mapac continues even after the season is over
ly Frank
’rint
ny Hinds Gumapac is a volley-
»r year round. When the sea-
wer in the winter, Gumapac
hand up her shoes but con-
claying in the United States
all Association.
apac was born 20 years ago in
but spent most of her growing
¡Redland. She spent her first
jh school years at Estacada
¡hool. She transferred to Ore-
y High School and graduated
¡from there.
¡apac said that she first became
edin volleyball her sophomore
len she and friends decided that
anted to go out for the volley
in. She not only made the team
¡started.
Ileyball didn't like me as well
edit because I was very uncoor-
I, It took a long time to learn
play volleyball,"Gumapac said.
USVBA is a league that teams
eked by sponsors. The team
i a name and then determines
aliber of play. They register
ither an A, B or AA division,
ng to their determination.
teams play tournaments from
¡through April and there is a
age limit.
the USVBA I saw my first
«¡petition because there were
Fin our division that were of
¡1 caliber and good enough to
i the Olympics," Gumapac said,
iyed the first time in the league
tier junior year in high school.
¡Ileyball in the USVBA is ex-
y important to me because it
me to play the sport I love
hound. Besides its been a lot
¡"Gumapac said.
fact volleyball in the USVBA
mportant that when I get a’ job
faI plan to work my schedule
KI can still play on the nights
the weekends."
Gumapac is a nursing student at the
College.
"I guess it all started in the seventh
grade when I decided for some reason,
that I wanted to be a nurse and an
elementary school teacher/' she said.
"I personally didn't think we were
that good. I remember coming home
from playing our matches and I'd say
to my husband, 'I just don't under
stand it. We won again.'
"I figured that I would go to school
for one year and become a Licensed
Practical Nurse (LPN) and then work
my way through four years and become
a teacher," Gumapac said.
"However, when I got to Clackamas
and discovered how much I really
liked nursing I decided not to go on.
for four more years to get my teach
ing degree," she said.
"Norsing has become so import-
and that if it wasn't for the fact that
Clackamas didn't offer a nursing pro
gram I simply wouldn't be here,"
Gumapac said.
The school's nursing program also
brought Gumapac in contact with the
Cougar volleyball team.
"Besides coming for nursing, the
volleyball coach, Connie Wilson, last
year saw me play in the USVBA and
offered me money to come to Clack
amas to play volleyball," she said.
■L ' 4
"I have only one goal left and that
is for the team to play well in nationals.
For me, it is to get on the national
all-star team. I feel my record will back
me on that," Gumapac said.
I
"My only disappointment is all the
injuries that I had and that the team
had this season. Otherwise, I enjoyed
it alot more than I did last year."
Gumapac envisions herself as the
leader and director of play on the court
and as a player who responds best in
in the toughest pressure situations.
"When I came back this year I could
immediately tell a difference. We had
a new coach, but the biggest difference
was that we had almost an entirely
different team and all the problems
were gone," Gumapac said.
"Because we had so few players,
we tended to bond together more and
because of this bond we set a goal of
reaching either the nationals or reg
ional," she said.
Teams generally play with 18 play
ers. Rival Mt. Hood has 30 players on
its team while Clackamas has only
eight.
"The biggest problem is that Clack
amas hasn't built up a name for them
selves in volleyball and as a result a
player with any skills at all won't come
to Clackamas because of this lack of
reputation," Gumapac said.
Gumapac wasshocked by the team's
performance this year.
cause we played better than we ever
had before. In the finals against Ricks
there was a real neat feeling. It was like
we were supposed to be there and that
there was no way in the world that we
were going to lose. We won it and we
had reached our goal," Gumapac said.
"I was very satisfied with the sea
son," Gumapac said. "I reached my
goals of learning how to serve a floater
(a serve that acts like a knuckleball be
cause it doesn't spin) and dive after
balls.
Tammy Hinds Gumapac
"I honestly didn't think we had a
chance in the world to take regionals
because I felt that we simply didn't
have a national caliber team. However,
we were better than all our competi
tion and won regionals. It still came
as a shock to me," Gumapac said.
"The reason we won regionals is be
"For some reason, people don't seem
to bother me; they only inspire me to
play better. I remember once that I
was playing at Portland State for some
USVBA tournament and there was a
really good turnout. I had one of the
best hitting nights because the crowd
got me all fired-up."
"After each good hit I looked into
the crowd to see if they thought it was
as good a hit as I thought it was,"
Gumapac said.
Gumapac has received awards that
include the Most Valuable JV Player
at Estacada High School, All-State ber
ths on Wilco League, Junior Region II
USVBA, and state and regional north
west junior college teams.
In 1974 she played on the USVBA
Region II State and Regional Champ
team. In 1976-77 she was a member of
the Canadian-American team. Guma
pac also had a chance to play for a pro
volleyball team, the Seattle Smashers,
but declined because it would void any
chances to compete in the Olympics.
Women hoopsters full of optimism
Like its volleyball predecessors
before it, Clackamas Community
College womens basketball team
faces a season full of doubts, but
there is always optimism to be
found.
"I'm very optimistic about our
chances this season because this
team has more depth, strength and
ability than previous Clackamas
teams and their eager winning at
titude will make our team tough to
beat," said second year head coach
Nancy Mikleton.
The doubts spring from the fact
that this year's squad has only one
returning player from last year's
8-8 team. Asa result, Mikleton has
had to start from the beginning and
rebuild with new players.
Photo by Brian Snook
hgh it might look like some new modern dance, actually
¡Simon and Debbie Leathers are participating in a scrimage
J the women's basketball practice last Tuesday. First outing
•“eagers ¡s this Monday, Dec. I2 at Salem, taking on Willamette
"Last year I had seven strong
players that I could always count
on, but the rest of the team I was
afraid to put in any condition,"
Mikleton said.
"This year we have a lot more
depth in the fact that the whole
team is so balanced in their talents
that it will be tough to pick a start
ing five," Mikleton said.
In addition to depth, Mikleton
feels that this year's team will have
more strength and ability. One of
the reasons for this prediction is
5-10 freshman Tammy White.
Already one of the best volley
ball players in the state, White's
height
plus
her considerable
strength should give the Cougars
one of the strongest center posi
tions in the league.
She is also
a fine shooter.
A couple of added strengths ap
peared in the form of walk-ons
Cindy Fitzpatrick and
Aaron
Gamby.
"Cindy and Aaron are really un
expected bonuses in the fact that
we didn-'t recruit them and they
just simply showed up for prac
tice one day," Mikleton said.
"However, as it turns out, they
are both fine players who have had
basketball experience and should
add a lot to our club," she said.
In addition, Mikleton is very*
hopeful about two former track
stars who haven't quite decided
yet whether they want to come out
yet--Barb Young and Vickey Pad
dick.
’ "We are not quite sure if they
are coming out, but they could add
a lot to our team because, unlike
many of the girls, both Barb and
Vicky are in very good shape as a
result of their track season and
should be ready to play almost im
mediately," Mikleton said.
"The return of Carol Razio will
also add a lot to the team both as
a player and because of her playing
experience from last year," she
said.
Mikleton sees two other assets
which will make this year's squad
tough to handle and that's scrappy
and aggressive play and their fired-
up attitude.
"This team is going to be pretty
scrappy on defense and they will
not be afraid to take chances, to
be somestimes aggressive on occa
sions and to get into foul trouble,
but that's the risk you take for
playing this game to always win,"
Mikleton said.
"Their fired-up, eager-to-win
attitude came as a result of the big
successes of the womens volley
ball and cross country teams doing
so well and now this team figures
that they can do the same thing,"
Mikelton said.
The teams first game is sched
uled for Monday, Dec. 12, when
they take on Willamette Univer
sity in a 7 p.m. game at Salem.
However, the team's first big
competition takes place on Dec.
29 and 30 when the Cougars take
part in the She-Devil Classic at
Lower Columbia Community Col
lege in Longview, Wash.
Scheduled to participate are
some Washington Community Col
leges and some of the big name
colleges from around the area.
■ "I look forward to that tourna
ment for several reasons. One is
the fact that tournament always
has good caliber of basketball and
should be a real test of our abil
ity," Mikelton said.
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