The Optimist (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 71, No. 26, Ed. 1, Tuesday, December 6, 1983 Page: 7 of 8
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Optiralittuesday december6 1983
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Kniffen wins
two times in
tournament
PyD0U0.FCnGU&0N
tn(rmural Sports Editor
ACU'8 tennis sensation Judy Kniffen
advanced to the round of 16's before
falling to No. 5 Lisa Sassano from
Trinity College 7-5 6-3 in the In-
tercollegiate Tennis Coaches'
Association tournament in San Antonio.
Tins JTCA tournament featured 100 of
the top tennis players in the Southwest.
"One of tilings this tournament told
me was that we have one of the best
players in the Southwest right here at
ACU" said coach Allen Tappe.
Kniffcn's performance in the tour-
ment brings her fall record to 13-2
th her only losses coming to Sassano
d Tops' Christian University's No. 1
players. She has defeated players from
TCU. Texas Tech Rice Baylor and
Texas AfcM.
The Junior from Tyler opened the
tournament with a smashing 6-2 6-0
victory ever Laura llama the No. 1
player from Texas A&M. Kniffen
played with Haww at Tyler Junior
College and Tappe said the match was
a good mental victory for Kniffen.
"She took control of the match early
and destroyed her" said Tappe.
After rain delayed the tournament
faiiffen whipped Susan Rudd from
Wrce 8-3 6-3. "Judy did not play her
best tennis by far" said Tappe. "The
score indicated her superiority."
Tappe said the rain was bad for
everyone and Kniffen had to play
Sassano not too long after her victory
over Rudd.
After leading 4-3 in the first set
Sassano charged back to win the set 7-
5. She won the next set 6-3. Tappe said
"Judy played really well in spots and
should have won the match." One of
Sassano's advantages was that she was
exposed to tough competition more
n Kniffen he said
assano advanced to the semifinals
ore losing to SMU's Susan Holburt
7-5 6-3. Holburt wen the tournament
The tournament was represented by
Division I powers such as SMU Texas
Arkansas Loukiana St Texas AfcM
HouifeBRlceandTCUr
Tappe Mid the tournament served as
a qualifier for a national ITCA tour-
nament in Prove Utah. The top two
finishers plus the winner ef the doubles
competition advanced to that tour-
intent
First loss
Women regroup to split in tournament
ByKEttSMALLINQ
Optimist Stall
The ACU women's basketball team
lost its first same of the season to a
Mented Southern Methodist University
wm but it rebounded to defeat
Midwestern State at the Canyon Classic
n i... ...i a
real wetmetiu.
SMU took control of the game from
the opening tip-off and defeated the
Wildcats 82-59.
'We were not prepared for SMU at
all" said head coach Burl Me
lt Coy.'They were a very good team with
some real big kids."
m McCoy said they were not expecting
SMU to be as quick as they were. "They
h took command of the game from tho
h stdrt and we were forced toplay catch-
t'BaTv Jircjr puiycu tvuvytvaa vjvjciuic
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that we were not prepared lor" McCoy
said. "They were so big' they were
SMU lacks strong schedule; stays home
It is said when a man endures
fortified.
I think this same principle can
IbbH00 1s overemphasized to tne
Iwhedulo is overlooked.
As the 1963-84 bowl games draw near more and more com
plaints arise about Uie absence of
Douglas Looney or Sports Illustrated said the major reason was
that the Mustangs lack "crowd appeal'
That reason is the only logical defense on behalf of SMU.
Don't misunderstand me The Mustangs are my favorite team
in the Southwest Conference and I think they should have been
given more consideration.
But quite frankly their schedule was weak and I find it hard to
give a team with a 10-1 record much respect when it plays weak
schools.
Co nunmntn CIljfTT'a ntvknnntanamta ciRnstnla (m-iltert Cllfh
twowefhouses" as Louisville Grambling and tlw University of
I Texas-Arlington. Secondly the SWC was by far not one of the
strongest conferences this year and Texas was the only rated
team SMU had to play.
Granted SMU played toughly against Texas losing by a slim
margin of 15-12 But how can you determine if the Mustangs
played over Uteir heads or if Texas was a little off when SMU
doesn't have any other tough games by which to judge?
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Whdln' and dMlin
i
Wildcat senior forward Mike Davie fte the lane and
diahaa.off In tha VWdcafs noma gama against Waytend
Baptkt Davja a aantor from Wlanar La. laade the team
in scoring wKh'a 13.3 points per game average and
rebounding' at 7.7 per contest. The WHdcats returned
Sunday from a week-long road trip to California. ACU
blocking many of our shots."
McCoy said the Wildcats played in
spurts and looked good for a while and
then seemed to slip back into a slump.
Even with SMU's zone-press defense
they couldn't contain ACU'a leading
scorer Claudia Schleyer a sophomore
from Albuquerque N.M. who exploded
for 35 points.
"Claudia had a real good game"
McCoy said. "They coukln't contain her
and she found a way to beat all of their
big players."
"We thought we could handle their
zone press but we have a lot of work to
do" McCoy said. "Our problem was
that we did not haye a zone offense but
we do now"
McCoy said they learned a lot by
playing SMU "It was good for us to
play them" said McCoy. "If we can
learn from our mistakes then-we're
going to be better ball dub because of
many trials his character is
be applied to athletics if a team's
point wnere me aimcuity ot its
SMU from a major bowl game.
It."
The Wildcats came back in the
consolation round and defeated Mid-
western State 90-83 a game which
McCoy said was closer than it should
have been.
"We were still in shock from the SMU
game and didn't play as well as we
should have" said McCoy.
One reason for the poor performance
on Uie part of the Wildcats was because
of the injury to Deoraia Moore
sophomore physical education major
from Portervillo Calif.
"Deonna was having trouble with a
back injury she received at the Air
Force tournament and didn't have a
good game" said McCoy.
McCoy said tho Wildcats also looked
poor on defense and have a lot of work
to do.
"We got into foul trouble pretty early
and gave up way too many points in
I'm not saying a team should be judged by its schedule but you
surely can't determine the strength of a team by its record when
the schedule leaves a lot to be desired.
Take another look at UCLA a team that will take its 6-4-1 record
to Uie Rose Bowl. The Bruins opened Uie year by playing a rigid
pre-conference schedule that included Nebraska Georgia and
Brigham Young three of Uie Top 10 teams in the nation.
Who's to say that if SMU and UCLA's ore-conference schedules
were switched Uie Mustangs might be sitting at 7-4 and UCLA
would sport a healthy 9-M record?
I don't understand
why SMU
compeUtion like Uie other SWC schools which faced top-rated
teams such as Auburn Brigham Young and Miami.
A good record might get you places but more Umes man not it
was 1-2 on the road trip losing to Fresno State
University 74-55 and Pepperdlne University 85-79
However the Wildcats gained their first win over a
Divleon I team in 10 years as the defeated American
University 9183 in Saturday's consolation game.
(Photo by Cassy Weyandt)
free throws" McCoy sald."We had two
forwards in foul trouble early and had
three players in trouble towards the end
of game.
"I can't say I'm totally displeased
with our performance but we do have a
lot we have to work on" said McCoy
Schleyer paced the Wildcats with 33
points.
The Wildcats play Wayland Baptist in
Plainview Dec. 13.An earlier contest
with Wayland Baptist was cancelled
because the Wildcats were stranded in
Colorado because of snow.
"They have a very good team"
McCoy said. "We're going to have to
improve if we want to beat them.
"This will be a reiliy good contest for
us" said McCoy. "I'm looking forward
to playing them but I also want to
make-up the game that was cancelled."
Tho Wildcats have a 5-1 record going
into the game with Wayland Baptist
Fastbreak
doug ferguson
doesn't try to schedule toufiher
ACU wins one
on West Coast
ByimtJPOUTTOM
Sport Editor
Five days In sunny California didn't
Improve the Wilcat's season standings.
However Mike Martin's bunch brought
home a little respect for ACU basket-
ball along with an impressive win over
an NCAA Division I opponent
"When we went to California we set
some goals as a team" Martin said.
"One oour first goals was to gain some
respectfor ACU and ACU basketball."
Gain respect they did.
The Wildcats shot a dismal 45.8
percent from the field and were beaten
74-55 by Fresno State University
Tuesdey night. The team then
regrouped to prepare for the Pep-
perthne C'tseic in Malibu Friday and
Saturday.
"It was a great environment for us to
be in with the sellout crowds and the
pressure of playing that kind of talent"
Martin saR "A lot of times you are
scared by the name Pepperdine or
Fresno or UCLA Instead of breaking the
team down into Individuals. We tried to
do that against Pepperdine."
Breaking the game down into mat-
chups proved to be a plus for the
Wildcats and except for the final five
minutes of the first half the game could
have been the fourth victory for ACU
rather than an 85-79 defeat
"We made a bunch of unforced
errors" Martin said. "We had a bad
five minutes but in the second half we
were hitting on all five cylinders and
really moving the ball."
ACU shot 40.6 from the field in the
first half but rallied by shooting a
blistering 22 of 33 in the second half to
outscore Pepperdine 50-42. The Wild-
cats went to the locker room down by 14
points.
ACU fought to within four at 81-77
with 2;31 remaining in the game and
then the war began said Martin.
"There was a lot of contact going on i
in the last couple of minutes" Martin
said. "It was like the officials were just
going to let the strongest team win."
James Wright a junior college
transfer forward from Dallas and Ian
Hyslop a junior center from Lubbock
had outstanding performances for ACU
as they pumped In 18 points each. Mike
Davis a senior forward from WLsner
La. added 15 and sophomore guard
Ryant Greene from Piano scored 10.
Dewayne Poke led the Waves in
scoring with 21 thanks to a who-cares
slam as time ran out Tho Wildcats
record dropped to 2-3. However ACU
won a mental battle in the defeat.
"Wo knew we could have won and we
were sad because we lost" Martin said.
"Wo also knew we had been beaten and
just hadn't given it away but we gained
a lot of respect from everybody there "
Martin said the loss to Pepperdine
was as uplifting as it was sombering.
"We found out we can be a really great
ball club" Martin said. "With a lot of
hard work some time and effort this
can be an excellent team."
The Wildcats regrouped Saturday to
face American University in the con-
solation game. American had lost to
Hofstra University 77-C9 the night
before. "We knew if we could beat
American then our first goal would
have been realized" said Martin.
The lead clanged hands three times
in the first eight minutes. Wright drove
the basket for two points and an 18-17
ACU lead with 11 :40 left In the first half .
ACU never trailed again as Davis
paced them with an awesome 25 points
on 11 of 15 field goals and threc-for-four
free throw shooting. Greene also had
his best night of the season by adding 22
points on 10-of-13 field goal shooting and
won't help you become a stronger team. Let's switch from sports
and focus on Uie University of Oklahoma basketball team. -' . J
The Sooners spent most of their pre-conference games on such-''
big-Ume schools as St. Mary's of San Antonio Rider College of rir.
New Jersey and our own beloved Abilene Christian. . '
Then they took their 21-8 record to the NCAA tournament and
got whipped thoroughly in Uie first round.
To bring this closer to home my hat goes off tp coach Mike:.4
MarUn. In Martin's first year at ACU Uie Wildcats faced Wichita L.
State who was then rated No. 3 in Uie nation ;' -
Last year ACU played Oklahoma another Top 20 team. ThoAvv
Cats also justreturneu from a road trip in which Uiey played
Fresno State Pepperdine and American University three1
Division I schools ACU will play Oral Roberts Jan. 5. j"
Next year MarUn has already scheduled a' home game with
Pepperdine and road games with Iowa State and Kansas State. He
said lie's sUll talking with Auburn and the University of Alabama-
Birmingham. uh
MarUn states Uiat his reason for playing such big schools is to i '
prep re Ills team for conference. A strong schedule will fortify
team better than if it played Ea3t Central Wembley of Nova ScoUa ' '
and Gopher Valley School of Mining. n
Before a team can complain that jt doesn't gej Uie respect itV "
deserves it might want to look twice at its Schedule before it lauds
the record.
. 'J
- i&u
"ill)
-3.
V".
-y'0
two for three from the line
tt
"It was a good shooting night for" us (
but we got whipped on the boards and '!
didn't shoot very well at the line"- m
Martin said. Tho Cots were 13 of 25 for
52 percent from the line and were out
rebounded 43-25 by the Eagles j
"However our intensity level and our ;
effort was solid all week" Martin said. t ' '
"We had played a powerful team at'L ;
Fresno but had played a lot better thanVf '
we did last year ogainst OU." Thcrf '
Wildcats were embarrassed 110-61 ln
Norman last December ")!
"I think Umj 19-pbint loss to Fresno
really helped us prepare for Uie Pep- ;
perdinc tournament"-Martin said J;
"The whole week was a very profitable ; '
experience for us "
The coach said he believed the.;;
Wildcats learned a lot about thef;;;
character ot the 1963-84 squad fretty;;;
their experiences in California. "It '''
helped us improve ourselves" Martin ' '
said. "The best thing about it is that in ; ' . '
two of those three games on the West.j ' '
Coast we were In It in the last minute.' i
and even won one" ' J. !
Of the three teams the Wildcats faced . ; ;
in the western trip Fresno State was J
ranked 17th in Uie NCAA Division I Top! ;
20 at the time of the game Pepperdine ;
was beaten by national champion North !
Carolina State in the second round of )j I
the 1983 NCAA playoffs and American ; . !
defeated Division I powerhouse $
Georgetown University last spring. -fi '
Martin said the Wildcats havq .
scheduled the Division I schools to help
prepare them for possible post-season
play in 1984 "We planned Ukj tough
schedule because you have to win on the
road to be a power" Martin said. "If
we can play well against three types of
ball clubs then we will be better-
prepared for the teams In our league." :
ACU's next action will be Saturday' . ;
night in Portales against Eastern New'
Mexico. The Cats face Wayland Bnptkr
College in Plainview Dec. 13 and Sul
Rosa State University in Alpine Dec. 16. '
ACU will stay on the road until Jan. 10
when they return to Moody Coliseum to
face Eastern New Mexico University
The Wildcat have four games during
the Christmas holidays including a trim
to Tulsa Okla. where they will face
Division I powerhouse' Oral Roberts-.
University Jan. 5
"We plan to dominate our league this
year" Martin said "and to do that we
have to win on tho road." c
ACU will begin the Lone Star Con- 'f
ference schedule in Abilene Jan. 14 "v
against defending LSC champion 'u-
Stephen F Austin University. The Cats -'.
are picked fourth in the conference in' "'
two pre-season polls. - "
ACU (79) Davis 7-15 M 15; Wright
8-14 2-3 18; Hyslop 7-11 4-5 18; Greene
5-6 0-0 10; Robinsqn 4-7 OO 8; Shear-
mire 2-4 0-0 4 Siddcrs 0-1 0-0 0; Green
2-5 2-a 6; TOTALS 35-9-79
Pepperdine (85) -Polee 10-12 1-421;.
Anger 5-8 4-10 14; McCollum 4-14 4-4
12; Wilson 2-2 4-4.8; Gondrezick 9-11 h
3 19; Korfas 2-4 5-5 9; White 0-2 0-fl 0;
Prenatt 1-2 04) 2; TOTALS 33-19-85
TV
T
V
ACU (91) Davis 11-15 3-4 25;
Wright 7-8 0-1 14; Hyslop 4-5 1-3 9'
Greene 10-13 2-3 22; Robinson 44 1-2 9;
Shearmlre 3-7 3-4 9; Sidders 0-1 00 0;
Green 0-2 1-6 1; Anderson M 2-2 2J-
TOTALS 39-13-91
American (83) -- Wade 4-6 3-4 11'
Aunon 15-23 1t3 31; Hopkins 1-3 0-0 2f
Nesmith 7-15 1-2 15; Samonsky 3-9 4-8'
10 Witting (H) 00 0; Ross 2-6 1-2 2;
Brown 0-1 2-2 2. Springer 0-1 0-0 )';
li
st
h
Lutz3-3 1-27. TOTALS 114-83
-at.
n
Jan. 2
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The Optimist (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 71, No. 26, Ed. 1, Tuesday, December 6, 1983, newspaper, December 6, 1983; Abilene, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth96097/m1/7/: accessed May 2, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Abilene Christian University Library.