 996 //
Nebraska 996 //
i 14. UNC-Greensboro 1008 j i
^ I24th |;
T67th :
T76tH ^ Gqmgg?|j!i-.;:
and at 267 and tied for 76th individu76
on ally.
nd of The Lady Gamecocks resume
r 37th their schedule from April 30 to
May 2 when they compete in die
place Southeastern Conference
Darr Tournament.
js The tournament will be held in
' Oxford, Miss., home of the Lady
?c s Rebels from the University of
"oms Mississippi.
JSC-FM ;&? I
^NATIVE 90.5 |
5 corner, at 6'5"
in at 226 lbs...
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