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PREDICTIONS
Injuries may hinder women's tennis
Continued from page 15
out just fine."
The final call: I don't believe that the
Quakers can build Rome in one day, but there
are many reasons to remain optimistic about
the current season and certainly the next few
years. Track and field may be relatively-new
to some of you, but each year brings new
success and this year should be no different.
Look for the aforementioned names to make
a splash in the ODAC standings, and for the
more talented first-years, like Stokes and
Skinner, NCAA appearances are not outside
the realm of possibility.
Men’s Tennis
Overview: Men's tennis, much like
lacrosse, is under the direction of a new head
coach. This year, David McCain takes over
the helm and has weaved together a strong
unit thanks in large part to his recruiting
effort.
The Quakers will be much deeper than in
years past, but will sorely miss the dynamic
duo of Alec Chase '10 and Will Mason-Deese
'10, who graduated from last year's squad.
Fresh Faces: Although they graduated
significant experience last season, fresh faces
have emerged and have been preparing to fill
the voids left by graduation. Tyler Merrier,
a six foot three first-year, has immediately
established himself as a contender for the
number one position. Transfer junior Clayton
Hamilton, who followed McCain from cross
town rival Greensboro College, looks the
favorite to hold down the number two spot.
They said it: "Most teams have good one,
two and three guys, but this year we have
real depth and are even solid into the fourth,
fifth and sixth positions," said Mercier.
The final call: (10-6; 5-4 ODAC)
The addition of Coach McCain should
begin to manifest itself early. Although the
Quakers haven't been totally out of the
ODAC picture in recent years, I expect the
experience of McCain to really show as
the season progresses, especially in ODAC
matches where the depth of this year's team
really shines through.
Women’s Tennis:
Overview: Just like the men's tennis team,
the women welcome McCain to coach this
spring. Although the coach is new, there is
no shortage of experience in terms of the
players. This year's squad returns five letter
winners from a season ago, including seniors
Nina Bollag and Liz Killion. The team's lone
first-year, Natalie Sutton, has entered the
mix in stride, advancing to her flight's finals
in the Fall ODAC Championships.
It's a Grind: Based on talent alone, the
Quakers look like a team with the potential
to do some serious damage in the ODAC this
season. However, every season comes with
its own set of challenges.
Some of this year's top talent is already on
the shelf with injuries, leaving Guilford in
some serious predicaments with the season
approaching. When everyone is healthy, the
lady Quakers can deliver knockout blows
with their experience and raw talent.
In addition to the seniors, watch for
sophomore Mackey Wesner and the first-
year phenom Natalie Sutton to make names
for themselves this season.
They said it: "I think if the girls can stay
healthy then they will have good individud
seasons, and as such, we will have a strong
season as a whole," said McCain.
The final call: (10-7; 5-5)
This is a tough one. I'd like to just go out
on a limb and call for some serious upsets
as the Quakers take the court this spring,
but injuries make everything more messy.
If the ladies can get healthy and maintain
throughout the year, then I wouldn't be at
all surprised to see them showing well in the
ODAC this season.
Teammates of the women's lacrosse team sprint down the field during a Tuesday afternoon practice.
SPORTS
Nation’s leading scorer
is an enigma
College basketball's leading scorer
is a Mormon wizard who plays for the
Brigham Young University Cougars. Few
people will see him play on this side of the
Rocky Mountains because the Cougars
only have one nationally-televised game
all season.
The only people who can watch junior
Jimmer Fredette, the point guard for
the Cougars, are grouped around the
DIRECTV-enabled sets at the bars in his
hometown of Glen Falls, N.Y.
Fredette exists only in short ESPN
clips in the rest of the country because
his BYU team is not in a major conference
despite ranking eighth in the Division I
polls, a ranking which is thanks mostly to
Fredette's 27.6 points per game average.
According to statistics on espn.com,
he also averages a respectable 4.2 assists
a game, which shows he is more than a
ball hog.
Jimmer Fredette is an iconic name. It is
easily remembered, and, in Utah, Jimmer
is a verb meaning complete domination.
His real first name is James, but his
mother gave him the nickname at birth.
He is not a physical specimen. He is
not exceedingly quick, and, at 6 foot 2, his
scoring mastery is all the more amazing
as he floats shots over players nearly a
foot taller than him.
He has 14 career games with more than
30 points, and all but one came away
from BYU's home court.
He has the freaky determination and
confidence of the all-time greats, such as
Michael Jordan.
In Sports Illustrated, Villanova Coach
Jay Wright said Jimmer is like Pete
Maravich in his ability to score by sheer
force of will, even when things are not
going so easily for him. In a win against
Wyoming on Feb. 2, his three-pointers
were not falling, but he still managed
to score 11 points before halftime on the
way to a game-high 26 points.
Many experts question his chances of
making it in the NBA. Despite ranking
number one in Sports Illustrated's list
of the top 15 senior prospects, they say
he does not play defense. His other
weakness is his aforementioned average
athletic ability.
Like the old wisdom goes, "You can't
teach height." Well, fierce determination
is something that can only be learned
through overcoming adversity, and
many more physically gifted athletes
than Fredette flamed out because they
didn't have the killer instinct to fight in
the trenches of the paint game-in and
game-out.
His brother, T.J., is a rapper, and
according to a recent article in "Sports
Illustrated", he is the main reason for
Jimmer's eerie resolve. T.J. is eight years
older, and he and his friends played
basketball with Jimmer since he was very
young.
They didn't hold back, so to score it
took grit and imagination.
Take the opportunity on Friday, Feb.
11 to see the country's leading scorer put
the ball in the hoop primarily by mental
toughness and strength of character.
)
V
QUIC
Compiled by Will Cloyd
two games
against
Piedmont
College.
Guilford
went I-1 during the series.
seniors
play along
side five
juniors on
the 2011
softball
team.
day left until
the men's
and women's
tennis teams
begin play
against
Winston-
Salem State.
consecu
tive games
lost
by the
Cleveland
Caveliers
to set
the NBA
record for
consecu
tive losses.