FACES IN THE CROWD

Mrs. Dorothy Cheney, a 47-year-old mother of three from Santa Monica, Calif., won the National Hard Court Senior Women's tennis title, her sixth straight win in the tournament. She beat Mrs. Mary Prentiss of San Bernardino, Calif. in the finals 6-0, 6-1.

Gary Rieser, 17, following in the fancy footsteps of fellow St. Louis tennis stars Earl Buchholz Jr. and Chuck McKinley, won the national junior indoor tennis crown. After 5 hours and 15 minutes and 13 match points, the second-seeded Rieser beat Karl Hedrick.

Gerry Ballasi, outside right for the St. Louis University soccer squad, led the Billikens to their third NCAA title in four years with a 4-3 win over Maryland. He scored twice in the first quarter, again in the fourth and, with a fine corner kick, set up the winning goal.

Tony Gilbert, 130-pound quarterback for the Kentucky School for the Deaf, ran for 634 yards in 62 tries and led his team to a perfect season. In six games the Little Colonels out-scored their opponents 133-0, giving up only 45 yards passing and another 514 rushing.

Rowena Gurner, 31, who announced she "wanted to see the country," made a 3,942-mile bicycle tour that took her from Manhattan to San Francisco. The 5-foot-1 New Yorker followed a roundabout route, going via Chicago, Las Vegas and Los Angeles.

Larry Henry, University of North Carolina sophomore, won the Atlantic Coast Conference cross-country championship, covering 4.1 miles in a record 20:43.6. His strategy: practice in heavy woodsman's boots, then race barefoot in competition.

SIX PHOTOS