Page 2C-Thursday, September 6, 1979-The Michigan Daily
PITCHING KEY TO BLUE SUCCESS:
Softballers find
9
0
winning recipe
By LEE KATTERMAN
Making your first cake from scratch
can, at best, be a trying experience.
In softball, building a team from
scratch can be just as difficult.
Yet, after only two seasons, head
coach Gloria Soluk has blended
together some prize-winning ingredien-,
ts.
TWO YEARS ago, in the women's
softball team's - first season, Soluk
fielded one of the state's best batteries
she placed eleven freshwomen on the
squad. Five of them made significant
contributions during the Wolverines'
rather successful 21-9 campaign.
But with a schedule loaded with top-
flight tournaments, Soluk has a new
goal in mind for this coming season - a
state championship.
IN ADbITION to scheduling
doubleheaders for nearly every day of
the week during April, as the team did
last season, the Wolverine softballers
will play in three weekend tourneys.
"No matter how much you practice,
it takes game experience to build con-
fidence and overcome the mental
mistakes that hurt us so many times
last season," said Soluk.
Tentative plans have also been made
for a spring trip south. Since ten of last
season's first twelve games were
rained out, the opportunity to play out-
doors early will undoubtedly help the
players work out their winter kinks.
THE SPRING monsoons were ac-
tually a good omen for the Wolverines
in 1979 - Soluk's squad took eight of
their first ten contests. But Mother
Nature wasn't 100 per cent benevolent,
as rain forced the cancellation of a
doubleheader with highly-rated
Western Michigan.
Perhaps the Wolverines' progress
last season could be described in one
word - "Smoke". That's the nickname
fireballing pitcher Gardocki earned en
route to a team-leading 13-1 record.
Fortunately for Soluk, her hurling
ace has one year of eligibility
remaining. And Gardocki's return to
the lineup weighs heavily upon
Michigan's state championship hopes.
TO FURTHER beef up her mound
corps, the Blue mentor signed "the
number one pitcher in the state'} as her
top recruit. Barb Barcley of Fenton is
expected to add her talents to an
already fine staff. Sophomore Julie
Zyjewski, 5-6 last season, will complete
the starting rotation.
Soluk plans to shift around her ex-
perienced players. Debbie Hatch,
another sophomore, will likely move to
shortstop from the third base spot she
occupied last spring. As a leadoff hitter,
Hatch batted .343'and led the squad in
extra-base hits.
The softballers will waste no time in
getting organized for the spring cam-
paign. Soluk plans to have practice and
tryout sessions in the fall, and says
she'll have her squad selected before
the first snowflake falls.
In her mind, that's how long it will
take to blend some winning ingredients
together for a state title.
BUT RECR UITS MA Y SPEED DE VEL OPMENT
Growing pains affect linksters
Gardocki
in pitcher Theresa Gardocki and cat-
cher Sheryl Tominac.
"Gardocki and Tominac were keys to
(our first) season," said Soluk. "They
allowed us to go from no program to a
competitive one in just one season."
Last season, Soluk's recipe called for
a sprinkling of new talent. In response,
By M. J. SCHNEIDER
Among the athletic giants at
Michigan, there is a relative infant.
Overshadowed by some of the more
spectacular sports, such as football and
basketball, the women's golf program
struggles for recognition.
The lack of attention given the
linksters is partially explained by the
fact that the team has been in existence
for only three years. When compared to
the 100-year history of football at
Michigan, the time since the birth of the*
team seems very short, indeed.
ACCORDING TO Coach Tom Simon,
that comparative lack of notoriety wil
end with the upcoming fall campaign.
"We're going to go from a team that
just shows up, to a contending team,"
he said.
In his attempts to produce a winning
squad, Simon will be aided by four
returning players and two newcomers.
Linda Drillock, Robin Sabota, Elaine
Crosby and Alison Smith comprise the
list of linksters coming back to compete
in the fall.
MUCH OF Simon's hopes for a win-
ning team lie with the talents of a
freshwoman named Elaine Satyshur.
The Erie, Pennsylvania native boasts
two junior city championships, a vic-
Daily Photo
THE ECONOMIC THEORY of profit maximization applies well to the Mich-
igan women's track team, and especially to Debbie Williams (above).
Williams was the star of last year's financially constrained squad, taking
first in the javelin throw at both the Big Ten and AIAW Midwest Regional
championships. She'll return to compete for the Wolverines again next
spring.
Tra cksters'budget thin,
but talent grows thicker
By ELISA FRYE
Money is always a bottleneck in athletics-especially for minor sports.
And women's track is no exception.
Money, according to coach Red Simmons, is preventing Michigan from
getting the best recruits. "They have to want to come to the University first;
they'd get free rides anywhere else," he said.
AND MONEY may keep Michigan from getting the best track coach it
can after Simmons retires at the end of the year. "If they want to get fine
quality coaches, they have to come up with money," commented the
"father" of women's track at Michigan.
"I think they'll keep me as long as I'll stay. The pay doesn't mean
anything to me; I like the job and building up the team," Simmons added.
In spite of that lack of funds, Simmons has two things to look forward to
this season: a promising group of recruits, and a cross country team to work
with.
THE EXISTENCE of such a team, according to Simmons, means he can
now recruit distance runners more easily, but extra coaches and facilities
are not needed; there will be only traveling expenses.
Many of the recruits are local products. Joanna Bullard (hurdler) and
Suzanne Frederick (distance runner) hail from Ann Arbor's Pioneer and
Huron high schools, respectively. Branching farther out, Simmons has
signed hurdler Maureen Minor from Ortonville-Brandon high school,
Melanie Weaver from Mason County Central and sprinter Linda Kazinec
from Euclid, Ohio.
IN ADDITION, Simmons has the core of "an improved team" returning.
Included are discus throwers Penny Neer and Deb.Williams. Neer was third
in the Big Ten with a toss of 144-9, which broke a Michigan record. And
Williams, who specializes in the javelin, also set a new record with her 157-8
throw in the AIAW Nationals in East Lansing last June.
.
P, Aft
Simon
tory in the Junior Invitational ,held in
Washington, D.C., and a second-place
finish in Erie's women's city tour-
nament.
As a walk-on, Lisa Conney presents a
similarly impressive list of golfing
credentials. In 1976 and the year
previous, Conney won the Madison,
Wisconsin city golf tournament en route
to the 1976 women's state PGA junior
title.
With these credible statistics,
Satyshur and Conney are certain to
bring attention to the links this fall.
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