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The Daily Tar HeefThursday. March 28, 19855 sports askelttoall. tine goodL toad smd the 4wSnal!;-5ffs 9 Rmuck adjusts to her pain, puis the hurt on opponents By MARK DAVIS Staff Writer To Stephanie Rauch, Play With Pain is more than a motto. It's a way of life. For four years, Rauch has played tennis while suffering from chronic stress in her knees, a painful injury that has repeatedly threatened to end her tennis career. But Rauch, now a senior and fifth-ranked on the UNC wom en's tennis team, has fought back. "I can always count on Ste phanie," coach Kitty Harrison said. "She is a real hard worker under any circum stances. She's over come -a disability and is learning to live with it." Rauch's medical history makes a MASH unit seem like a more approp riate setting for her than the UNC campus. In 1981 she first began to experience pain in her knees. The doctors suspected torn cartilage, and several months later they performed surgery and removed some cartilage along with a cyst. After the recovery period, it wasn't long before Rauch began feeling pain again. Back she went to the doctor and this time underwent arthroscopic surgery, which seemed to do the trick. Unfortunately, her relief was short-lived. Soon after Rauch had begun playing in tournaments again, she fell and retore cartilage in her knee. She won another trip to the doctor's office for some more arthroscopic work, after which she was forced to take three months off last fall. "That was the very worst time for me," Rauch said. "It was extremely hard not being able to play. That was when I really started to get heavily into physical therapy, which I still do now." Rauch returned to action in December, her knees not quite 100 percent but as close as they were going to get. She played in a tournament during the Christmas holiday and rejoined the team in January. "The injury has made her work harder," teammate Sara Turner said. "I dont know how she does it. Playing with one bad knee is hard enough, but playing with two is extremely tough. She's playing a lot better now too." Rauch agreed with Turner's assess ment of her game. "Every facet of my game has improved," she said. "I'm really excited by the way things are happening. I'm becoming an all-court player. Everything is just sort of blending together. Getting to practice every day with all the great players on our team has helped me a lot." Rauch grew up in Gastonia. After playing in many state and national tournaments, she was ranked No. 1 in North Carolina in the 18-and-younger age group. Due to lack of a national ranking, however, she was not heavily recruited. She accepted a scholarship at N.C. State, where she spent two years at the No. 1 spot. After the coach who had recruited her left State, she decided to come to UNC a decision she hasn't regretted. "I knew Coach Harrison from before, and I was thrilled when she asked me to join the team," Rauch said. "UNC has a really first-rate athletic program. All the little things they do for you really make a difference." Tennis finally seems to be going right for Rauch. According to Harrison, her natural aggression is still there along with some fine groundstrokes. Though Rauch has had to revamp her game a little bit, the basic sfyle is still there. As for the future, Rauch said she would like to play professionally for a while. After a few years, she said, she plans to reassess the situation and decide whether or not to continue with tennis or enter the "real world," as she puts it. Support March of Dimes E2Z2i BIRTH DEFECTS FOUNDATION Fartytime means ,.......-., flowers for your lovely lady. 310 West Franklin St. 967-9394 ATMUETIIC WOULD WEEKEND CLEARANCE SALE Fantastic Savings Qn Athletic Footwear! AM SEaoeo Him Slock (Excluding Nike V-Series and Air Jordan) ldD-5 OFF Prices Start at $9.99 jck Star Tr Select GircDmp ff y2 OFF Nike o Puma Women On The Run We have the most complete selection of athletic shoes in Chapel Hill and Durham with over 200 styles to choose from! Sale Starts Friday 10:00 am University Square By FRANK KENNEDY Staff Writer The writer waited patiently, for some three years, to cover North Carolina basketball. He was not disappointed. Here are some reflections on the 1984-85 season, which certainly has to go down as one of the most inspiring in UNC's long and successful basketball history. The best thing about covering this team on a game-to-game basis was watching it grow and mature through out the season. This team underwent quite a metamorphosis. Among the highlights: Brad Daugh erty coming out of the shadow of Ail American Sam Perkins and establishing himself as the most consistent center in the league. Daugherty had trouble early in the year against men his size and smaller. In the first game against Virginia, for example, Cavalier center Olden Polynice had Daugherty for supper on the boards. But later, as the Tar Heels strengthened their inside game, Daugherty emerged as a floor leader, coming off the boards with power. And in the locker room, his growth in confidence was evident by how well he handled himself before the media. Certainly the biggest surprise of the season was the emergence of Warren Martin. Known as being clumsy and slow, Martin shocked everyone when he became a solid inside force. Perhaps his best game of the year was a 16-point, six-block effort at home against N.C. State. Martin was one of the conference leaders in shot blocking. But it's still possible to see Martin occassionally show signs of his old self for, as he admits, he's not the most graceful person in the world. Other positive notes: The recovery of Curtis Hunter from yet another injury. He went down and out against SMU in early January but bounced back fairly well in a reserve role. Hunter was difficult to interview early in the year but was much more open, much more confident in dealing with the media near the end of the season. Best and worst Best player coach: Steve Hale. Always good for a solid insight into game strategy; Hale is definitely the son of a coach. Best UNC game to watch: The 84 82 loss to SMU. This one was a classic. Up tempo, lead changes, physical. But this was also the game when UNC was forced to play four guards and Martin during most of the final 10 minutes against SMU's huge front line. The Tar Heels miraculously had a chance to send the game into OT. Best UNC performance: Tie: 75-70 win over LSU in Baton Rouge, La., and 84-50 win over Clemson in final home game. Worst UNC performance: Three-way tie: 77-63 win over Howard (UNC trailed much of the game), 52-50 loss at Clemson (UNC's consensus "rock bottom" game) and 56-44 loss to Villanova in season finale. So what if? So what if Michael Jordan had come back? That question is getting very old. But then, it was very old when the season began and Jordan was already in a Chicago Bulls uniform. What if? Well, folks, this might not have been the national championship season some people would tend to think. In fact, UNC may actually have done worse. Consider: With Jordan in the lineup, you have an entirely different offensive scheme. He would take the small forward role, with Daugherty at center and Joe Wolf at power forward. The backcourt would remain the same, but the big-man offense would not be at the heart of the attack. Martin would come in for Daugherty only if Daugh erty were tired or in foul trouble. Dave Popson, Hunter and Buzz Peterson would have rarely had more than cameo appearances on the court. The big problem would have been this: With Jordan gone, UNC was forced to develop an identity of its own, and in a hurry. Daugherty, Martin and Wolf were forced to show rapid improve ment and they did. However, Jordan's presence might have hindered the speed of that development. After all, the man is a magician with the ball, so why not give it to him when in doubt? That's all fine and dandy, but what about when he has an off-night shooting or gets in foul trouble? How well do the others, who have relied on him, adjust to his ineffectiveness? Is it not possible that the big guys might not have felt as much of a need to play at or above their potential if Jordan were there to take the ball and drive? UNC probably would have won as many games, lost about as many and finished its season about the same time. No, the only loss that really hurt the Tar Heels down the stretch was that of Hale, whose injury created a chem istry breakdown in the backcourt. He and Kenny Smith had developed a solid combo, and Peterson really didn't have enough time to take up completely the slack created by Hale's absence. This really isn't a time for anybody to weep over the Tar Heels demise on Sunday. A 27-9 record was a remar kable achievement for this team, which has no superstar for the first time in a long time. Personally, I hate the "wait until next year" mentality, but UNC does return eight of its top nine players and does have three of the nation's top 25 prep players coming in, with the possibility of snaring one of the nation's most dynamic offensive performers, Danny Ferry. Dont fret. Ml be another 25-win season and another run at the Final Four. 6 American Heart Association THE CUBAN MACHINE Since 1971 Spring Sale Save 020-0100 On All Trek & Centurion Models Lemons S299 S279 Accordo 82598229 104 W. Main St. 967-5l64 Across from Wendy's on C Busline ' : - OU-rfS :::::::: a1 -1 -ft i u M www rwm tissai f.t,iM in tlti7i.i,lil!' 4L. mm FRANKLIN COPY CENTilE HAS AND 3Vq sslf ssrvics copies ALL DAY LONG AND WE'RE OPEN 8-8 MON.-FRI. 11-5 ON SAT. 12-5 ON SUN. IN FRANKLIN CENTRE 929-4028 Special Musical Guests The Hawaiian Tropic Beauty Pageant and more Listen to 94Z for details. J juULru Short Sleeve $7.00 Long Sleeve $10.00 Sizes: S, M, L, ExL Colors: White, Yellow, Lt. Blue Proceeds benefit The Burn Center at NCMH in the purchase of a Hydro Therapy machine. T-Shirts sold at Johnny's T-Shirt 128 E. Franklin Street, Chapel Hill 942-1078 M-Fri 10 am-7 pm Saturday 10 am-6 pm For this sale only open Sunday 1 pm-6 pm
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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March 28, 1985, edition 1
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