• Format
  • Publications (documents)
• Type
  • Text
• Source institution
  • Western Carolina University
• Identifier
  • HL_WesternCarolinian_1982-04-15_Vol46_No27_07

I Sports 7 April is, 1982/ Western Carolinian Bit's V Pieces Of Sports by Russ Randolph ...Welcome back Cullowhee! I trust that everyone had a nice Easter Vacation, and that whether we like it or not, we are all back working hard on all of those projects and reports we've been putting oil until the end of the semester. Can you believe we have less than a month left ol school' Wow, how time flies Our BASEBALL TEAM is in a real crucial part of their schedule and desperately need our support in the remaining home games. I he Cats were playing last lennessee when this article was being written, and in the first game of the double header the Buccaneers handed the Cats all they could handle, defeating them in Johnson City, 16-2. I his could damage the Cats hopes for , the Southern Conference title, so we all need to pour on the support for the team when they return home to play this Saturday against VMI on Ronnie Childress Field at 1 p.m. Why not bring a brew, a blanket, and a good friend and make it an afternoon of action-packed baseball at its best? Hang in there team, we're pulling for ya! ...TROUT SEASON is in full swing now, and if you've got to roll > our pants legs up and wade in the icy waters of the I uckaseegee River, I encourage you to get the ole' pole out and get in there! Many of Western's students are taking advantage of the excellent fishing found in the I uckaseege, and if you really get luck) and catch a big one, bring it by the news office so we can take your picture. Good luck WCU fishermen Freshmen SUE NELSON & BETSY VERNON are two of the girls I know who are learning how to fish and fly cast. These two girls are doing as good as some of the boys in COACH DAN ROBINSON'S casting class, which is offered by our P I Department. Despitea few casts into the rafters of Reid Gym, Sue and Betsy may end up embarassinga few guys. Keep up that competitive spirit girls! ...Our SOFTBALL TEAM has been in somewhat of a slump lately, so let me take this space to encourage these girls to hang in there also. COACH BETTY PEELE'S team placed fourth in a tournament last week, but hope to improve that performance this week as they play in another tournament. With the talent and speed this team posesses, I sure they'll get back into the swing they had when thev won the Catamount Classic, so keeping working at it team, we know you do it! I et me encourage everyone to make it their business to stop by the track this weekend (Friday and Saturday) to cheer on those who will be participating in the SPECIAL OLYMPICS, which are scheduled to begin Friday at 3 p.m. This hai always been a tremendous sui here at Western, and thereV reason why this year's event can't be even more successful than those ol the past. Of course, the success ot any worthwhile event depends on amount of effort put into it. please, if you've never had the opportunity to be a part of Special Olympics, please do so this year. ..Westerns TRACK TEAM will be participating in another outdoor meet this weekend at Furman, so we want to wish them good luck as they go to compete. The team has been improving each week, according to COACH DON MILWOOD, so let's all hope this improvement pays off as the Cats progress through their season ...That's about it for the sports page this week. If you have any interesting ideas about anyone related to WCU sports, please let me know, or drop a line to RUSS RANDOLPH Sports Editor of the Western Carolinian. 1'' be looking forward to hearing frr n you. Cats Face Crucial Stretch It is make or break for Western Carolina University's baseball team as the Catamounts .are scheduled to play three Southern Conference doubleheaders in a six-day period. The Catamounts had their 10-game winning streak terminated last Saturday in the opening game of a conference doubleheader at The Citadel, but bounced back in the second game for a 3-1 win that snapped the Bulldogs 22-game winning streak and gave the Charleston. SC school its first conference loss of the season. The fight for the Southern Conference baseball championship appears to be a three team race between The Citadel, East Tennessee State and Western Carolina. The Citadel leads the league with a 11-1 record (27-3 overall) followed by ETSU. 7-1 and 21-9 overall, and WCU, 5-1 and 14-8 overall. All of the other six conference teams have at least four losses. The Catamounts'chances for the title hinge heavily on the outcome of a doubleheader with East Tennessee State, which was played Wednesday in Johnson City, Tennessee. A sweep would put WCU in the driver seat while a split keeps the Catamounts in the thick of the race. East Tennessee won last season's three-way conference championship tournament that also included WCU and Marshall. The Buccaneers went on to finish second in the NCAA Atlantic Regional tournament. Western returns home to Ronnie G. Chilress Field Saturday for a doubleheader with VMI. 2-8 in the conference, and then travels to Greenville, SC, Monday to face Furman, 4-4 in league play. The Citadel' Jeff Barkley handcuffed WCU on two hitsd in the opening game last Saturday as he allowed only four Catamounts to reach first base. The Cats fell behind in the first inning of the second game. 1-0, but tied the game in the second inning on Mel Kinsey's home run, his fourth for the season. WCU took the lead in the third inning on Kinsey's RBI single that scored Chet Greeson and added an insurance run in the fourth on Charlie Fonville's leadoff single and Matt Thrasher's sacrfice fly. Randy Sims picked up the win as he scattered eight hits in going the route for his third win. Thrasher continues to lead WCU in hitting with a .328 average. Catcher Jim Reinicker (.316), shortstop Kyle Carson (.310) and outfielder Kyle Radford (.307) are the other Catamounts hitting over .300. Greg Moore, ex-Cullowhee High star, is the pitching leader with a 3-0 record and 1.43 earned run average. Sims has a 3.42 ERA to go with a 3-0 record. Jeff Mashburn is 3-3 with an impressive 2.07 ERA. Basketball Cats Land Two Top Prep Stars photo by Doug Cavanah Spring finally seems to have hit in full force, and here a member of our very own Lady Cats Tennis team shows us how it's done - Catamount style. Coach Steve Cottrell appears to have strengthened WCU's frontline and added size and firepower to the Catamounts' wing positions with the announcement of two signees on the initial National Letter of intent signing date for high school basketball players. Billy Miller of Easley. South Carolina and Clifford Waddy of Staunton. Virginia made their earlier verbal commitments official when they signed the National Letter of Intent Wednesday morning. "We consider it a great accomplishment to sign our two top recruits the first day." said Cottrell. "They are exactly what we need and will definitely make Western Carolina a better team next season." he added. Miller is a 6-7, 210 pound forward and Waddy, 6-4, 185 pounds, is scheduled to play a wing position in Western's offense. Miller played center for Wren High School in Piedmont, SC and averaged 19.2 points and 14.1 rebounds last season. He was an all- state selection last season and played in South Carolina's North-South All-Star game. He led the 3-A school to No. i ranking in South Carolina in each of the past two seasons and three consecutive conference championships. "Billy does three things that impressed us." said Cottrell. "He is an outstanding shooter, much like our Pat Sharp; runs extremely well; and is an outstanding physical rebounder." he explained. Cottrell said he recruited Miller to play either of WCU's forward positions. "We hope to play him at Greg Dennis' position, but we don't expect him to be another Greg Dennis...there is only one made out of that mold. Billy could create a new job description for that position," he explained. Miller was recruited by every Southern Conference school. Waddy is a product of Staunton's Robert E. Lee High which was one of the nation's most successful prep basketball programs. He averaged 16.5 points and 9.0 rebounds in leading his team to a 39- 5 record over the past two seasons. He hs been a two-time all-district and all-region selection in the talent-rich Shenandoah Valley area. Cottrell indicates he will play Waddy at both the shooting guard and small forward positions. "Clifford is a great athlete who can do it all and is the best defensive player we've recruited in five years," noted Cottrell. "He will be the most versatile player, except for Cedric Cokely (WCU's Southern Conference All-Freshman player) on our team next season." he added. Waddy narrowed his numerous scholarship offers to WCU and East Tennessee State before making a commitment to Cottrell last week. In assessing his initial recruits. Cottrell says he has made the Catamounts a bigger team without sacrificing quickness or shooting or other athletic abilities. Western, which finished 19-8 last season and second in the Southern Conference's regular season standings, lost two starters—Dennis and point guard Kevin Young--but will have 10 of last season's top 12 players returning, including two-time All-Southern Conference guard Ronnie Carr. Under Cottrell, the Catamounts have turned in an improved record in each of his five seasons. U Cat-A-Thon" Picking Up Steam More than 400 runners, joggers and walkers are expected to answer the starter's gun Saturday. April 24, in the first WCU Cat-A-Thon sponsored by the university's Big Cat Club. "Cat-A-Thon '82" is a cooperative fund-raising effort that will raise money not only for Western's athletic programs, but for many other organizations, civic groups, and clubs. lt works this way. Participants in the Cat-A-Thon obtain sponsor forms from the WCU Development Office and identify sponsors that are willing to pay a fixed amount for each lap the participant completes around WCU's quarter mile track during a one hour period. The profit each participant earns is then split 50-50 between the team, club or organization represented and WCU's Athletic Scholarship Fund. Individuals may participate in the Cat-A-Thon and designate 50 percent of his or her earnings to a specific group or charity. Participants need only provide names and addresses of sponsors. The WCU Development Office will send out sponsor forms, report the laps completed and handle the pledge collections. "It's really quite an easy event for clubs or organizations to get involved in," said Tom Bommer, executive director of the Big Cat Club. "It should be a fun morning and a healthy way to raise money both for the Western athletics and other groups." In addition to all WCU men's and women's intercollegiate teams and various campus fraternities and sororities, other clubs and groups that have entered include the Sylva- Webster band boosters and athletic boosters, the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce, the Jackson County Little League, the Sylva Optimist Club, the Haywood County Runners Club and the Camp laboratory School Future Homemakers Association. "The Cat-A-Thon is open to any and everyone in the region," said Bommer. "It is important to remember it is not a race. A participant may run or job or walk around the track and may stop at any time with credit for the laps completed. Sponsors usually pledge from 50e to $50 per lap and can expect an average person to walk 12- 15 laps or run 20-25 laps in an hour. Conditioned runners can do 30 laps or more in that time," said Bommer. Cat-A-Thon "82 will begin at 10 a.m. on April 24 and WRGC Radio in Sylva will be at the all-weather track for a live broadcast of the event. For information and sponsor for/ns. contact Tom Bommer at 227- 7377 or drop by the WCl Development Office in Room 404 of the University Administration Mountain Heritage Center Building.

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: 1982-04-15
  • Date digitized: 2019-01-29
• Extent
  • Dimension: 15" x 11.5"
  • Pages: 10 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_1982-04-15_Vol46_No27
• Repository
  • Western Carolina University Hunter Library