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Friday, Aprils, 1S82
The Red and Black
Page 7
Netters host state schools in Georgia Intercollegiate
Kv f'HARI 4 \H()V
Bulldogs in
Georgia Inter
collegiate
Friday — Sunday
ByCHARLESAARON
Krd and Black Staff H ritrr
The fifth-ranked Georgia men’s tennis team will
try to continue its traditional dominance over in
state competition this weekend in the Georgia
Intercollegiate tournament at Henry Feild
Stadium today through Sunday.
The Dogs are expected to waltz through the field
again this year, but that doesn't necessarily mean
the level of competition will suffer. Intense
rivalries, tough matches and a high standard of
play perennially characterize the tournament
Unfortunately for non-Georgia fans, visiting
teams have rarely supplied any of these
ingredients Georgia Tech, Georgia State. Emory,
Shorter, Georgia Southern and Valdosta State
hope to break that tradition
Bulldog Coach Dan Magill expects plenty of fine
play. "We've won the singles every year since
1967, and the doubles for 12 straight years," Magill
said. “But some of the best tennis of the year will
be played this weekend because it's Georgia boys
playing each other.”
Georgia has recently had to overcome
bothersome injuries to keep its winning streak
alive, and one of those injured players will make
his return in this tournament. Peter Lloyd, who
has mis ed several matches because of an ankle
injury, will play doubles "He's playing mostly for
the sake of conditioning,” Magill said Lloyd will
probably team with either Kip Turnage, George
Bezecny or lane Curlee.
Georgia's No. I player. John Mangan, continues
to be bothered by recurring back problems,
Mangan has lost two straight matches to Uli
Wilms of Georgia Southern and Hal Jolley of
Austin Peay and he will not play in the tourna
ment.
Mangan was seeded No. 1 in the tournament. He
will also miss the upcoming match with Georgia
Tech, but it is hopeful he will be ready (or Florida
April 17.
Tom Foster of Georgia is seeded No 2 in singles
and Allen Miller is seeded No. 4 There’s one
player, however, who could really throw a crjpip
into the Dogs' planned blitzkrieg, and that’s
Wilms, the West German from Georgia Southern.
He played extremely well against Mangan earlier
this year
"Wilms is going to add a little spice to the
tournament," Magill said. "He's always been
tough He lost to Thurman 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 last year in
the third round '
Georgia also has the top two doubles seeds.
Miller and Ola Malmqvist are seeded No. 1, while
Foster and Deane Frey are right behind them
No. 5 netters
clobber LSU
for 12 straight
By CHARLESAARON
Bed and Rlark Staff Writer
The fifth-ranked Georgia men's
tennis team defeated Louisiana State 7-
2 Thursday to extend its winning streak
to 12 matches and push its overall
record to 17-2. The Bulldogs remain in
the lead for the Southeastern Con
ference round robin championship.
With the rain pouring down un
mercifully, the match was moved to the
indoor courts where Nos. 3 through 6
singles played first. The Dogs were
without the services of their No. 1
player, John Mangan.
Deane Frey got the Dogs off to a good
start at No 5, persistently pounding
away at LSU's Jack Burleigh, even
tually claiming a 6-2, 6-2 victory. But
Stevenson Clarke came right back for
LSU with a 6-4,6-3 triumph over George
Bezecny at No. 4. Bezecny's baseline
game was no match for the charged-up
Clarke, who was in command all the
way.
At No. 6, Ola Malmqvist continued to
roll along since replacing the injured
Peter Lloyd, downing Anders Lindberg
6-3, 6-2. However, Malmqvist’s doubles
partner. Allen Miller, could do anything
but breeze into his match with Carl
Winslow.
Winslow was at the top of his game in
the first set, using an assortment of
shots to cruise 6-3. But midway through
the second set, Miller finally got
himself into the match and struggled to
the tiebreaker. The Georgia freshman
fought off a match point to win the set 7-
6(8-61 and even things up. Miller broke
Winslow's serve in the fifth game of the
third set, sealing the break with two
service return winners and a beautiful
topspin lob. He served out the match,
winning 3-6,7-6,6-2.
Thus. Georgia led 3-1 by the time No.
1 and No. 2 singles began, and Lane
Curlee was called on to fill in for
Mangan and play his first singles
match of the year Curlee hung close to
LSU's Tommy Nido after losing the
first set 6-3. and played excellent tennis
to win the second 6-2. By this time, Nido
was becoming frustrated and
unraveled and Curlee was gaining
confidence. Curlee finished out the
match, winning 3-6,6-2,6-4.
Tom Foster clinched the match at No.
5 singles, subduing LSU’s volatile
Teddy Viator. Viator continually
complained about calls before finally
losing 6-1,5-7,6-4
In doubles, Georgia's Miller and
Malmqvist downed Clarke-Lindberg 6-
4, 6-4. Curlee and Turnage disposed of
Winslow and Nido 6-3, 6-3, and LSU's
Viator and Burleigh took Foster and
Frey 6-3,4-6,7-5.
Staff photo/I h .trite Register
Foster is currently ranked No. 14 nationally in singles
Foster turning
fortunes around
By JOHN CHILDERS
Hrd and Black Staff Writer
“It's one of the best accomplishments
of any Georgia player ever."
Those were the words of Georgia
men's tennis Coach Dan Magill
describing Tom Foster's first-place
finish in the Southern Intercollegiate
Championships last (all When one
considers the fact that Magill has been
at Georgia in some capacity since
World War II, the significance of that
statement is magnified immensely.
If the praise of Magill was not
enough, Foster's conquest in the SIC
thrust him into the vision of college
tennis experts across the nation and
into the top 10 of the national singles
poll
Foster has cooled off slightly since
his amazing autumn of ’81. but the
junior from Delray Beach, Fla , has
played well enough to justify his No. 14
national ranking
To say Foster has turned his fortunes
around since last year would be like
saying England and Argentina aren't
speaking
Last spring, Foster played No 5
singles for the Bulldogs — hardly a
disgraceful position on the third best
team in the nation, but quite a drop
from the No. 2 position he occupied his
freshman year at Georgia.
It appeared that, like his former
doubles partner Peter Lloyd who
dropped from No. 1 in 1980 to No. 7 last
. year, Foster had lost his game.
As it turned out, the decline was only
a detour on Foster's road to success.
“To play No. 5," said Foster,
reflecting back on the hard days of 1981,
“was a big letdown But you just have
to make the best of it.”
While he still speaks disappointedly
of his days on the lower courts, Foster
admits the demotion may be one reason
he is having such success this year
“I think I gained some good ex
perience down at the bottom," Foster
said "I really think it makes you a
better player It teaches you to win
because you aren’t supposed to lose.
Georgia players just aren't supposed to
lose at four, five and six."
Besides the obvious effect that last
year has had on his tennis, it may also
have helped prepared Foster for the
leadership role he is having to fill this
year.
Four of the top six players graduated
from last season’s squad, a group which
had been together for four years and
had played a major role in "con
verting" Foster to college life.
"Those guys (last year's team) were
really close," Foster said. "They
helped me a lot and it was nice having
them here.” Z.
With the departure of last year's
seniors came an influx of newcomers Jo
Athens this year Presently, four of the
top six players are in their first year gt
Georgia and Foster realizes his role-js
one of the two returning starters.
"(Seniors) John (Mangan), Pete and
Gerald (Kleis) are called the leaders,”
Foster said, “but I think that I need to
help the new guys out, too,"
As the year progresses, Foster sees
the team coming together and gainmg
its own personality.
“It was hard to get adjusted to the
young guys at first," Faster said. "We
hadn't really had anybody new come
here in a while Everybody's starting to
get to know each other now, though, and
we're getting close."
While the team may not have been
close in the beginning, it most
assuredly was good The Bulldogs
placed second in the national indoor
championship in January and. in the
process, upset such powers as UCLA
and Southern Methodist
"I’m really surprised that we've done
so well," Foster said. “After last year, I
really thought that we would have
nothing. I didn't know much about
(Deane) Frey, (Allen) Miller or (Ola)
Malmqvist and I just didn't know."
He knows now And he speaks with a
great amount of optimism about the
future of the tennis program at
Georgia.
“I really believe that there will be a
national championship here in at least
the next five years,” Foster said. .“I
think that everybody is going to peak at
the end of this year for the SECs and the
NCAAs. These new guys play better
under pressure. We know we can lose to
anybody, but we also know that we can
beat anybody in the nation."
As far as his personal ac
complishments are concerned, Foster
is pleased but he leaves room for
improvement
"I think I've had a pretty successful
year so far. There have been a few
letdowns, but I've done pretty well.
Winning the SIC is, of course, the
biggest highlight I've lost some
matches that I shouldn't have, but just
as long as I peak for the SECs and the
NCAAs, that's (the losses) not so im
portant."
With his return to the top, Foster has
opened some doors which would haye
been virtually out of reach for a No 5 qr
No 6 player. If he can remain in the top
20 for the remainder of the year, he will
automatically be named to the All-
America team and a bid to the NCAA
individual tournament will also be
practically automatic.
Diamond Dogs host Vandy in weekend series
By BRI AN MOERSCH
Hnl and Mark Stall Writer
What can the Georgia baseball team
do for an encore? After winning four
straight games this week by coming
from behind in the last inning, one
would have to say, “not much, ”
By NANCY COHEN
Krd and Hlark Stall Writer
For Georgia golfer Mitzi Edge, the
conflicting dates could not have been
worse. This time every year the
Augusta, Ga . native usually helps out
at the prestigious Masters Golf Tour
nament But this weekend she will
abandon the spectator role and play
some golf herself
The Georgia women's golf team
travels to brisk Columbus, Ohio this
weekend to defend its first place finish
of last year in the Lady Buckeye In
vitational Edge finished a close second
behind an eventual Buckeye champion
in the individual event
The Lady Dogs are currently ranked
fifth in the country "It's a nice
feeling," Coach Liz Murphey said "It's
not too high up, but yet it's still enough
to give you confidence ”
The women gained a great deal of
confidence two weeks ago at the Lady
Paladin Tournament in Greenville,
S.C.. where they proudly took first
place Edge and Cindy Pleger tied for
the individual title "They truly brought
But the task gets no easier this
w eekend as the Dogs try to sustain their
momentum when Southeastern Con
ference rival Vanderbilt visits Foley
Field for an important three-game
series.
The Dogs’ amazing string of victories
started last Saturday against Kentucky
us through," Murphey said.
Because of their outstanding per
formances in South Carolina, Edge and
Pleger were exempt from the
qualifying rounds for the tourney this
weekend The rest of the squad com
pleted qualifying rounds Tuesday and
those making the trip to Ohio are
sophomores Caroline Gowan and
Denise King, and freshman Eileen
Kelly
The site of play, the Ohio State
Scarlet Course, is where touring
professional Jack Nicklaus grew up It
is also the site of the 1982 National Golf
Championships which Murphey and
team are thinking ahead to
“It is a very difficult course," she
said, "and we re excited about getting a
chance to warm up here before
nationals."
In contrast to last year's squad which
was peaking every week, Murphey
would like to see the team peak at
nationals when it really counts
“We want to peak at nationals instead
of every week, " Murphey said “Last
year we just got tired of winning ”
when trailing 6 3 going into the last inn
ing, the Dogs came back to score four
runs and win 7-6. On Sunday, they
staged an even more dramatic come
back when they fought back from an
11-0 deficit to win 12-11. In that game,
the Dogs tallied 10 runs in the final
three innings
Tuesday, the Clemson Tigers came to
town ranked No 5 nationally and eager
for revenge. The Dogs whipped Clem
son 7-3 earlier in the season After seor
ing four runs the final inning and taking
a 10-7 lead, the Clemson players and
fans thought they had finally burst the
Dogs' bubble But once again the Car
diac Canines' roared back to score four
runs and win 11-10.
Wednesday the victim was Shorter
College Trailing 10-5 going into the bot
tom of the ninth, the Bulldogs scored
five runs in the last frame to tie it, and
then routinely won it with a run in the
eleventh
The (our straight wins boosted the
Dogs overall record 14-15 above the 500
mark for the first time since March 4
In the SEC the Dogs are 4-7, fourth
place in the Eastern Division behind
Florida, Tennessee and Vanderbilt, and
ahead of last-place Kentucky
The series with Vandy this weekend
is crucial if the Dogs are to have any
hope of a SEC tournament bid A series
loss would end any Georgia hopes of
post-season play But a sweep of the
series would give the Dogs a 7-7 con
ference record and move then two full
games ahead of Vanderbilt
A sweep would also set the stage for a
three-game series on April 17, 18
against second-place Tennessee in
Knoxville In order for these games to
mean anything in the SEC race.
however, the Dogs must walk away
from this weekend's games with at
least two wins, and preferably three
Vanderbilt has had an up-and-down
season and comes to Athens with a
13-11-2 record, 5-6-1 in the SEC. In con
ference play, the Commodores are 2-1
against Kentucky and Georgia, and 1-2
against Tennessee Against division-
leading Florida, Vandy is winless at
0-2-1
Vanderbilt has been a surprise this
season in the conference Last season
the Commodores were 26-25-1, but
graduation gutted that squad's pitching
staff But pitching has not been a pro
blem for the Commodores this year
Coach Roy Mewburn had a good
recruiting year and has molded Van
dy's staff into one of the finest in the
SK(
In the first meeting of these two
teams in Nashville earlier this season,
Vanderbilt took two of three games
Georgia Coach Steve Webber sees
this weekend as a golden opportunity
for the Dogs to improve their position in
the division standings
“The Vandy series gives us the op
portunity to make up some ground."
Webber said. "If we want to move up in
the standings, we'll have to do it this
weekend "
Webber credits his team's recent suc
cess to some good breaks and a little
confidence
The Dogs will start Hugh Kemp. 4-3
on the season and the staff leader in
wins, and Tim Barnette, 2-2, In Satur
day's twinbill Greene is likely to start
Sunday
Saturday's games start at 1 p m . and
Sunday's game will begin at 1:30 p m
Lady golfers to defend
Buckeye Invitational title
Helue's bat has sparked Dog resurgence