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Tennis: Cajuns had special squad in 1977-78Bruce Brown, The Advertiser, Sept. 20, 2016
USL’s Paul Griffith, right, is congratulated by teammate Steve Hernandez after defeating Hernandez in the 1978 SLC singles title match (Photo: Advertiser file photo) Paul Griffth grabbed the headlines as the ace senior who played No. 1 and claimed the conference singles title. Bill Bryan was the sophomore grinder at Nos. 5 and 6, who never seemed to lose when victory was most crucial. Both are members of the UL Athletic Hall of Fame, remembered among other things for leading the USL Ragin’ Cajuns of 1978 to one of the most dominant tennis campaigns in school history. The 1977 Cajuns won the Southland Conference title at Lamar, snapping the Cardinals’ stranglehold on the crown, but that merely set the stage for the SLC tournament at Cajun Courts the following spring. On their home courts, the Cajuns flattened the opposition. Griffith outlasted teammate Steve Hernandez in a three-set singles final. Gus Orellana and Lafayette’s James Boustany then topped Griffith and Hernandez to capture the doubles crown. Opponents could head home, unless they wanted to stay to see how it was done. It was total domination for coach Jerry Simmons’ Cajuns, who finished 25-8. Griffith and Hernandez set the tone in singles at Nos. 1-2, each at 25-8, followed by No. 2-3 Orellana (25-11), No. 4 Boustany, No.5-6 Gary Bowles and Bryan, who was 89-35 for his career. Bryan and Bowles were the dependable No. 3 doubles pairing. Clearly, there was plenty of talent to spare. Members of that squad will be recognized during the upcoming John Breaux Cajun Tennis Classic Sept. 22-25 at the Culotta Tennis Center. That is fitting, since the original Rolex Classic was first staged in 1977 and helped to trigger a remarkable year. ‘Where we needed to be’ “That was a great way to start the senior year,” Griffith said. “It showed us where we needed to be. We had everything we needed to get better.” The inaugural Classic featured No. 2 Trinity, boasting Erick Iskersky, Ben McKown, Larry Gottfried and Tony Giammalva. SWC champion Texas had Steve Denton and Kevin Curren. Others included No. 4 SMU, No. 8 Miami, LSU, Michigan and Oklahoma. By the time the year was over, the Cajuns were beating SEC and ACC foes, Orellana had won a prestigious college event in Guadalajara, Mexico, and they left similar programs behind. “We beat a lot of good teams, like Alabama, Auburn and Florida State,” Bryan said. “All of us had a stack of rejection letters from other schools, so we took the court with a boulder on our shoulder. “We were just better than anyone in the Southland Conference. We could have competed in the NCAA Tournament, depending on the draw. We weren’t going to take out a Top 10 team, but we were solid top to bottom.” The season included a momentous home match against Nicholls, which came to town with a 44-match win streak and its football team along for raucous support, triggering a crowd of Cajun gridders in response. Not surprisingly, Bryan got into a pointed verbal battle with some NSU fans. Then he and Bowles clinched the win as the Cajuns swept doubles to turn a 2-4 deficit into a 5-4 win. Team togetherness can do that for you. Team chemistry “We definitely had better chemistry than the year before,” Griffith said. “We were all playing for somebody, something bigger than ourselves, so we were willing to work harder, longer. There was never any fighting on the team. “Also, all the athletes used to live together in Stokes Dorm, and all the teams supported each other.” “There was not one jerk on the team,” Bryan said. “We could count on each other. We knew everybody was going to try. That’s all you can ask.” Backups Tom Gillham, Karl Haydel and Brian Theriot were just as crucial to the mix as starters. In fact, Gillham’s mid-season traffic accident death galvanized the squad — especially Bryan. “Tom and I were best friends,” he said. “We roomed together. It was March 25, before Easter, and we were getting ready to play Northwestern of the Big Ten.” “It brought us all closer together,” said Griffith, who delivered the news to Bryan. “We debated whether to play, but we played and won,” Bryan said. To this day, such relationships remain important. Different pond Griffith led Cowley County (Kansas) Community College to back-to-back No. 7 rankings in junior college before joining the Cajuns. “I was 5 minutes away from signing with Kansas, when Jerry called,” said Griffith, who played football, basketball and tennis in high school. “I flew down on a Monday, and I just felt much better here. I could be a (big) fish in a different pond. “I matured late. It took awhile for me to grow into my feet and hit a serve. It was so great coming here.” Griffith and Theriot are related by marriage of their offspring. And, as with native Texan Bryan and his wife Glenda, Griffith and wife Sharon met in college. It adds up to special memories, especially of that 1978 campaign. “We had a huge advantage because we were never going to play in front of empty stands,” Bryan said. “People were giving up their time to see us, and we all appreciated it. “We knew we were going to get coverage from the newspaper. We were playing for the best promoter in history (Simmons). Your ego gets involved and you want to do well. And, I always loved pressure situations.” Athletic Network Footnote by Ed Dugas: To view photos of the tennis teams by year, please click on Photo Gallery, Tennis, Year you wish to view.
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