Lees McRae College - Ontaroga Yearbook (Banner Elk, NC)

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!7f,y-Q Bobcat netters were guests of legendary Rod Lauer at a picnic on the site of the new Southern Cross Tennis Complex that Lauer is developing in Banner Elk. The fabulous Aussie, who was the master of the Grand Slam in pro tennis, hosted members of the Lees-McRae tennis team: Murat Erden, Ken Tucker, Richard Harris, Alberico Menozzi, Nikki Baker, Tabatha Farmer, and Tom Fehily. BOBCATS POST 29-4 RECORD-BEST IN A DECADE Head Tennis Coach Don Baker is probably a better prognosticator than he is a coach because he predicted before the season started that Anderson and North Green- ville College could easily win the national championship in the upcoming season. The Bobcats finished with one of ..i. their best seasons in years with a 29-4 overall record and 4 posted a 17-4 spring season. Their only four losses came at the hands of Anderson and North Greenville. Both teams were ranked in the top ten when the Bobcats met the Trojans and the Mounties, with Anderson prevailing, 6-3, A 9-0, and North Greenville winning both matches, 8-1. 'We M X , fared well against four-year institutions and other junior colleges but it's difficult to play back-to-back matches with 5 Er. 1 the nation's No. 4 and No. 6 ranked teams, Baker stated after disappointing losses to the two powerhouses. 'Ander- g son or North Greenville could easily win a national cham- pionship, Baker reiterated at mid-season. When the ' Y 5 4, teams met in the Regional Tournament, Anderson pre- 'xx' Q vailed over North Greenville for the championship and M Lees-McRae placed third. Anderson went on to win the . , national title in Tyler, Texas, and North Greenville finished fourth in the nation. 'Had Lees-McRae had the opportuni- f is If E . - . ty to go to the nationals this year, we would have definitely finished in the top ten, Baker stated. 'I think our region was well represented but only two teams from each region are allowed to participate. I felt this team was as good as the '83 team and maybe not as strong as the 1977 team but we would have made a good showing in the nationals. lt's unfortunate that we had to stay at home, Baker lament- ed. Tennis 111

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isa V i. ZQ. 1. I Nikki Baker hits an overhead during mixed doubles action in the Tim Weatherman Memorial Tournament. ln the background is Nikkis doubles partner, Murat Erden. Baker and Erden won the mixed doubles championship for two years in a row. N 'i 5 ' Er. 'id gl 1 ifwp , 2 , H 5 , D 'fi' -5 is R . - . H. it I --A--P Q '. , . Len Murphy poses with mixed doubles winners, Murat Erden and Nikki Baker, and runners-up, Betsy and Mike See, Elk River Club Pro. Freshman Nikki Baker was eliminated in the semi-finals of the Old Dominion Tennis Challenge Tournament in Marion, Virginia. The 32-draw women's open saw Baker meet teammate Tabatha Farmer in the second round of the tournament and Baker pre- vailed, 6-2, 6-0, to gain quarterfinals against April Dillow of Bris- tol, Baker split sets with Dillow and played a gruelling two hour and thirty-five minute match, surviving the second set to come back with a 6-4 win in the third. Baker had little rest before meeting defending champion and number one seed, Carol Sabolies, in the semi-finals. Sabolies defeated Baker, 3-1. In the men's division, Murat Erden advanced to the finals in division I singles to meet Scott Carpenter of George Mason University, while Richard Harris 110 Tennis Tom Fehily, left, won the mens open singles championship, defeating teammate Richard Harris. Trophies were presented by Avery County Park and Recreation Director, Len Murphy. w - ,-2. .-.. . -v--f ' f..-,-a-.1 -- . . , L -- , K it gg 1 1 , n ig , '-4' 'r 'J . V 'fp .h V 'tts ff ttii .. . g ' .. f H ' ,'s . ' 'l l 1 -' . f 5 5 'iii A ' ez- 7 I . 'f i', ,'-'W--'1k2f'? i'l -V T i' -. W . . , , . M 4 Q WC ' . i fyy 'S I s I yn . I . f ,,,, , V, fl V ti , .1 -se -QT., if-.ai The New and the Old. The finals of the Tim Weatherman Tennis Doubles Championships combined the new and the old at Lees-McRae College. Tom Fehily and Richard Harris lleftj, newcomers to the Lees- McRae tennis team, met Bobby Light and Roy Hudson. Light, former pro at Hilton Head and Hudson, pro at Sugar Mountain, played for Lees-McRae's 1977 team that went undefeated, 26-0, and placed eighth nationally in Scottsdale, Arizona, in the NJCAA Tournament. The past heroes, Light and Hudson, won the match over the present stars, Fehily and Harris, 6-4, 6-4. gained the finals of the division Il singles to meet teammate Ken Tucker. Tom Fehily defeated Ken Miller and met the number two seed in the tournament, Illa Altau, of Auburn. Fehily prevailed over the former Radford University star, 6-3, 6-2. Fehily then had to face teammate Erden in the semis which Erden won, 6-3, 6-3. Fehily gained the semi-finals by defeating former LSU player, Jim Trichel, 6-1, 6-0. Erden gained the semis with a 6-0, 6-3 win over East Tennessee's Mike Morrison. Erden lost in the finals to George Ma- son's Carpenter, 2-6, 6-4, 6-3. ln the Tim Weatherman Memorial Tournament Baker advanced to the finals with a semi-final victory over Emily Crain, 6-3, 6-3. Betty Main of Marion captured the women's singles championship over Ba- ker in the finals, 5-2, 6-3. In the men's division Bobcat netter Tom Fehily from Dublin, Ireland defeated Richard Harris, a freshman from Montreal, Canada, in the finals in the sixth Annual Tim Weatherman Open, 6-1, 6-1. It was the sixth straight year that a Lees-McRae netter captured the Avery Open singles title. Fehily eliminated Elk River Club pro Mike See, 6-2, 3-0 default in the second set, on his way to the finals against Harris. ln the doubles championship Fehily and Harris ad- vanced to the finals to meet Bobby Light and Roy Hudson, former LM players. Fehily and Harris were no match for the former stars who captured straight set finals victory, 6-4, 6-4. ln the mixed doubles Baker combined with Erden to capture the finals over Elk River pro Mike See and his wife, Betsy, 3-6, 6-1, 6-3, for the championship. Richard Harris and Tabatha Farmer won a quarter- final match over John Carter and Emily Crain, 6-0, 6-2, but ran into teammates Erden and Baker in the semis, losing two hard-fought sets, 7-5, 7-5. See and See defeated Betty Main and Len Murphy in the simi- flnals, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, to meet Erden and Baker who were the defending mixed doubles champions.

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Y t V 1 mm. . I n s K . gc a re .MAA Y . 1986 Tennis Team II-rl: Leo Miranda, Tim Smith, Murat Erden, Alberico Menozzi, Tom Fehily, Richard Harris. : l X . o T -Q 4 .. ,, 4 A '86 BOBCATS REACH MILESTO E AS LEES-MCRAE This season marked the 400th victory for a Bobcat net team since 1961. In 25 years the Bobcats have amassed 400 victories, suffered 126 losses for a winning percentage of .760. The Bobcats notched their 400th victory against Brevard, 9-0. Lees-McRae tennis teams have captured the WCJCC championship four times and have been runners- up twelve times. They have won the Region X champion- ship three times and have been runners-up eleven times. Their national rankings have included 16th in 1966, 8th in 1977, 23rd in 1981, 9th in 1983, 22nd in 1984, and 24th in 1985. They have won numerous tournaments and have been named the outstanding team in Western North Caro- lina twice and have received the Pepsi Cola Award at the Mountaineer Amateur Athletic Club in 1966, in 1977, and in 1983. 1 rr 1 S in . . f , frgf, 1. I . 1 ,,, 4 4 Qi, 4, . A, if 3,4 ff, Y- 3 .3 . ft? o p sl iff, H, 1 il W 1 f ' fy, g ,,, , .4 , I if ' . A A ,A - ' ' a ti ' 'fi UT ff ' 112 Tennis av T54Yiflt2i'I'Ti1Z'Zii13f3i5 - A 3 n'5Aa'nX'1 Sith ZF C ds - .4 1. , rs an e.'.'.,M.-, , -Q ,...,-.5093 4 5 252-IffI'Z+1S' -2-:vi - . 5 e'5e. -i ',',e'h-I .155-, x50 .1 . ' gf.2. -if'+'42,+'i 'fs Q nee vs ::t'if'f':'f':'f3':'5 ggi? 3, QQ 'fffosl L'.','::J-ib'o'fe5 '.:iK:.'.Q:'a:o:0:O:o,:1 0 C' r - g 4 0 0 Q e 4- 2... , i 6 as diiyvsidwgp 45 ,.nR9V A, Q4 .Xv,3,.r.snXsQ t veg - Q Eiiiztr.-we 2 -:+:':-:+:-:few g 3,':Q0. fc'4'J!l-'Qt -- A s Q f ' l 't 3 ., . .. 4, -ma I- ' 's-.t..,J+1 new . MURAT ERDEN