 

a

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madness;

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team. The squad. coached by Anna Wack, plays its iirst niatch oi the

season at 0skaioosa on Sept. H.

photo to, btuz surname

New tactics, rain
mark soccer start

byoacheheeiiter

For those not in attendance at
this past Wednesday’s con-
vocation, the prayer tor rain was
led by soccer team captain Mark
Schwartz. While preparing toi-
tomorrow's opening game at
Cornell, the team has sought divine
intervention to soiten their Con-
crelerhard practice field,

The unimpressive nature oi

Coe teams

top league

by Toni iireiibei-g

Which Midwest Conference
school was athletically the best last
year? According to league tigures
ior to men's sports, Coe College
had the top teams in 197575.
Grinnell ranked sixth, a large
margin behind the Kohawks.

The sports considered in the tally
were baseball, basketball, cross
country, tootball, goit, soccer,
swimming, tennis. track and
wrestling Ten points were
awarded tor a iirst place team,
nine tor a runnerrup and so on

Only eleven points separated the
top five schools, all of whom were
way ahead of the other five
Grinnell, one of five conference
colleges that did not gain at least
one firstrplace, scored highest oi
the secondrdivision finishers

Surprisingly, Cornell College
finished second in the standings
without winning a championship
Lake Forest College came in ninth
despite winning the soccer and
tennis titles.

Here are,iiie allsports stan-
dings-
Coe
Cornell
Lawrence

Knox at
Carleton om
Grinnell 51
Ripon 48V:
Monmouth 37‘/:
La ke Forest 35V:
Beloii 34

I ‘ / BIKE

B I 6 COMMERCIAL STPEE'I'

73V:
68V:
o8

recent practice scrimmages may
have Coach John Piitsch soon
seeking divine help. Attempts at
changing various players’
positions were unsuccessiul so
Piitsch has altered strategy in
order to receive satisfying results.

A 33371 arrangement is being

tested and the Rams from Mt,
Vernon, Ia will be the iirst guinea
pigs. Pete St, Thomas, Dave
Hoopes, and Jon Elhaum comprise
the forward line as this goes to
print. Denny Menomi, {resh irom a
year’s academic study in the
Orient, joins Wade Lee and Rich
Fendler on the halfback line, Schr
wartz is accompanied by Tim
Hopkins and Jon Higgins on the
fullback line, while Roy
Eicliengreen has drawn the allr
iield sweeper assignment. it is
hoped that Eiehengreen will apply
his speed and knowledge to all
points on the tield

Minding the goal will be Gary
Fi‘umkin, trimmed down and fresh
irom a summer oi semi-pro ex-
pericnee. From the goal position,
Frumkin will probably direct the
defense while centerrhalf Lee
directs the offense.

Rather than run and gun as in the
past. Pfitsch has drilled the team
in practice at playing control
soccer and at making short, clean
passes in order to set up shots, The
57 yearrold head of Pioneer
athletics indicated that it Could be
until the second or third game
before everything is put together

The team should get needed
inspiration irom memories oi the
final game of the 1975 campaign
when a loss to Cornell destroyed
Grinnell‘s piayoit hopes and from a
visit by last year's captain, John
Lom

There was, by the way, a good
omen late Wednesday night. it
started rainin- .

Conference experiments

New division set-up:
sign of help or hurt?

by Tom Areilherg

in an eiiort to save money, the
Midwest Conference has separated
into two divisions this season in
basketball and football. The move
may help to improve the league's
financial situation or it may show
that the conference does not have a
very bright future.

The schools are grouped so that
each is as close as possible
geographically to its divisional
rivals, thus cutting down on travel
expenses. But because inter-
divisional games are now optional,
some colleges are concerned :cut
certain teams will never play each
other, causing a breakdown oi
conierence unity.

Charles Jepsen, iormer league
president and iormer Grinnell
iaculty representative to the
conference. said, “For example,
Grinncll and Lawrence (who are in
opposite divisions) might drift so
far apart that they don't have a
relationship in any way, shape or
form. That’s not good,” He added
that though many people were
against the split, money shortages
forced them to accept it.

New divisions

The realignment places
Carleton, Coe, Cornell, Grinnell,
Knox and Monmouth in the
Western Division and Beloit,
University oi Chicago, Lake
Forest, Lawrence and Ripon in the
Eastern. Each team plays every
divisional opponent once, and can
complete its schedule by
challenging schools in‘ the other
division or schools outside of the
Midwest‘Conference, Grlniiel] has
chosen mostly the latter in
basketball and football

At the end of the season, there
will be interrdivisional playotis,
which will provide some mall'

Latimer
takes helm

by Toni iireiibcrg

“I've never coached anything in
my life.” Tom Latimer says, but
his first chance is this season as
head man of the women’s
volleyball team. Latiinci', Grin-
nell's Director of Recreational
Facilities and Services, must turn
around a team that won only one
game last year. t

“When we reiine our game, we
are going to be tough," he said, He
added, ”We’ve got some freshmen
who are going to make a heck oi a
difference on our club." The
newcomers are Ann Chasson and
Marilyn Curran, both of whom
have had volleyball experience
beiore coming to Grinneil. Other
key players are Sarah Bennett,
Gina Brandon. Robin Connally and
Mary Ann McBride,

There are it girls returning irom
last year among the 19 on the
squad Ten will play on the varsity
team and the rest will play a six-
game junior varsity schedule The
varsity will play three games at
home and seven on the road.

Because there is no established
conference for Women's volleyball.
liatimcr had to set up a schedule
liimseli. All oi the opponents are
laws schools, the iirst being
Central College today at 1'00 pm.
in the island gym,

Latimer is iamiliar With power
Volleyball, but admits that he
knows little about his squad’s
opponents. He said he will scout the
teams as they play Gi'inrlcll, with a
mind for the return matches that
will be played later in the season
with some oi the opposition,

datory links between the divisions.
in previous years, the league used
a seasonrlong, robin tournament,
The change means that none oi the
10 conference sports will be using
this traditional method in 1976-77.

The separation is an experiment
and will be examined later to see
not only it the advantages outweigh
the disadvantages, but if the for-
mat works at all, Jepsen and
Grinnell’s facility representative,
Pat Brenner, agreed that the
success oi the plan is not
guaranteed Brenner said she will
want to know exactly how much
money is saved and if the Pioneers
can iind good competition outside
of the conference.

Jepsen thinks the new
arrangement is a better way to
save money than playing iewer
games. He said a small schedule
would make it harder for Grinnell
to attract prospective student
athletes

Problems of unity

Still, the arrangement might
hurt conierence unity, Some
athletic personnel in the league
think that the new plan means
there are now two onierences
rather than two div ons, Unity
might be threatened also because,
according to Grinnell Director oi
Athletics John Ptltsch, athletic
personnel in iive schools are
dissatisiied with the setup Ptitsch
said some oi them had hinted at
pulling out oi the conierence. But
he doubts they would do it because

The Scarlet and Black—September 14], 1976—1). 8

there is no other conference they
would want to join.
_ Continued economic pressure
might make the conference‘s
situation even Worse. Brenneri
when asked if schools might have
to drop out of the league or it the
league might dissolve some .
replied, “That would be ,
disasterous scenario . . .That's not
inconceivable,” Jepsen said he
thought league dissolution was
possible, but not in the iorese 5‘1
future

Likes ﬂexibility

Pfitsch’s View of the new setup
represents a diiierent way oi
looking at the alignment. He
doubts it will help very much
economically, but likes the
ﬂexibility of scheduling several
games with the nonrdlvisional
opponents oi a college‘s choice. In
fact, the athletic director would
like to add several more schools to
the conference and form three or
four divisions.

Brenner summed up her view oi
the matter: “if you ask me
years from now ‘Will the Midwe
Conicreiice be operating?‘ 1 would
say yes, Is this going to change in
iire or six years7 That d nds
really on the big question: 5
going to happen lo\small, liberal
arts colleges? Is there gomg to be
some avenue oi tederal tunding,
whether it’s vouchers for students
or direct landing or what” it small,
liberal arts colleges don't get this
kind oi financial support, they're
going in be in trouble."

Sets race on campus

by Tim neCostcr

The 1975 Grinnell cross country
season kicks off tomorrow as the
Pioneers host runners irom cons
ierence toes Cornell and Coe. The
college campus will serve as the
course tor the fourrmile race as
Coach Ray Oberinillei- is hoping to
give the entire college community
a chance to see his team in action.
The race will begin at 11.00 a m, at
the northeast corneroithe outdoor
tennis courts.

Obermiller is uncertain about his
team's possibilities this tall His
main concern in the earlygoing
will be experience. Thirteen oi the
in runners currently training are
iirst-year runners, Only three
returning lettermen, sophomores
Bill Brown and Tim Caver and
junior Tim DeCoster. are on
Obermiller’s roster. Two other
members of last year's squad,
Steve MeKelvcy and Tim Poison,
are returning this season.

Six upperclassmen are training

tor the sport for the iirst time.
Brown, Justin Halpern, Todd
Scheuer, Gordon stacey, Adam
Walker, and Dave Wick will all
their iirst tast of compe
tomorrow morning. The star
treshmaii members oi the team
are Joe King, Brian Lee, Rich
Nayer, Seth Powers, Paul Reich.
Dave Rogers, and Bill Strang.

Obermiller's women‘s team
boasts more experience than his
men’s team, as seven oi the i0
runners are returning letter
women Freshmen Patricia Muller
and Aime Nassiit and junior
Adrienne Von Glatz are preparing
tor their tirst cross country so .
They will join returning ., .
terivinners Laurie August, Tet.
brady, Cathy James, Jenny r,
Chris Stidley, Margo Wessner,
Elaine Williams.

The women will compete in
tomorrow’s “race ‘round the
campus" along with the men.

Veteran cross country i-iinnei- Tim Caicr (third troni leit) leads
teammates tieit to i-igtitl Jim Stl'ickler. Todd Sciieiier, Phil Brown
and stove McKelvey nioiig part oi tomorrow‘s “race 'roniid the
campus" course. The meet begins at ii :00 am at the outdoor tennis

courts.

photo by civic bmtbzio

 

