THE PILOT, Page 4
Gardner-Webb Athletics From
The PUot asked Athletic Director Eddie Holbrook (also
basketball coach) to compare G-W’s overall athletic pro
gram when it first became a senior college, to the present.
Coach Holbrook stated, “If you take all of our programs
then, and compare them with the present programs, you can
tell by the records how we are doing.” Coach Holbrook took
each sport separately, comparing them to when Gardner-
Webb first became a senior college with the present.
Football—(Then) Football was very weak. It is very diffi
cult to build a good program in football, because of the num
ber of people involved. It takes only five or six good players
in basketball to get a good program started, while it takes
several good players in football.
Football Program at Present—Our football team this
year was a proven winner with a good solid foundation. I
think that we were competitive within the league this year,
and that we have a good chance at the championship next
year.
Basketball Program—(Then) Fortunately, our basketball
did not go through the losing years, though we did have a
year or two where we lost more games than we have been
losing recently. However, it took the basketball program a
little whDe to adapt, as it did with the other programs.
Basketball Program at Present—Our basketbedl team
presently is 20-2 and ranked 4 after being ranked number
one for several weeks this year.
Golf Program—The golf program was sort of mediocre
but maintained winning seasons.
Volleyball Wrap-Up
Women Record
2nd Campus House 5-1
HAPY 4-1
Decker 3-1
Stroup 1-4
1st Campus House 0-5
Men Record
3rd Lutz-Yelton 7-0
Power Squadron 5-2
L & M Spikes 4-3
1st Lutz-Yelton 4-3
Hucks-Hembree 4-3
3rd Floor Spangler 3-4
Faculty Admin 2-3
2nd Lutz-Yelton 1-6
Moncrief’s Team 1-6
Intramural Wrist
Wrestling Championships
Photos by Mike Gerly
David Underhill (right) defeats Roger Beatty (left), with
Mark Polk officiating, in the 195 lb. limit class.
Bobby Hopkins (left) overpowers Alvin Sparks (right) in
the unlimited class (over 225 lbs.)
Robert Spires (right) downs Steve Patterson (left) in the
145 lb. limit class. Not pictured: Marvin CMiver won by de
fault.
Senior College To The Present
Golf Program at Present—Our golf team has won two
consecutive national championships, which is a great tri
bute to them.
Baseball Program—Our basebtdl program is kind of a
middle of the road senior college program at present. With
the addition of a couple of real good pitchers, we can be dis
trict contenders.
Tennis Program—Our tennis program was also just so-
Tennis Program at Present—Our tennis is still strug
gling. We are a little disappointed that we are not playing as
well, but part of that is due to the fact that imtil this past
year we did not have a good tennis facility. It was very diffi
cult to get tennis players to come to a school to play tennis
that did not have a good tennis facility. Presently, we have'
the good facilities and our squad is getting better.
Ladies Basketball—The ladies have developed from a
.500 record to district regular season champions in three
short years. They will be playing for the district tournament
championship as well this year. I think that Phyllis Little
field and the ladies have done a remarkable job.
Soccer— We have initiated soccer on the club sport level,
and have a lot of students interested in it.
Track—Since the installation of the Thompson all-
weather track, our program has steadily improved, and
school records have been broken practically each year. A
good portion of our track team is made up of athletes who
also participate in other sports and use track to help refine
their quickness as weU as increase their stamina.
Coach Holbrook summed the situation up by stating,
“Our athletic program is just one part of the college’s activi
ties. If any students have special interests in any particular
sport, we would welcome them for try-outs.”
Racquetball (Continued from Page 3)
rally retain their bounce for several games. (An exception
may be when the competitors hit unusually hard or the walls
are of a rough composition.)
The serious player, however, will buy only quality equip
ment. Although a wooden racquet may satisfy the occa
sional participant, top amateur and professional players use
metal and fiberglass. Several good balls exist. The Seamco
444, official ball of the International Racquetball Associa
tion, and the 5582, adopted by the National Racquetball
Association, are ordinarily used in sanctioned tournaments.
The sudden growth of the sport has created a new market
for companies selling athletic equipment. Ektelon, Leach,
Omega, and Vittert, pioneers in the field, are being chal
lenged by such firms as Wilson, which is now producing
both balls and racquets. Marco Corporation has announced
plans to expand its line to compete with the best racquets
offered by the older companies.
Certainly, the estimated three million players today
(50,000 ten years ago) have aroused the interest of manufac
turers. Although equipment is easily obtained, the construc
tion of playing facilities has not kept pace with the demand
for courts on which to play. Most men and women reserve
rooms at the Y, where competition for time is often as fierce
as games on the court. Private clubs exist, but they are fre
quently either too expensive or are inaccessible to people
who live outside metropolitan areas.
New courts are, however, gradually appearing. Sports
Illustrated, a recent entrant into construction of racquetball
facilities, has announced plans for a complex outside Char
lotte. One private club serves Shelby, and consideration is
being given to building a tennis-racquetball club elsewhere
in Cleveland County. The proposed special events center for
Gardner-Webb could contain enough courts to make G-W
the hub of such activity in this area and lead to more exten
sive intramural programs and even to intercollegiate compe
tition.
But racquetball is hardly defined by equipment and fa
cilities alone. Its appeal rests in the activity itself. Two peo
ple, isolated io a small room (indeed, the similarity to a cell
of solitary confinement is not remote), test their reflexes,
strength, endurance, and courage. They become madmen
with waving hair that soon mats under rivers of sweat.
Their eyes bum fiercely, their chests heave, and they climb
walls and slide across the floor as if chased by devils. They
hit each other with the ball—hard. And sometimes with the
racquet. They collide with each other and claim hinders and
screens unashamedly. They suspect conspiracies.
Because many courts lack spectator areas, the competi
tors seem trapped in a time warp from which only the vic
tor will escape. Retdity ceases to exist, the body aches and
falters, and reason yields to instinct. These civilized men re
verse evolution as they scream, curse fate, and lunge with
oversized paws at a small black object sent by the gods to
confuse their senses and to deny them succor. They weep
that they were bom.
But, masochists edl, they revel in the punishment. Away
from society’s sweet, hypocritical smiles, her banality and
sterility, away from the structured, stultifying worlds of
business, science, and education, they covet confinement in
their little box with lights that glare down like evil eyes. It
is their purgatory, for here they are cleansed until, further
expiation required, they retum for yet another purging by
the gloating demons of racquetball.
Attention Joggers
The Intramural Program
is presently sponsoring a
marathon race for joggers
beginning at Gardner-Webb
and ending somewhere (not
yet pin-pointed) in the Ten
nessee Mountains, which is
a distance of 150 miles. The
race began on January 30,
1978, and will continue until
the above distance is com
pleted.
Entrants in the race in
clude male and female stu
dents, non-students, and fa
culty members; a winner
will be selected from each of
these groups, the winner
being the first to complete
150 miles. The progress of
each jogger is being plotted
on a map on the Intramural
Bulletin Board. Runners
must run pre-measured dis
tances and must report
these distances in mile, half-
mile, or quarter mile units
within 24 hours after com
pleting them. Forms for re
porting daily mileage may
be obtained from Dr.
Gardner and placed in a de
signated folder on the bulle
tin board. All entrants are
on the honor system in
terms of reporting mileage
figures.
It is still not too late to
sign up for this maraathon
for those who think they can
catch up. If anyone is in
terested, please go by or call
(Ext. 209) Dr. Gardner’s of
fice in Bost Gymnasium to
sign up.
Basketball
Championships
Held Here
The NAIA Nerf Basket
ball Championships are cur
rently being held at GWC.
This thrilling action packed
event takes place every
Wednesday night at 11:00,
before anxious spectators.
The games are held in the
spacious confines of room
115 Spangler.
The Pilot learned of these
exciting Nerf ball games
from one of the founders of
this event, Obbie Todd. (It
is also Obbie’s room where
the events are held). The
game played is that of
“Horse”, where players take
daring shots from all over
the room. The shots range
from simple lay-ups to com
plicated ricochet shots.
WGWG broadcasts the
results of the events as they
are held. Other dorms (parti
cularly female) frequently
call in thefr support of the
participants. To be eligible
to play, the hopeful appli
cants first come by Obbie’s
room and play one game to
qualify for that week. Out of
the several who qualify, 8 to
10 participants are then
chosen for conq)etition. The
competition wiU continue
the remaining Wednesday
nights of this semester. At
the end of the year, all pre
vious winners will compete
for the Grand Champion
ship. The winners after six
championship matches are
Russell Grady, Phil Strick
land, Chuck Burch, and Ted
Cox.