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1 /’ajfe 11 Clark Atlanta University Panther April 16, 1991 Tennis Team Sweeps MB By ANTHONY GEORGE III Sports Editor Clark Atlanta University's men and women tennis teams continued to feast on their opponents , as they cumulatively won seven out of eight games played the previous two weeks. The women improved their record to 9-0, as they defeated Morris Brown twice 9-0 April 2 and April 4. It was the first time this season they won all their matches against a team. In other games, the lady Panthers defeated Tuskegee 5-1 April 5, the loss on a default, and Fort Valley 6-3 April 10. The men also had a clean sweep of Morris Brown twice, 9-0, and defeated Fort Valley 7-2. The Panthers lost to Tuskegee 7-2. The men's overall record improved to 7-2. "Tuskegee has a real strong men's team," said coach Oliver McClendon. "I was a little disappointed that we lost a couple of the singles matches because some of our players had beaten them before. I'm just looking forward to the Tuskegee Relays to have another opportunity to play them." The women played one of their toughest opponents of the season against Fort Valley. After the six singles matches, both teams were tied with three wins. But the lady Panthers were able to sweep past the lady Wildcats in each of the double matches. The most notable loss in the single matches was Ronica Harris. She lost for the first time this season 6-2, 6-3. Harris record for the season is 9-1. "I don't think Ronica lost to a better opponent, but she lost because of her glasses," McClendon said. "She was wearing her new glasses for the first time, and I don't think she had adjusted to wearing them." Both teams are preparing for the Tuskegee Relays in Tuskegee on April 19-20, and the Conference tournament, April 26-27. Other Notables: Clarence Thomas won his first match of the year with his win over a Morris Brown. Kathy Simon improved her overall record to 9-1. The lady Panthers only lost for the second time this season in doubles matches with the loss to Tuskegee. Cumulatively in doubles matches, they are 24-2. PHOTOS BY ANTHONY GEORGE m Both Portia Hamilton (above), and Monique Caesar (below), had easy victories against Morris Brown April 2 and April 4. Intramural Basketball Stopped By ANTHONY GEORGE III Sports Editor The Clark Atlanta University intramural basketball season was discontinued after the second week because of the lack of finances. According to Dr. Larry Earvin, Dean of Students Affairs and Associate Provost, CAU was not able to continue to pay officials. As an alternative, a double-elimination tournament is tentively being scheduled for mid-April. Dr. Raymond Hughes, intramural Director , said this year there were 18 teams participating. Since there was an unequal amount of games played for each team, there could not be a legitimate champion. A double elimination tournament will give each team a fair opportunity to win the Red and Black championship. Dr. Hughes also cited the reason for stopping the regular season is because of the lack of finances to pay the officials. He estimated that 135 games would have been played this year for 18 teams playing a round-robin schedule. Regular Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference officials are paid $125 per game, plus travel expenses. CAU was currently paying officials $25 per-game, but would not be able to continue this for the entire season. Currently the officials used are certified officials presently on the CAU staff. He insisted that unqualified officials would be disruptive to league play. Many intramural basketball athletes were upset at the cancellation of the season, and did not agree with Dr. Hughes assessment not having alternatives to referee the games. "If they can't find anyone to referee, the university must surely have a problem," said Alfred Lee, first-year player for the Atlanta Hoopers. "Intramural gives many of us an opportunity to play organized ball, and also helps relieve tension of school. They should get students to referee or other alternatives. They should have a season regardless of the circumstances." Michael Carter, first- year player for the Untouchables, shared the same sentiments. "I heard the season was cancelled because they couldn't pay the officials. It is really upsetting because I was looking forward to playing. It doesn't surprise me though because of the lack of organization at CAU. They could have gotten volunteers to referee," he said. Dr. Hughes said there are many problems of asking for volunteer or student officials. The examples he cited were: 1. Students do not respect other students to officiate a game. 2. It is hard finding dependable volunteer officials. After a couple of games, most will quit because of the abuse by intramural players. 3. Intramural should be officiated by qualified officials. If any player has a question about a rule, the official should be very knowledgeable. "Intramural sports at an university level should be officiated by qualified officials," Dr. Hughes said. "Intramural sports are governed by the American Association for Intramural Sports and Recreational Facilities and the American Alliance of Health and Physical Education and Dance at the university level. The national rules are parallel to the rules and guidelines prescribed by the rules of intercollegiate athletics. "You cannot grab people out of the stands and thrust a whistle in their hands, then tell them to call the game. People must realize that you don't call games, you must officiate them. Individuals who act as officials are responsible for the control and the conduct of the activity." Dr. Hughes also said that intramural basketball is highly competitive. Most of the athletes who participate are former high school players, or players with a lot of skill. Most players play for pride and prestige and other reasons for their organization. It would be a disservice for them to play with unqualified officials. "Most small predominantly African American universities lack adequate financial resources," Dr. Hughes said. "More than often we are expected to do more with less. If it is necessary to do less with more quality, it seems to me in an educational setting that less should be the choice." Int’l Soccer Team On Hold By Pierce Huff Staff Writer Freshman Al-amin Ally, who came to Clark Atlanta University from Nairobi, Kenya on Jan. 11, joined the CAU International soccer team because he just wanted to play organized soccer. For Ally, the transition to the U.S. style of soccer has been a slow one. In Kenya, the players have positions set by certain number and are not allowed to do as much freelancing on the field. The players are also allowed to get paid and play for breweries. "Soccer is better in Kenya than it is in the United States, it's more organized," said Ally, who played soccer for Nairobi's Agakhan high school. But now all of that hardly matters as Ally and his teammates find themselves trying to leave the Atlanta Soccer League (ASL) and join the NCAA as an entry level Division II soccer team. "I don't like us playing in the Atlanta Soccer League,” said Clyde Gaylord, Admissions Director at CAU and unofficial team coach. "The guys play under bad conditions and are liable to deliberate and sometimes inadvertent injuries. I want to see our soccer team play at a higher level." The most logical move for the soccer team would have been to try and join the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC), but the SIAC only has two soccer teams in Alabama A&M and Morris Brown. "We've got no complaints with the possibility of having to play Morris Brown, but there just aren't enough teams in the SIAC to build a schedule around," Gaylord said. One thing that has complicated the soccer team's effort to join the NCAA was the resignation of Clark athletic director Raymond Williams last month. Williams was a former SIAC commissioner and had served as a liaison between the team and the NCAA. His resignation setback the team's efforts and forced it to have to deal with Panthers' football coach Willie Hunter, the university's acting athletics director. "We've been getting good support from coach Hunter," said team co-captain Tommy Gates. "He's done a good job of talking with Dr. Cole and trying help us get a new schedule approved. But Mr. Williams is experienced and was working with the alumni associations." If the soccer team can't get in the NCAA, there is still the possibility that it could still play against Georgia college soccer teams like Georgia Tech, Berry College, Emory University and Georgia State. "Right now we're in the process of talking to teams in Georgia, because that's our best bet considering our limited funds," Gaylord said. . "But we're really looking to pl?v teams anywhere." The soccer team has also been looking into the possibility of playing scrimmage games. "I think that our scrimmaging against other soccer teams would work, but first we would Continued on page 12