• Format
  • Publications (documents)
• Type
  • Text
• Source institution
  • Western Carolina University
• Identifier
  • HL_WesternCarolinian_1985-05-02_Vol49_No28_01

Western Carolinian Serving Western Carolina University Since 1935 Vol. 49 Issue 28 May 2, 1985 Cats Capture Conference Free By JEFF CHAPMAN Sports Writer "1 figured we had a good shot at it." That was Southern Conference Tournament Most Valuable Player Mike Carson's reaction after the baseball Catamounts had won four of five games in four days to lay claim to the Southern Conference Championship. Carson's performance in the tournament (batted .444 going 8-18 with three home runs, a double, five runs scored, and ten runs batted in) sparked the surprising Catamounts as the team won the school's first-ever outright men's championship since Western joined the Southern Conference nine years ago. Western, now 35- 30, will join 37 of the nation's best college teams in the NCAA Tournament, which begins May 23. Facing elimination from the tournament after a second-round loss to Marshall, Western turned in a near-impossible, whirlwind finish, winning three straight games to capture the title. The tournament, a double-elimination affair, was held in Boone and Lenoir from Friday through Monday. The tournament field included host Appalachian State University, Davidson College, and Marshall University along with the champion Catamounts. Western, the regular season runner-up in the south division, upset north division champion Appalachian State on Friday afternoon by a score of 3-2. Leading the Cat's to victory were pitcher Scott Gay who pitched a complete game while striking out eleven and Carson, who belted a two run homer. On Saturday, Marshall pitching held the Catamounts in check as the Thundering Herd won 5-2, sending Western into the loser's bracket. Saturday's other game was a big surprise as Davidson knocked off Appalachian State, eliminating the Mountaineers from the tourney. The tournament moved to Lenoir's Walker Field on Sunday due to an overnight rain which had rendered Appalachian's Mountaineer Park unplayable. The Catamounts played Davidson in the day's first game, with the loser facing elimination from further play. Western's bats came alive in the first inning, clobbering Wildcat pitching for nine runs and the Cats rolled to a 13-2 victory. Ron Huntington picked up four hits and Darryl Rogers had three to lead the hot Catamount bats. Western also had four home runs in the game, getting one each from Carson, Skip Nelloms, Jim Eldridge, and Craig Brooks. Freshman righthander Al Donovan went the distance to pick up the win. Sunday's second game matched Western and Marshall for the second time in as many days. The championship appeared to be slipping away from ' Western early as Marshall scored three runs in the first inning to take the early lead. The Catamounts never quit, however, and came back to tie the game in the fourth inning. Western would fall behind two more times before scoring seven runs in the top of the ninth inning to win 12-6. Freddie Hailey had three hits, including two doubles and four runs batted in, and Gay pitched three innings of relief, striking out the side in the ninth to lead the Cats. Monday's championship game with Marshall was yet another chapter in the Cinderella story. By the fourth inning, Marshall had built a 7-0 lead and again Western seemed to have run out of gas. But once again the Cats fought back, scoring seven runs in the fifth inning, sparked by Carson's game-tying, three-run homer. Western took an 8-7 lead in the seventh inning, but it was short-lived as Marshall exploded for five runs in the eighth to go up 12-8. The Catamounts, however, rallied once again, coming up with five runs of their own in the bottom half of the eighth. Former Sylva-Webster High star Brooks knocked in the tying and winning runs in only his second at-bat of the tournament. John Milewski's clutch pitching in the ninth inning preserved the 13-12 victory and brought the title to Cullowhee. Third-year coach Jack Leggett had nothing but praise for his squads' performance. "We played clutch baseball as we seemed to always come up with the big hit when we needed it, the solid defensive play when we needed it, and the big pitch when we needed it," he said. Asked about being named MVP, Carson replied, "It feels super, a really big Robinson Still At Work By MARNIE ABRAMES Staff Writer There is an area of Western Carolina University that few people are awaf e of. This area is the Office of University Studies. What may surprise people even more is that the director of this branch is Dr. H.F. Robinson, former chancellor of WCU. Dr. Robinson retired as chancellor on August 15, 1984 after 10 years of devoted service. Since then, he has been extremely involved in projects in both the country and around the world. One of his projects has involved the Center for Improving Mountain Living located here at Western. He has been working to obtain funding for expansion of economic development. That is, he has been working hard to set up "incubator" facilities around the country. These are facilities with low rent, that will enable new businesses to get started. If, after a couple of years, these businesses are successful, they will then move to another location so that other new businesses may get the same chance. These facilities have been funded by the state, county, and Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). Dr. Robinson has been successful in completing two of these facilities already. The first is under construction in Haywood County. The second is located in McDowell County. Another activity Dr. Robinson has been very involved in is helping to improve on the yield and characteristics of the Cherokee corn. "With a grant from the Wallace Foundation, Dr. Robinson and Dr. William Brown have been studying the history and evolution of the Cherokee corn. Dr. Robinson feels this is very "special corn" and deserves special attention. On May 9, he plans to begin planting the corn, with the help of student workers. The planting will be at WCU in order to study the quality of the corn. From these experimental plantings, he hopes to be able to select a seed for superior corn. This process is expected to take about 3 years and Dr. Robinson hopes that one day, honor, but it doesn't come close to winning the championship." Western's team members had mixed thoughts before the tournament but each one knew they could win it all. Said Darryl Rogers, sophomore catcher, "I wasn't sure if our pitching would hold up, especially after we lost to Marshall. Those guys did a super job and deserve a lot of credit." Of his game-winning hit, Brooks, who went 2-2 with three runs batted in in the tournament, said, "It's something every kid dreams of, being in that situation with a chance to win the game. I just went up there and tried to do my best. Luckily, everything came out for the best." On his team's performance. Brooks said, "I wasn't really sure what our chances were before the tournament, but after we beat App 1 felt a lot better." According to Coach Leggett, "We played our best baseball of the season." For many Western players and fans, the thought of our first conference championship was summed up by Rogers' final comment: "You know, it hasn't really hit me yet." It could be two weeks before the Catamounts find out which of the eight NCAA tournament regionals they will be playing in. Those tournaments will be held May 23-27 at yet-to-be determined sites, with the winner of each regional advancing to the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska. the Cherokee Indians will be able to grow their own corn and market the corn meal. Dr. Robinson is also very involved in various international programs. He is currently serving as a member of the Foundation Committee for the Sultan Qaboos University. This is a committee of ten which meets 3itimes a year to plan the university. It is a $700 million project and will be the first university for the country of Oman. The school is scheduled to open the Fall of 1986 and Dr. Robinson is currently working on the recruitment of faculty and staff for the university primarily the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries. Dr. Robinson also works with China's Agricultural Institute in Yunnan. With them, he is striving towards the improvement of their corn and tobacco. He also works with Jamaica's educational programs in general to help them improve. Special Olympics a Success By BRYAN DEVINNEY Staff Writer On Friday, April 26, approximately 580 children and teenagers converged on Western for a day of fun and activities. These young people represented schools from Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Jackson, Macon and Swain counties and the Qualla Boundary. The event which they were attending was the 14th annual Special Olympics regional competition. The. Special Olympics were established in 1972 by the Joseph P. Kennedy Foundation under the national direction of Eunice Kennedy Schriver. That same year, Dr. Jim Hamilton, Dr. Helen Hartshorn, and Dr. Jane Shulz founded the regional Mike Carson was named MVP in this week's Southern Conference Tournament. He batted a .444 (8-18) including three home runs and ten RBI's, en route to Western's sweep of the Southern Conference tournament. competition under the auspices of the national organization. Dr. Hartshorn is currently the Regional Director. The Special Olympics is held on the regional and state level every year and on the international scale every four years, the years corresponding to the years when the Modern Olympics are held. Last year, the International Special Olympics had representatives from 10 countries. A Field Day was held jointly with the Special Olympics on Friday. The distinction between the two events was that the Special Olympics were open to young people above the age of eight who suffer from a mental handicap. The Field Day events were open to young people from the age of eight up who suffer from learning and physical disabilities. The activities were held at the all- weather track and in the Reid Gymnasium Pool. The activities began at 9:30 with the Parade of Athletes, the lighting of the flame followed this. After the flame was lit, a banner contest was held and then participants recited the Special Olympics oath which states: "Let me win, but if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt." The actual athletic events were held during the remainder of the day. The track and field events included the 50-, 100-, 200- and 400-meter dashes, the mile run. Another project of his includes work with the Private Volunteer Organizations (PVO)/ University Center for Rural Development. Western Carolina University is headquarters for this project, and they work with four other shcools and five PVO's. Together, they work on projects of mutual interest. Presently, this committee - of which Dr. Robinson is co-chairman - is working with Auburn University on water harvesting and fisheries project. He is becoming involved with a program concerned with acid rain. This program is directed by John D. McCrone, Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences. Together, they are working with a number of North Carolina Universities and various forest and park services to study the effects of acid rain. In late January and early February, Dr. Robinson returned from Zaire as part of a 400-meter relay, softball throw, frisbee throw for distance, running and standing long jump, high jump and the 25-meter wheelchair race. A pentathlon event was held which included the 50-meter dash, standing long jump, high jump, softball throw, shot put and a 200-meter dash for 14 to 16 years olds or a 400 meter dash for those 17 and up. A 100- meter walk was held for anyone who wished to participate. Ribbons were awarded for the first-, second-, and third-place winners in each division and each participant received a ribbon. Athletes were allowed to Presidential task force. This task force was made up of 12 members and they were all appointed by President Reagan. They were sent to Zaire to explore the agricultural needs and production for the country. They spent 3 weeks in Zaire and also studied plant breeding and genetics. They have completed the report and it will be presented to President Reagan soon. In addition to his various projects, Dr. Robinson also serves on thirteen boards and committees. Among these, he is a member of the Board of Directors at St. Joseph's Hospital in Asheville, Mountain Area Health Education Foundation in Asheville, Jackson County Developlment Board, Western North Carolina Development Association, and MDC, Inc. He also serves on the Board of Trustees of the TVA Land Between the Lake Association, continued on page 11 participate in two events. The event was sponsored by the Student Council for Exceptional Children, the Health and Physical Education Majors Club, The Department of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, and the Department of Human Services. Approximately 140 student volunteers helped out with the event. Coca- Cola Bottling Company of Bryson City supplied T-shirts for all the student volunteers and workers. McDonalds of Sylva provided sandwiches for everyone. continued on page 11 EXAM SCHEDULE MONDAY THURSDAY 8:00 MWF 8:30 - 11:00 9:30 TR 8:30 - 11:00 2:00 TR 12:00 - 2:30 8:00 TR 12:00 -2:30 11:00 MWF 3:00 - 5:30 12:30 TR 3:00 - 5:30 TUESDAY FRIDAY 9:00 MWF 8:30 - 11:00 2:00 MWF 8:30 - 11:00 3:30 TR 12:00 - 2:30 11:00 TR 12:00 - 2:30 12:00 MWF 3:00 - 5:30 3:00 MWF 3:00 - 5:30 WEDNESDAY ' ' f / 10:00 MWF 8:30 - 11:00 =Jft Jp^-iirV I J 4:00 MWF 12:00 - 2:30 / 1 ^V\ 1:00 MWF 3:00 - 5:30

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: 1985-05-02
  • Date digitized: 2019-02-28
• Extent
  • Dimension: 22.75" x 15"
  • 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_1985-05-02_Vol49_No28
• Repository
  • Western Carolina University Hunter Library