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10 ^ THE GAMECOCK ♦ Wednesday, September 4,2002 _ ^ m _ GAME SCHEDULE I \ m \ I I | I | L MEN’S SOCCER vs. N.C. State in Durham, N.C., 5 p.m. Friday CONTACT US I_I I WOMEN’S SOCCER at Charlotte, 7:30 p.m. Friday ■ I I i VOLLEYBALL vs. Arizona State, 7 p.m. Friday Story ideas? Questions? Comments? I \ #I'M I L 1 FOOTBALL at Virginia, 7:45 p.m. Saturday E-mail us at gamecocksports@hotmail.com B B B rV J VOLLEYBALL vs. Creighton, 10 a.m. Saturday Gamecocks survive season opener New Mexico St. gives Carolina all it can handle BY KYLE ALMOND THE GAMECOCK The last time the USC football team defeated New Mexico State, it was ecstatic. On Saturday, it was just relieved. The Gamecocks were chal lenged late in the game by a tough Aggies team, but behind a strong rushing attack led by new quar terback Corey Jenkins, USC held on to win its season opener 34-24 at Williams-Brice Stadium. “They played us even; they played every bit as well as we did,” USC head qpach Lou Holtz said of New Mexico State. “But we found a way to win. That was the important thing.” Carolina’s fans i._ j_ 11_ LU1 g UU vv 11 llic Holtz goalposts two years ago when the Gamecocks broke a 21-game losing streak with a 31-0 whipping of the Aggies. This time around, USC struggled to put away a team it was heavily favored to beat. The Gamecocks led by only three points going into the final quar ter. “We started off real slow tonight, but it’s the first game,” Jenkins said. Jenkins, a 26-year-old senior from Columbia, was making his first career start for USC. He rushed for a game-high 113 yards . but struggled throwing the ball. He didn’t complete a pass until midway through the second quar ter, and he finished 9-for-18 with 166 yards and'a touchdown. “Corey Jenkins missed some reads, but I thought he did a good job protecting the ball,” Holtz said. “He certainly competed very well.” Holtz was more concerned with the play of his defense, and rightfully so. USC allowed 419 to tal yards Saturday, including 212 rushing yards. Only once last sea son did the Gamecocks allow so many yards on the ground. “Unless we can be a good de fensive football team, we don’t have a chance,” Holtz said. “We aren’t going to outscore people. That’s not our nature.” The Aggies confused Carolina for most of the game with their option offense, and quarterback Buck Pierce finished 17-for-26 with 207 yards and a touchdown. For spur Rashad Faison, who was a part of USC’s 18th-ranked defense last season, it was frus trating to see New Mexico State have so much success offensive ly. The Gamecocks are starting seven new players on defense. “On defense, our inexperience showed a bit,” Faison said. “Everybody played OK, but we have to get better if we are going to win the SEC.” Holtz was especially troubled by the play of the secondary, which lost three starters to the NFL in the offseason. “We would not be very good mailmen, because we were in the wrong ZIP code with their re ceivers,” Holtz said. Everyone took a positive ap proach to the closer-than-expect ed result, however. “We have to go back and real ly look at this, study the film,” said Holtz, who moved into ninth place with Bo Schembechler on the NCAA ca reer wins list. “But we are 1-0, and we’ll go from here and see what happens.” Defensive tackle Langston Moore agreed. “The win gives us something to build on,” he said. “It is good to get a win under our belt. We had a' lot of new guys out there.” Carolina will play a nationally televised game this weekend at Virginia. The Gamecocks, who moved from 22nd to 19th in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ Poll, will take on the Cavaliers at 7:45 p.m. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecocksports@hotmail.com USC’s Andrew Pinnock (No. 4) rumbles down the sideline during the Gamecocks’ 34-24 win over New Mexico State on Saturday. The senior fullback rushed for 95 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries. GAME 1 The Carolina offensive line i Experienced group led by tackle . Travelle Wharton | (left) dominated the NMSU front seven and created plenty of holes for QB Corey Jenkins and FB Andrew Pinnock to run through. “We found a way to win. That was the important thing.” LOU HOLTZ use FOOTBALL HEAD COACH FB Daccus Turman's fourth-quarter touchdown run gave the Gamecocks a 26-17 lead over the Aggies, and Carolina never looked back, scoring another touchdown off an NMSU turnover to seal the win. 419 New Mexico State's total number of yards, an amount only surpassed twice last season by Gamecock opponents (Alabama and Florida). Club Corner Bodybuilding and Fitness The Bodybuilding and Fitness Club is sponsoring the USC Octathlon, an eight-sport fitness event that will be held Saturday, Oct. 19 from 1-5 p.m. at the Blatt P.E. Center. Entry is open to USC facul ty, staff and students. Entry forms are available in the front lobby of Blatt. You can also send an e-mail to Harrison Greenlaw at hg@sc.edu to request a form. The octathlon is comprised of a one-mile run, an obstacle course, the grip hang, the shoulder press, the leg press, a 400-yard swim, chin ups and flexibility events. Pictures of these challenges are shown un der the “Octathlon” link under the Bodybuilding and Fitness Club’s Web site, http://web.sa.sc.edu/bbf. Entry is $5. USC Octathlon T shirts are awarded to each entry completing the eight challenges. . Trophies are awarded to the best male and female athletes. Field Hockey The Field Hockey Club practices from 7 to 9 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays at Blatt Field E, which is under the walkway to Bates House. The club is open to men and women and will play its second sea son with the National Field Hockey League this fall. mountaineering ana Whitewater The Mountaineering and Whitewater Club meets every Monday at 7:30 p.m. in Gambrell Hall Room 151. This semester is planned to be filled with trips for rock climbing, whitewater rafting, backpacking, caving, kayaking, ca noeing, mountaineering and lots more. No experience is necessary, gear is provided, and transportation across the tri-state area is paid for. Dues are only $25 for the fall semester. Club Corner will run every Wednesday in The Gamecock. To be included, e-mail your information, in paragraph form, to gamecocksports@hotmail.com. The deadline for each issue is Monday at 2p.m. Jenkins flashes potential in first start for Carolina New quarterback struggled early but improved as game wore on BY MATT ROTHENBERG THE GAMECOCK It was a long awaited sight at Williams-Brice Stadium on Saturday night as Columbia native Corey Jenkins finally got his op portunity to start as quarterback for the Gamecocks. After spending a season as Phil Petty’s understudy, Jenkins provid ed even more flashes of hope for Carolina fans than in 2001. The coach ing staff, however, wanted to make sure he got a feel for the game first be fore they loosened the reins a little. “Skip (Holtz) said he wanted to run (Jenkins) and let him get the feel of the game before he had him throwing the ball,” head coach Lou Holtz said. “We were going to run him a lot, let him get hit and let him get involved in the game.” And run Jenkins did. With 113 yards, he collected nearly half of USC’s rushing total. Jenkins stressed that his rushing will be a major part of the Gamecocks’ of fensive attack this season. “It’s a part of the offense that, when we get out there, the quarter back’s going to run the ball and the running backs are going to run the bail,” Jenkins said. “It’s part of the game plan because that’s one of my weapons — my best weapon. Even though we’re a little short on quar terbacks, you’re not going to see me run out of bounds too often.” Jenkins didn’t complete his first pass until late in the first half, how ever. His nerves early on took a toll on his play, but after being on the field for a while, Jenkins began to settle down. “Your head’s kind of spinning a little bit, and I think it’s just be cause it’s the first game,” he said. “I came out in the second half and things just completely changed. I was relaxed and I was still excited, but at the same time, I completed some balls and completed a deep baU.” That long pass to receiver James Adkisson resulted in Jenkins’ first passing touchdown on the Division I level. He finished with 166 passing yards on 9-of-18 passing. ♦ JENKINS, SEE PAGE 11 PHOTO BY CANDI HAUGLUM/THE GAMECOCK Corey Jenkins made his much-anticipated debut at starting quarterback Saturday against New Mexico State and rushed for a game-high 113 yards. Volleyball falls short of tournament title BY ROBIN NURRE THE GAMECOCK Tradition on the volleyball court continued for the Gamecocks this weekend. Carolina opened the season with a successful weekend at the Coca-Cola/Michigan State Classic, winning a nair nf matrhpQ before losing to host Michigan State in the cham pionship game. Even with the loss, USC remains undefeated in sea son openers un- Christopher der head coach Kim Christopher. The Gamecocks opened up Friday by defeating Oakland in three games — 30-16, 31-29 and 30-20. The Gamecocks played two matches Saturday, downing Georgetown in three games be fore falling to the 15th-ranked Spartans in four games. Against Oakland, Cally Plummer led the team in kills with 13 followed closely by Sam Alban and Niece Curry, with 11 and 10 kills. A nice surprise for USC was the play of freshman Sarah Morgan, who began her career with nine kills and seven digs. “I was pleased with freshman Sarah Morgan’s play,” Christopher said. “She played tight in some spots, but overall she had a good showing.” The (gamecocks put their pow erful defense to work in the first match, shutting down the Golden Grizzlies and holding them to a .063 hitting percentage. In its second match of the tour nament, Carolina played a tough Hoyas team but came out with a decisive victory — 30-27,30-14,30 27. “I was worried about Georgetown,” Christopher said. “They are a very good team,” Morgan had another excellent showing, notching her first dou ble-double for USC, with 13 kills and 11 digs. Berna Dwyer was tops in hit ting percentage at .438, while fel low senior Megan Hosp dished out 36 assists and had 12 digs. “Megan Hosp has had two good matches, and Berna, who led the team in hitting percentage this morning, has been playing very well right now,” Christopher said Saturday. In its final match of the tour nament, USC was dealt its tough est hand. After coming out strong to win the first game, Carolina couldn’t overcome some errors and fell in four-20-30,31-29,33-31 and 34-32. The games seesawed back and forth, with numerous lead changes, but the Gamecocks just couldn’t finish it off. “I thought it was a great match,” Christopher said. “It re ally could have gone either way.” Carolina had a strong showing offensively and defensively, with four players recording double fig ures in kills. Plummer had 15 kills and 20 digs, while Morgan tallied 15 kills and 12 digs. “I thought it was a great match. It really could have gone either way.” KIM CHRISTOPHER USC VOLLEYBALL HEAD COACH. ON HER TEAM'S CLOSE LOSS TO NO. 15 MICHIGAN STATE Hosp also a great game, record ing a season-high 55 assists and 16 digs. Dwyer and Alban led all play ers in kills with 17 apiece. Several USC players were named to the All-Tournament team, including Hosp, Plummer and Dwyer. Carolina’s next action is at home this weekend at the Carolina Classic. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecocksports@hotmail.com