University of South Carolina Libraries
USC Schedule • Volleyball at Clemson, 7 p.m. Tuesday . Women’s soccer vs. Furman, Thursday ; < Monday, September 27,1999 Carolina loses more than game Petty sidelined with knee injury during 17-0 defeat; USC defense stifling again by Stephen Hawkins Associated Press Starkvile, MlSS. - Mississippi State is 4 0 for the first time since 1965. Lou Holtz is 04 for the first time ever. Ashley Cooper returned an intercep tion 52 yards for a score and Wayne Mad kin had to scramble out of trouble for Mis sissippi State’s only offensive touchdown as the 23id-ranked Bulldogs beat South Car olina 17-0 in their Southeastern Confer ence opener Saturday night. Even though the Gamecocks (04,0-2 SEC) outgained Mississippi State 296 yards to 181, they are still oh-for-Lou and had their losing streak extended to 14 games. Holtz is in his 28th season as a coach, having ended a two-season hiatus from the field when he took on the challenge of re viving the South Carolina program. So far, it’s been a frustrating venture. Mississippi State had just 102 yards in the first half, but led 10-0 after Cooper intercepted a tipped pass and raced 52 yards for a touchdown with just 21 seconds left. Phil Petty, sacked for a 9-yard loss on the previous play, was under pressure again when his overthrown ball tipped off the hands of his receiver. Cooper grabbed the ball inches off the ground, gained his bal ance and raced down the sideline almost untouched. The Gamecocks opened the second half with a 15-play possession that took nearly eight minutes. But they come up empty, after driving 61 yards to the Mississippi State 19, when Derek Whtson was stopped for a 2-yard loss on fourth down. The Gamecocks have scored just one touchdown this season. It was their second shutout, the first a 10-0 season-opening loss to North Carolina State. Mississippi State, whose SEC West em Division title last year was its first league football championship since 1941, has al lowed just 28 points this season. The Bulldogs went ahead 17-0 late in the third quarter when Madkin, scrambling away from pressure on third-and-18, found Kelvin Love in the end zone for a 27 yard touchdown. South Carolina defend er Kevin House misjudged the ball, and missed a chance to at least knock the ball down when he stepped forward a couple of steps - and Love made the catch unde fended. On the final play of the third quarter, South Carolina lost Petty to an injured left : knee. The extent of the injury wasn’t known, but the starting quarterback was visibly in pain and unable to put weight on the in jured leg. Reserve Kyle Crabb had a 20-yard com pletion on his first play, but his second pass was tipped at the line and intercepted by Barrin Simpson. South Carolina squandered its best chance to score on its second possession of the game. After Antione Nesmith was stuffed for no gain on third down at the Missis sippi State 2, the Gamecocks turned down the chance to attempt a game-tying field goal. Petty, who had completed his only two passes on the drive for 37 yards, was sacked on fourth down by Alvin McKinley. The Gamecocks got just three first downs the rest of the first half, two com ing on the drive ended by Cooper’s inter ception return. Mississippi State led 3-0 after Scott Wfestefield’s 43-yard field goal less than five minutes into the game. With its loss, USC now has the longest current losing streak among Division I-A teams. Kent, which had a 16-game skid coming into Saturday, won 41-27 over Bowl ing Green. i_-___I Sean Rayford photo editor Quarterback Phil Petty, left, hands off to running back Antione Nesmith earlier this season. The Gamecocks had their chances Saturday night in Starkville, Miss., but lost their 14th straight game, 17-0. Volleyball sweeps weekend despite losing Moore by David Cloninger Assistant Sports Editor The South Carolina volleyball team got off to a good start this weekend, beginning its South eastern Conference schedule with victories over Kentucky and Tennessee. USC (64) faced the Lady Wildcats on Fri day night, needing a victory to get off to a good start. Game 1 began with Kentucky taking an early lead, but USC clawed its way back to a 14 12 lead. Ultimately, the ‘Cats proved to be too strong for the Gamecocks, winning 16-14. Game 2 saw a complete turnaround for USC’s offense, as the Gamecocks jumped out to a 10 2 lead. Sophomore Liz Price, getting a rare start, served six straight points to lead the Gamecocks. Also, junior Mandy Quarterman came off the bench to collect three crucial kills. USC won the game, 15-8, hitting at a .500 clip. The Gamecocks weren’t fortunate all around, though; senior All-SEC performer Crystal Moore collapsed with an ankle injury during the game. Moore, who sat out the last quarter of the 1998 season with a knee injury, didn’t play the rest of the weekend and is doubtful for USC’s next match Game 3 saw USC capitalize on several Ken tucky mistakes but unable to put away the ‘Cats. Carolina served match point three times before finally winning the game, 15-11. Game 4 wasn’t as close as the 15-8 final sound ed. Kentucky could only muster a .078 hitting percentage to USC’s .212, pushing the Game cocks to the victory and a match win. The loss dropped Kentucky to 7-5 on the sea son. “I’m really proud of how the team played tonight,” USC coach Kim Christopher said. “To play so well without two of our teammates is unbelievable.” Besides Moore, sophomore co-captain Cal ly Plummer sat out the match. Plummer, both ered by a shoulder injury for the first three games of the season, aggravated the injury in Carolina’s last match. Team officials wouldn’t comment on Plummer’s status for the rest of the season. The Gamecocks’ Sam Alban and Bema Dwyer had 12 and 16 kills, respectively, and Quarter man’s performance ranked among the best of her career. The Tennessee Lady Volunteers came to Co lumbia on Sunday to try to improve on their 6 6 record, but came away empty thanks to a strong performance from USC. Taking a hint from Kentucky, the Vols took advantage of Plummer and Moore’s absences by continuously blasting the ball between USC’s de pleted defense. Led by All-SEC performer Ari ana Wilson, the Lady Vols jumped to an 8-2 lead before USC woke up. However, it was too little, too late for the Gamecocks, who dropped Game 1,15-13. USC, led by five players with double-digit kill totals, hit .240 for the match and swept the Lady Vols back to Knoxville. Senior Danika Tay lor had 12 kills, Quarterman had another fine per formance with 10, sophomore Milica Perovic had a team-high 15 and Dwyer and Alban both had 12. Game 2 saw USC take an eight-point lead and never look back in winning, 15-9. Dwyer, on track to make the All-SEC freshman team, collected several of her 22 digs as Tennessee pounded the ball at USC’s smaller players. USC won Game 3 thanks to a yellow card presented to Lady Vols coach Rob Patrick, which caused him to limit his giving instructions to his team. USC freshman setter Megan Hosp helped drive Carolina to the 15-9 win with 12 of her 48 assists for the match. Game 4 was all USC, as the Gamecocks cap italized on a .125 hitting percentage from Ten nessee and won, 15-2. UT’s Patrick received an other yellow card during the match. Tennessee dropped to 6-7 (1-1 SEC), while USC improved to 84 (2-0 SEC). Carolina’s next match is Tuesday night at Clemson University. The match with the Lady Tigers was postponed two weeks ago becuase of Hurricane Floyd, but USC is ready to travel to the hostile confines of Jervey Gymnasium to face the Tigers before going to Arkansas and LSU over the weekend. USC has won three of the past four match es with Clemson. The game will be broadcast live on Sports Radio 1400 AM. Sf.an Rayford photo editor Middle blocker Bema Dwyer had a combined 28 kills over the weekend against Kentucky and Tennessee. National League Eastern Division W L Pet GB L10 Str Atlanta 99 57 .635 - 8-2 W-7 New York 92 64 .592 8 3-7 L-6 Philadelphia 74 82 .475 25 6-4 W-3 Montreal 64 92 .410 35 3-7 L-4 Florida 62 93 .400 36 5-5 W-l ' Central Division Houston 94 62 .603 - 4-6 L-l Cincinnati 92 63 .594 1.5 6-4 W-3 Pittsburgh 75 79 .487 18 5-5 L-3 St. Louis 72 82 .468 21 4-6 L-3 Milwaukee 70 84 .455 23.5 6-4 W-l Chicago 64 91 .413 29.5 5-5 W-4 West Division Arizona-x 94 60 .610 - 7-3 W-4 San Francisco 83 72 .535 11.5 3-7 L-3 San Diego 73 82 .471 21.5 5-5 W-l Los Angeles 73 82 .471 21.5 6-4 L-l Colorado 69 86 .445 25.5 4-6 L-l x-clinched division title Note: New York and Cincinnati are tied in the wild-card race. American league Eastern Division W L Pet GB L10 Str New York 94 60 .610 - 8-2 L-l Boston 89 65 .578 5 7-3 W-l Toronto 79 76 .510 15.5 2-8 L-2 Baltimore 76 78 .494 18 8-2 W-l3 Tampa Bay 66 89 .426 28.5 4-6 W-l Central Division Cleveland-x 94 61 .606 - 5-5 W-2 Chicago 69 85 .448 24.5 5-5 W-l Minnesota 63 90 .412 30 4-6 L-l Detroit 63 91 .409 30.5 3-7 W-l Kansas City 62 93 .400 32 5-5 L-l West Division Texas 91 63 .591 - 6-4 W-2 Oakland 84 71 .542 7.5 4-6 L-3 Seattle 76 78 .494 15 5-5 L-l Anaheim 65 90 .419 26.5 5-5 W-l x-clinched division title Note: Boston leads Oakland by 5 1-2 games in the wild-card race. i WEEKEND S I OP HEWS • Ryder Cup: U.S. over comes largest deficit in history to take back Cup • NFL: Suprise! 1998 division winners Broncos, Jets, Falcons all drop to 0-3 • Georgia offensive line coach Pat Watson, 56, dies of heart attack shortly after team’s win over central Florida • Braves, Diamondbacks clinch respective divisions • Kenya’s Teala Loroupe sets women’s marathon record in Berlin run Jared Kelowitz At Least I’m Not From Jersey Proud to be American ne weekend out of the year, every two years, I am proud to be an American. For these three special days, I put my doubt in the American justice system, my dif ference in opinion concerning foreign policy and my mistrust of government officials all to the side and instead put my faith in 13 of my countrymen. Who are these admirable beings, you might ask? No, they’re not mem bers of the cleigy, they’re not politi cians and they certainly aren’t anyone in the University of South Carolina Athletics Department. They are the 12 members of the U.S. Ryder Cup team and its captain. This year, the chosen 13 includ ed David Duval, Tom Lehman, Jim Furyk, Payne Stewart, Jeff Maggert, Hal Sutton, Justin Leonard, Steve Pate, Phil Mickelson, Davis Love IH, Mark O’Meara, Tiger Wbods and captain Ben Crenshaw. The 1999 U.S. squad is a microcosm of our country itself. It has the young, old, white, minority, blue collar, white collar, shy and outspo ken. For this one weekend, though, the differences in age, color, economic background and personality are all negated. The only thing that matters is that all of them have blood that runs red. white and blue. Two of the past three Ryder Cups have been captured by the European team, leaving myself and a number of other red-blooded patriots broken hearted Alter the first two days of com petition this year, I thought I was go ing to have to drown some sorrows in a bottle again on Sunday. But the United States overcame the greatest deficit in Ryder Cup history to snatch the 17-inch golden chalice back from the Europeans. After 16 matches Friday and Sat urday, the United States trailed team Europe, 10-6. Before yesterday, the greatest deficit ever overcome in the final day of the tournament was two points. So it’s fair to say the American patrons were rightfully pessimistic. In order to gain control of the cup, the United States needed 8 1 -2 points in the 12 singles matches on Sunday. Perhaps the only person who believed it could be done was Ben Crenshaw, the captain. “I’m a big believer in fate,” he warned Saturday evening, pointing his finger and winking. “I’ve got a good feeling about this.” If you’re still reading this col umn and didn’t turn the page once you found out it was about golf, most like ly you’re asking yourself, “How can this dork get so excited over a golf match ?” Wfell, OK. Give me a chance to de fend myself. First of all, this is not just agolf match, It’s us vs. them - the Unit ed States vs. the Europeans. Do you think it was a coincidence that the United States selected The Country Club at Brookline, Mass., as the site for the 1999 Ryder Cup? Of course not. What site to better give the AmpriranQ hnmp fiplH uHvantaorp than the original place where American dominance began? Massachusetts is where the Revolutionary Whr started. That war was the first time our coun try took what was rightfully ours. This year’s Ryder Cup was just a milder attempt to do that again. It was a modern-day Boston Tea Party. The only difference was that instead of a mob shouting, “No taxation without representation,” they were shouting, “I am Tiger Woods.” Just because the Europeans are bet ter chefs, artists, playwrights and soc cer players doesn’t mean they’re bet ter at everything. One thing we will always have the upper hand in is golf. Yeah, you could argue and say that Eu rope is where the game was invent ed, but pizza was invented in China, and I don’t see many China W)ks serv ing an eight-piece Sicilian. You want proof that the United States is the best? Just look at the Ry der Cup. Not at the score, but the ac tual competition itself. We’re so good, they need six countries to beat our one. The next thing you know, they’ll want Japan and Australia on their teams, too. We might not have invented golf, but we perfected the game, and that was proved once again Sunday.