1994_09 The Daily Collegian September 1994

              Thursday, September 29, 1994
SPORTS
Page 11
Fresno State golfers tee it
up in 1994 with new look
Defending WAC
champs tee off new
season jvithout
three-fourths of last
years "Fearsome^
Foursome"
By George Smith
Call it the FSU football syn¬
drome.
' As the defending WAC
champion Bulldog golf, squad
prepares for the upcoming sea¬
son, they will have to do it with¬
out one of their top golfers from
last season, who left a year early
to turn pro, and one of their top
players this year, who is out
with an injury.
Sound familiar?
Gone from the team is Joe
Acosta, last year's WAC cham¬
pion, and Brian Smock, who are
now both working their way up
the professional ranks. Com¬
bine that with Junior John
Barrington's'torn anterior cru¬
ciate ligament that will keep him
in the clubhouse for the entire
fall season, and three of last
year-'s "Fearsome Foursome"
are suddenly missing in action.
Not to worry, said head coach
Mike Watney, who is now en¬
tering his 17th season as the
Fresno State golf coach.
"We ha ve players on this team
ready to contribute, and shoot
great scores for us," said Watriey.
"But in order to do so, they have
to work hard on their games."
Among the name? youTl read
about this year are Jon
Bertencourt, the new team
leader and No. one golfer; An¬
tonio Castelo, a native of Portu¬
gal who is a member of his
country's national team; Adam
Pohll, who as Coach Watney
"Abraham Lincoln
once said, If I had six
hours to chop down
a tree, I'd spend five
hours sharpening the
ax...We need to keep
sharpening the ax."
—Mike Watney
says is gaining confidence with
every tournament he plays in;
David Burroughs, a hard
worker who spent his entire
summer improving his game
("He looks better than ever,"
reports the coach); and local
product Mike McGuire, a
frosh transfer from Clovis
West who has stepped in
wanting to play.
Then there's Jon Barss-col-
lege golf's answer to John Daly.
Barss is the defending
NCAA, WAC and Lexus Golf
Classic long drive champion,
who can send a ball from the
North Gym to the press box at
Bulldog Stadium.
"I can hit it about 280-330
feet, and I'm still growing," said
Barss, who has forearms that
resemble a certain spinach-eat¬
ing sailor's." "But my goal is to
win a tournament."
That's all part of the team¬
work attitude everyone has on -
the 1994 version of the Bulldog
golf squad.
"We're capable of putting it
all together to win it (the WAC)
again," replies Barss, with a
positive expression on his face.
On the upcoming schedule
for the Bulldogs is the Univer¬
sity of Nevada Reno Wolfpack
Classic next Monday and Tues¬
day in Lake Tahoe, and FSU's
very own Lexus Golf Classic, in
which 18 schools will butt heads,
or clubs for that matter. It's the
first fall golf tournament in Clas-
sic history, which starts Thurs¬
day Oct. 27 at San Joaquin C.C
The team recently placed 11th
in the William H. Tucker Invita¬
tional in New Mexico.
"Abraham Lincoln once said.
If I had six hours to chop down a
tree, I'd spend five hours sharp¬
ening the ax," said Coach Watney,
whose teams have captured
seven of eight conference cham¬
pionships.
Albert Brooks   Brendan Fraser
He was praying
for a miracle.
What he got was
Steve Nebraska.
■
Maher, three other former FSIJ
players make U.S. Pan Am team
Collegian Sports Staff
Fresno State career bomerun
leader Kiin Maher was one of
four former Fresno State softball
players to be named to the 1995
By American Games Tuesday.
Martha Noffanger-O' Kelley,
JulieSmithandSne^yStokesalso*
were selected to the 18-player
team that will play in Argentina
March 2-21 next year.
On the same day as four of
Margie Wright's former players
received the good news, Wright
herself was selected to coach the
U.S. 18-and-under team that will
play in the 1995 Junior Worid
Championships in Illinois.
Wright, who wortedattheU.S.
team Level 3 tryout at Oklahoma
City last weekend, turned down
an offer to coach torlhe Pan Am
team, because of her obligations
Maher
to her Fresno State team.
year's freshmen twin-duo.tof
Randi and Laura Berg also did
not try out for the team because of
obligations to FSU. Both played
at the World Championships last
summer in Newfoundland!
Fresno State's four selections
were more than any college in the
nation. UCLA had three repre-
Grades, from Page 10
play as a midfielder, defender
and forward. Perhaps deserves
a bit more playing time. 7.0
Chris Davini- A defender
who has been playing in the
midfield very effectively; has
very good passing skills. 7.0.
T.I. MrCarty- Has notseen a
lot of playing time. He tehds to
play to the level of his opposing
player. Great touch. 6.5.
Chnrk Lively- Does not ap¬
pear to be in his top physical
shape. Has a very accurate left
foot. 6.5.
Ttyan Robson- He is very
strong and possesses a power¬
ful shot. Appears to be a bit
naive for college level soccer.
He should contribute more for
the team in the future. 6.0.
" Mark Foster- Finishes well,
passes with good touch, very
aggressive and fast. Can play
forward and midfield due to his
good marking skills. 8.5.
F.ricFarfan- Excellent sur-
McNair,tromPage10
Chattanoogas, Sam Houston
States and Alabama States that
appear on the Braves' schedule
that may keep McNair from
holding the Heisman aloft at
New York's Downtown Athletic
Club in December. Many have
already downplayed his outra¬
geous offensive outputs by
pointing out how they have
come against the less-than-over-
powering defenses of Division
I-AA.
In addition, the voters count
heavily on seeing potential
Heisman winners play their
games on live television, some¬
thing McNair won't appear on
too often. Just ask Trent Dilfer
about that problem. The Fresno
State quarterback had better
numbers than winner Charlie
Ward in almost every category
but live TV games, where Ward
beat Dilfer about five or six to
zero. But Dilfer ended up with
the last laugh, eventually be¬
coming the sixth pick in the NFL
pri». Very opportunistic; reads
his opponents very well. Has
scored six goals for the Bull¬
dogs so far. 8.0.
Bryan Tavlor- Very good for-
ward, very skilled, capable to
assist his teammates and score
goals. 8.5.
MiWp Matson- Every time he
enters the game he manages to
keep up the level ofplaying and
add to the speed up front 8.0.
laSOrUfiig- As a goalkeeper
portrayed great cooperation by
playing out of his position 7.0.
As a forward he has not yet had
a chance to play enough to have
his performances evaluated.
^WHanGuilkuvStill wait¬
ing for an opportunity.'
Thp Bulldogs- As a team,
the Bulldogs have performed
very well. Most of the play¬
ers have demonstrated great
team cooperation ar^d have
successfully* executed the
fundamentals. 9-0.
draft while Ward went un-cho-
sen. It Is likely that no matter
where McNair is in the Heisman
race, he will reap the same NFL
rewards as Dilfer.
It should be noted that
McNair put a damper on his
chances>to win the award when
he injured his shoulder last Sat¬
urday, but he is expected to play
- and play well - this week.
It would be great for college
football (and Division I-AA and
the SWAC in particular) if the
voters could break down and
cast their vote for McNair. But,
unfortunately, he has not got¬
ten enough hype, despite his
appearance on the cover of
Sports Illustrated, to get enough
attention.
After all, the award goes to
the best player in vol lege football,
and in a year when no one (in
Division I-A) has stood out
among the rest of the pack like
Ward did in '93. McNair has
been just that.
T    *
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