• Format
  • Publications (documents)
• Type
  • Text
• Source institution
  • Western Carolina University
• Identifier
  • HL_WesternCarolinian_1988-03-24_09

Sports The Western Carolinian page 9 Wednesday, March 24, 1988 Western Gears Up for Conference Race Top Contenders in the South Division Meet Here This Weekend as Catamounts Face The Citadel Leggett Looks For Murderous Early-Season Schedule to Pay Off Now That Conference Play Has Begun Seeking Number Four Western's baseball Catamounts boast three straight Southern conference championships under the tutelage of this man, coach Jack Leggett, as well as three straight Impressive performances in NCAA regional playoff competition. The Cats' conference schedule gets under way in earnest this weekend, as WCU hosts The Citadel. By Steve Almasy Sports Writer Western Carolina's baseball dominance of the South division of the Southern Conference will be tested this weekend when The Citadel and the Catamounts meet for a three-game series. The Catamounts are 2-0 In the south division after sweeping Furman In Greenville last Saturday. The Citadel will come Into the series hot. It has won 10 of 11 ball games and is off to a 2- 1 conference start. "We are off to a good start, but this will be the biggest series we've played to date," said coaachJack Leggett. The Catamount bats have sharpened after a traditional slow start and the team batting average has climbed to .306. Nine Catamounts boast averages over the .300 mark. Senior Keith LeClair heads up the regulars at .387 (41 for 106). Junior Clint Fairey leads the team in home runs, sliugglng percentage, runs bathed In, and walks. Junior Tom Malchesky (.363 avg., 5HR, '23 RBDIsalsoakey to the Catamount attack. Senior Tim Slnlcki is the staff leader in victories wlhile senior W<ard Withrow leads the bullpen with 5 saves. Freshman Paul Menhart has also pitclhed very well. Menhart Is 3-0 amd has struck out 34 batters in a little over 31 innings. He sports a 3.13 earned run average. Sintckl, whose shutout against Furman last Saturday was the first nine-Inning blanking for a WCU pitcher since 1984, has five vlstories in seven decisions. Withrow touts a staff low 2.04 ERA and has all of WCU's saves. The Catamounts and the Bulldogs will square off twice on Saturday and once on Sunday. Saturday's double header starts at noon as does Sunday's single contest. The Catamounts are playing well at Ronnie G. Chll- Sports Editorial Possinger Selection Made Without Forethought dress field In 1988, owning a 7-2 home mark. Leggett attributes some of that success to the early season road schedule. The Citadel took two of three from Davidson last weekend In Charleston. Furman and Davidson will play each other this weekend. In North division play. Appalachian State and Marshall have Identical 3-1 conference marks. Virginia Military is 1-2 while East Tennessee Is In the cellar at 0- 3. Each team will play the other schools six times, three at home and three on the road. Each three game series will take place on the six weekends devoted to conference play. The top two teams in each division will qualify for the Southern Conference tournament. The Catamounts have won the past three tournaments annd advanced to NCAA regional play. In the series at Furman, Slnicki's shutout helped the Catamounts complete a doubleheader sweep, 9-0. The Catamounts won the first game, 8-5. Key pitching In crucial situations was the key in the opener as Western got clutch relief innings from Mehart and Withrow. Menhart picked up the victory as the Catamounts came from behind. In the second game, Robbie Gordon, LeClair, and Fairey each had three hits to key the Catamount offense. Tuesday afternoon Western travelled to Spartanburg for a single contest against USC-S. Going Into the game USC-S was 18-0 for the year. And going Into see BASEBALL next page T The Catamount bats have sharpened after a traditional slow start and the team batting average has climbed to .306... The following was Written by Sports Editor Chris Gels Common sense and good judgement apparently were In short supply when the basketball coach search committee, headed by university chancellor Myron Coulter and athletic director Terry Wanless, made Its choice for a new coach three weeks ago. The committee named Dave Possinger as Western Carolina's new head basketball coach. Possinger, 45 years old. Is the head coach at St. Thomas Aquinas College, an NAIA school In Sparklll, N.Y., and this yearhlsteamwasrankedNo. 1 in the NAIA national polls. The committee's decision to name Possinger is a strikingly curious one that raises several questions. First, why would the university want to hire an NAIA coach for an NCAA Division I program? Why didn't the university seek someone with NCAA Division I experience? Second, why would the university hire an NAIA coach from New York? And third, why would the committee, in seemingly rushing to a decision, Ignore two candidates who knew what they were getting Into In Cullowhee and Instead hire someone who probably had never heard of this school before? Quite simply, the decision doesn't make sense, and In this view it wasn't a good one. Western Carolina Is a unique and young Division I program, but nevertheless It is a Division I program. How many Division I programs hire NAIA coaches? Among the Southern Conference's other current eight coaches, four were Division I assistants before they were hired, two were coaches at other Division I schools and only two were NAIA coaches — but those two NAIA coaches were plucked from schools less than an hour's drive of the schools they are now at and had previous experience at other Southern Conf ernce schools. In short, seven of the eight current Southern Conference coaches had Division I experience when picked to lead their respective programs. Possinger does not. The difference between the NAIA, where there are no recruiting rules, and NCAA Division I is the difference between black and white. Let's hope Possinger reads the NCAA rule book before he sets out on the recruiting trail. Which brings us to another curiosity. When he an- see EDITORIAL next page UT-C Wrenches NCAA Bid From Marshall Moccasins Edge The Herd in Second Round; Beat VMI for Southern Conference Tournament Title The Dave Possinger File Dave Possinger was named Western Carolina's head.basketball coach March 3 by univesity chancellor Myron Coulter. Following is personal information of the new coach and his record as a head coach. DAVID FREDERICK POSSINGER, 45 years old. Education: Towson, Md., B.A. education, 1975. Sanford Preparatory School, Hockessin, Del., 1962; Towson State University, physical education, 1968; Morgan State University, Baltimore, M.S., physical Experience: Physical education teacher, Colgate Elementary School, Baltimore, 1968-76; head basketball coach. Sparrows Point H.S., Dundalk, Md., 1972-74; assistant basketball coach, Loyola College, Baltimore, 1974-76; head basketball coach, Rhode Island College, Providence, R.I., 1976-79; head basketball coach and athletic director, St. Thomas Aquinas College, Sparkhill, N.Y., 1979-1988. Head Coaching Record: 342-81 (81 percent) in 11 years as head coach at St. Thomas and Rhode Island. Record at St. Thomas before the season: 260-48 (84.5 percent) in nine years; record there this year: 35-1 (as of March 3). Record at Rhode Island: 40-16 in three years. Team Highlight*: Has won 28 game or better every year seven straight years at St. Thomas, including this year. Has won 34 games or more for six straight years. St. Thomas has been ranked in the NAIA national top 20 every week since December 1982. Eight straight Central Atlantic College Conference championships. Six straight appearances in NAIA national tournament before this year. Ranked No. 1 in nation in NAIA entering posteason play this season. Won two New England State College Athletic Conference Southern Division titles in two years at Rhode Island. Personal Highlights: Was Metropolitan Basketball Sportswriters' NCAA Division II/NAIA coach of the year three times. Was NAIA District 31 coach of the year four times. Was NAIA National Area 8 coach of year three times. Was Maryland high school coach of the year in 1974. Has coached 15 all-conference, 14 all-district and nine NAIA all-America players. By CHRIS GEIS Sports Editor ASHEVILLE, March 6 — For senior center Lance Fulse, coach Mack McCarthy and the Tennessee-Chattanooga Moccasins, the 1988 Southern Conference basketball tournament will be remembered as one of poetic justice. At last, the conference tournament and the Ashevilie Civic Center were good to them. Fulse's game-high 17 points and eight rebounds and the Moccasins' hard-nosed defense helped Tennessee-Chattanooga defeat Virginia Military. 75-61, here In a Sunday night championship game and give the Moccasins their first conference tournament title and NCAA playoff berth in five years. For the second time In four years, the Keydets (13-17) upset their way Into the championship •game and almost made off with their first bid to the NCAA playoffs since 1977. But despite the brilliant coaching of Joe Cantafio and the mirrored shooting efforts of guards Damon and Ramon Williams — the twin brothers who each made first team all- tournament — the Keydets weren't able to hang with the Mocs In front of 3.208 fans and an ESPN national television audience. For Fulse, McCarthy and the Mocs, It couldn't have been any sweeter. Each erased bitter memories with their efforts in a suprise-filled tournament. DFulse. runner-up for tournament most valuable player honors, made amends with himself for missing a last-second, eight-foot jump shot In overtime In the Mocs' 73-72 first-round tournament loss to Western Carolina here last year. He did so not only with his performance in the championship game, but with his two white-knuckle free throws with two seconds left in Saturday's 71-70 upset semifinal victory over top-seeded Marshall. HMcCarthy, the Moccasins' third-year coach, finally came home with the postseason goods. Despite a regular-season title In his rookie year, he had failed to win the tournament title and NCAA playoff berth in his first two seasons, which didn't bode well with Moc fans. And don't forget the baggage he brought with him to Ashevilie — a!7-12 record and fifth-place league finish In the For Davidson, It's About That Time. But Here's a Potential Solution. wo months ago In this space I discussed the Impending departure from the Southern Conference of Davidson College after a 52- year membership. Davidson, a small, academically stringent liberal arts school, was asked by the Southern to play football with the rest of the schools In conference, or to leave. Davidson chose to leave. Now, with the conference basketball season concluded and the end of the academic year less than six weeks away, one could say that for Davidson, It's about that time. And the Wildcats have cold feet. After three years of talk and planning, Davidson, an academic skyscraper among Southern Conference schools but an Impoverished ghetto for football successes, is looking around at the world of Independent status and probably saying to Itself that it doesn't much like the new surroundings. That Is easy to tell. One need only have looked at Bobby Hussey, the Wildcats' basketball coach, after his team was eliminated in the first round of the conference tournament three weeks ago in Ashevilie. He had tears In eyes. * I wish we could come back and play in this thing every year," Hussey said. Someday shortly he might — as the coach of another conference team. It Isn't modish to be an independent these days In college athletics, especially in basketball, the sport from which Davidson draws its athletic pride. Only two Independent teams were picked to be in this year's NCAA tournament. And as the Wildcats are getting ready to leave the conference, they are finding that no else wants them — save for perhaps the Big South Conference, a new league which has no automatic NCAA tournament berth. Davidson wouldn't fit In with the Big South; affllitatlon with the UNC-Ashevilles, Campbells and Radfords would be an ersatz one for Davidson to be sure. To refresh memories, here's a quick overview of the Southern Conference-Davidson disagreement: The conference wants Davidson to play a full schedule of games In football against member Institutions. Davidson won't do It, saying that It can't compete with the Western Carolines and Appalachian States. That is true. It's true because Davidson, with only 830 men In its student body, won't give football scholarships, contending that doing such would dilute the academic quality of Its student body. That also Is probably true to an extent. But the school still wants to play football, and so It Joined the football-only Colonial League, made of Ivy League-like schools (Bucknell, Holy Cross, et. al.) from 1he Northeast. Davidson played In this league last fall while still remaining in the conference for basketball, in effect using the conference for the chance to win the Southern's automatic NCAA basketball tournament berth. Davidson's joining another league was a big slap In the face to the Southern's other eight members. But Is It too late for Davidson to stop itself from venturing into the somnolent world of college basketball independence? Maybe. But perhaps not. The separation of Davidson and the Southern — which seems as natural to some as breakfast without grits — is not done yet. We see a chance for a potential reconciliation that would keep both sides happy. First, here's what Davidson needs to do: 1. Get out of the Colonial League In football. Membership In it Is a definite no-no, salt In the league schools' pride wounds. Besides, Davidson would save a lot of money from constant road trips up north. 2. Participate In the Southern Conference in all the other sports the Southern requires. Davidson plays Southern Conference basketball and baseball, but not much else. It's more competitive In Divslon III, and that Is the type of schools it plays. This competition with DMslon III schools doesn't need to stop, but not competing in league championship events does. There's no excuse for Davidson not to do it. It would make the league a lot happier, perhaps more understanding for No. 3. 3. Play a limited number of Southern Conference football games, say three or four, and do it against the VMIs, Citadels, Furmans — schools more In line academically and size-wise with Davidson. Mix in an occasional game with an Appalachian or Western. Then, outside the league, continue to play NAIA schools and Division II and III schools more to Davidson's liking. 4. Semi-castigate Itself for wanting to leave the Southern and for disrupting the league's conscience. Then apologize for Its fulsome acts (e.g. joining the Colonial League), and put on a halfway obsequious face that shows how appreciative it is to the league for allowing Davidson to keep its membership. And it should be appreciative to the league schools If they decide Davidson can stay. 5. In an internal matter, Davidson must decide if It Is going to commit a little more to football than It does. Even with playing Southern Conference football, the schools' lofty academic standards are tenable; perhaps the money it saves from going up north on Colonial League road trips could be put into a football scholarship fund. Putting, say, 25 players on football scholarship won't hurt too much, and will make the school a little more competitive. Davidson must act before It is too late. But the Southern Conference must act as well. This Is the eleventh hour. Perhaps we still have enough time to mention what the conference will be losing, to refresh memories: • It will be losing the league's premier media market. Charlottte newspapers, radio stations and television stations will no longer care as much about the Southern Conference, and losing the largest metropolitan area from the five states the conference is in — well, that Is quite a loss. • It will be losing the best school academically In the conference. In a confernce not universally known for academic superiority, that will hurt the see MOCS next page see GEIS next page

The Western Carolinian is Western Carolina University's student-run newspaper. The paper was published as the Cullowhee Yodel from 1924 to 1931 before changing its name to The Western Carolinian in 1933.

• Creator
  • Western Carolina University
• Format
  • Publications (documents)
• Type
  • Text
• Date
  • Date original: 1988-03-24
  • Date digitized: 2019-09-05
• Extent
  • Dimension: 22.75" x 14.25"
  • Pages: 12 pages
• Subject - Topic
  • College student newspapers and periodicals
  • Cullowhee (N.C.) -- Newspapers
  • Universities and colleges -- North Carolina -- Cullowhee -- Newspapers
• Location
  • Jackson County (N.C.)
  • Cullowhee (N.C.)
• Source institution
  • Western Carolina University
• Source Collection
  • WCU Students Newspapers Collection
• Identifier
  • HL_WesternCarolinian_1988-03-24
• Repository
  • Western Carolina University Hunter Library