University of Georgia - Pandora Yearbook (Athens, GA)

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« in have ] -ev have j ■NirhMili« I rough (lis I 5 Coach Mike has found a cheerleader for the class of 1999. Smile for the Dawg fans. (ABOVE. Photo by Amy Stewart.) Trying to decide whether or not to ride through the student section, Coach Mike says. Sometime vou just gotta sav what the heck. (LEFT. Photo by Amy Stewart.) tiasespfr J rf ; ' 1! -- ■ .»y» i,a » . zatMMM .. COACH MIKE 21

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One Of UGA ' s Most Active Alumni Coach Mike signals Touchdown for the Bullpups as Much Frix looks on (RIGHT. Photo by Paul Detwiler.) A former standout offensive line- man for Georgia, . tilic Castronis now serves the University in a vari- ety of capacities. (RIGHT. Photo courtesy of Athletic Department.) As cheerleading coach. Coach Mike is rarely caught off guard, but the VGA IV gels frisky, the cheerleadrs are always at his side. (BELOW.) I I IS an extraordinary person who can capture the admira- tion, respect, and love of so many people and return it with just as much force as he receives it. Mi- chael John Castronis, or more fami- liarly Coach Mike, is one of those few, and the Athens area has been supremely fortunate to receive the energies of such a caring and talent- ed man for close to 43 years. Over those years he has accumulated so many awards and honors in .so many areas, it is difficult to believe a sin- gle man could do so much — and do it well. From 1943-45 he was an All- SEC tackle for the Dawgs; then he accepted coachmg positions at Hart County, Hogansville. Winder, and 20 COA(V{ MIKh- Athens high schools; and for the past 2 decades he has undertaken a number of diverse positions right here on campus ranging from Geor- gia head frosh coach (1961). to assis- tant Dean of Men at Georgia (1964), to an instructor in the Health and P.K. Departments and Director of Intramurals. He also acted as the ad- visor of the UGA cheerleading squad. Coach Mike, a native of .Jackson- ville, Florida has not only been in- volved with the University, but has become well known throughout the community. He has been seen jog- ging around town, working as assis- tant director at the Athens YMCA camp and frequenting Women ' s P.E., yet he always seems to have time to .spend visiting with people. He married the former Miss Orlean York of Athens, and they have raised 3 children. In May of 1983 Athens decided to honor this mar- velous man by sponsoring a Coach Mike Day. In September of 1982, Coach Mike retired from the UGA faculty, but he continued his involvement with the Athletic Department through his concern for young people. He has said many times My most enjoyable activities in my 28 years in Georgia have involved working with young people. This statement has espe- cially held true at UGA. ■SP •

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Every year the fans come out in droves — not like the foot- ball crowd, but laid back, wearing shorts and suntan lotion. Athens anually welcomes the NCAA tennis championships to the Henry Field Stadium at the Univer- sity of Georgia. the home folks had plenty to cheer about as several Georgia play- ers participated in the tourney. Two of these Bulldogs were Allen Miller and Ola Malmqvist. the 1982 doubles runner up. The two teamed up once again in 1983 to bring home the dou- bles title. It was the first NCAA out- door tennis championship ever won by a Georgia player or team. The Dog ' s duo did not exactly breeze into this year ' s final. In fact, they were not even seeded. And, in the final two rounds, they defeated number one seed Roberto Saad and Paul Smith of Wilchita State and number two Ken Flach and Rebert Sequ.so of Southern Illinois — Ed- wardsville. Utah ' s Greg Holmes put together an incredible sting of 24 straight vic- tories en route to the singles cham- pionship. He finished the season with a record of 48-4, defeating Fre- drik Pahlett of Minnesota in the fin- als. In winning the title. Holmes was extended to three sets only once — that in the semi-finals when he de- feated David Pate of TCU. Pahlett defeated the highly touted Rodney Harmon of SMU in the other semi- final. While Utah and Georgia are not always mentioned in tennis circles, there always seems to be a team from California. In fact, only once in the last 24 years has a non-California team won the title — that coming in 1972 when Trimly won the cham- pionship. So, keeping in tradition, Stanford came away with the team title — their seventh. They defeated SMU 5-4, after taking a 4-2 lead in the singles matches. The biggest winner was once again the University of Georgia and the city of Athens. Even though the Dogs were not entered in team play, the University hosted the 99th an- nual tourney for the seventh con- secutive year. Coach Dan Magill ' s program is recognized as one of the best in the nation and community support is lead by tennis buffs such as Kenny Rogers. With the great success of the last seven years, the NCAA was sure to be back in the classis city with a classic tennis tournament for 1984. i i1