USD Magazine, Spring 1999

• Men's and women's cross country teams and the golf team also feature all-WCC athletes. Dozens of swimmers and divers have won individual titles, and the team took the Pacific Collegiate Swimming Conference championship in 1996-97. And coaches and athletes predict programs will continue to strengthen with eventual improvements. "Every year, we're a top-20 team," says volleyball coach Sue Snyder, whose team will move from the gym to the new pavilion. "And there are other sports at USD that are in the same situation. We have a gorgeous campus and buildings but lack the athletic facilities. These facilities can help us build a sense of tradition." That sense of tradition was what enticed Dylan Ching, a star receiver on the Torero football team. Like many USD athletes, Ching was one of the best at his position in his home state and had scholarship offers from several Division I schools. Yet Ching turned down offers from his hometown school, the University of Hawaii, as well as Montana and St. Mary's, to attend USD without the benefit of an athletics scholarship. "I guess I made my first visit on a great day," says Ching with a laugh. "The sun was out, the weather was great, people were out and friendly and the campus was close to the beach. Compared to the other situations I was looking at, well, there was no comparison. I figured, football is football." Rudy Rodriguez, the No. 1 player and captain on the men's tennis team, starred at College of the Desert, a com– munity college near Palm Springs, before coming to USD. He says the choice was a natural. "I just felt at home here right away," says Rodriguez, a Guadalajara, Mexico, native. "And I think that's probably one of the most important things as an athlete when you're picking a school." Soccer player O'Brien, who plans on sign– ing with the Revolution after graduation in May, says athletes at USD foremost strive for balance in their lives. "I think there are a lot of other considerations when athletes think about coming to USD," says O'Brien. "There are a lot of things you take into account besides the playing field. There's the academic side of things, the setting and just how you feel about the place." ACADEMICS, TRADITIO·N ENTICE PLAYERS

• Under legendary coach John Cunningham, the baseball pro– gram produced several major league players and managers, including John Wathan, who managed the Kansas City Royals in the late 1980s. Current coach Rich Hill is guiding a talented squad that boasts several players who could be selected in the June amateur draft. • In 1990, the football team joined the Division I-AA Pioneer Football League and competes with four other schools that, like USD, do not offer scholarships. Despite the lack of such a recruiting staple, former Torero star and current head coach Kevin McGarry '79, '85 regularly produces a squad that boasts all-league stars.

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