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USC to By Bruce Ritchie Gamecock Staff Writer Looking to improve on their 4-1 record, Notre Dame's Fighting Irish will host the Gamecocks tomorrow at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. A sell-out crowd is expected to be on hand to Notre Dame running back Vegas F< star tailback George Rogers in Saturi ranked third in the nation in rushing, w over 135 yards per game. II7? vvuffien s holds ope By Tammy Kilpatrick Gamecock Staff Writnr USC's women's basketball team held the first open practice of the year on Wednesday, Oct. 24 after a week of preparing for the coming season. Coach Pam Parsons said the practices so far have pleased her, making her confident of the team's ability. "I think we have a variety of style we can play this year," she said. The strength of the team, hurt by the graduation of star center Katrina Anderson, also pleases Parsons. "We have some real quick guards, strong forwards and the bench is stronger than we've ever had as far as incoming freshmen." / > The team has been working in three-on-three situations, with guards playing in one group and the taller girls in the other. The purpose of the three-on-three is to allow the guards and taller girls to v, become accustomed to playing with each other before putting them in a team situation. The team also has been working on drills. The Lady Gamecocks, ranked 15th in the nation last season, will be ranked in pre-season polls, according to Parsons. "I think they'll rank us between 12th and 15th in the first poll," she said. The number of games they win HUH KflBH challenge witness the second meeting of the two schools. The first meeting was in 1976. In Ihof rtomo tho Irich nnmo til I11UV VI IV A* IUII away with a 13-6 win before a capacity crowd at Williams-Brice -Stadium. Notre Dame got on the scoreboard early in that game, but ^WKgiiSSr jrguson will square off against USC's day's game in South Bend. Rogers is hile Ferguson is rated fourth averaging basketball n nrncticf will determine their seasonal ranking. "With a lot of hard work and a little luck we will win 20 games, and we will be a top 10 team," Parsons said. She commented that at least seven teams on the schedule this year are in me lop 20, including Uld Dominion, Tennessee and North Carolina State. "I feel like our schedule is very challenging and if we can beat those teams or our share of them, we'll be very strong," Parsons said. niL ~ 1 it a. j . . a me* ^oai oi me team is to return to the regionals at the end of the season. "We were in the top four in regionals last year, and we'd like to return and participate in the tournament we'll host this year," Parsons said. Parsons said the team's inside strength centers around returning starters Cynthia Jacobs, Shelia Foster and Jean Walling. The number one guard position is between Rita Johnson and Cheryl Autry, with freshman Sharon Rivers coming off the bench to help, according to Parsons. She said the starting second guard is still in question with Suzanne Woolston, freshmen Evelyn Johnson and Becky Parker vying for the position. Parsons said two walk-ons, Cindy Rawl and Maryann Chibbaro, are on the squad this year. ; young Nc found their lead threatened by a p late USC drive. The Irish ended the Gamecocks' hopes for victory by j stopping the march with an endzone interception. Over the years, Notre Dame football has earned a reputation for being a winner. An overall record of 604-162-38 has been j compiled since 1887, and currently ranks as the best nationwide. The Irish have finished eleven seasons unbeaten and untied and have won ten national championships. Since 1970, they have competed in eight bowl games, winning six and losing two. The Hall of Fame has inducted 22 Notre Dame players and three coaches. Last season, the Irish finished with a Q-3-H rppnrH inrlnHina a Cotton Bowl victory over Houston. Notre Dame chalked up 23 points in the last eight minutes to come away with the 35-34 thriller. The 1978 season was the fifth at Notre p Dame for head coach Dan Devine. * In that span, the Irish have 5 recorded 35 wins and ten losses. > Success has continued into the i 1979 season for Notre Dame. c t\ :i 1 A 1 _ ' A 1 1 _ A _ uespue lasi weeK s seiuacK iu q Southern Cal, they have outscored t; their opponents 143-109. A 28-22 loss a to Purdue was the Irish's only 0 other defeat. Victories have come ^ over Michigan, Michigan State, t, Georgia Tech, and Air Force. d s Even though Southern Cal was able to defeat the Irish, they found that controlling tailback Vegas fc Ferguson was a difficult task. The ft 6-1, 194-pound Heisman candidate pj ran for 185 yards on 25 carries, a l. 7 1 ruchincx avoraflo Pupront .. NCAA figures rate Ferguson as rr averaging 135.3 yards a game, the w nation's fourth best. b Lady Gamecock forward Evelyn Johnsoi the team's first open practice on Wednesc the sister of Michigan State star Ervln "Mi "Cindy looks real promising and di they both work real hard," she r< said. * to Parsons plans to use the ver- te satility of the team to employ both 0f the fast break and a controlled offense in their playing style. Evelyn Johnson said she SI believes the team will do well this st season. "I think if we can get our tc >tre Dam USC-Notre t Date: October 27 Place: Notre Dame r? .1 n I jsouxn oenu Tickets: Sellout Series Record: Nc Season Records: US Nc Tickei Television: 1:30 I Colise In the backfield with Ferguson is enior nu:irfprh:u?k Rnstv I .i^rh "he 6-4,210-pounder has completed 4 percent of his passes for 831 ards. He will direct an offense hat features five seniors, inluding All-American candidate Mm Foley. The 6-5, 265-pound ackle received honorable mention wards in 1978. 44I like the looks of ur offense," Devine said, "mostly ecause there doesn't seem to be oo many problem areas. If we can eveloD some death in a eounlo of I ? 4_ ? I ? pots, I think we'll be fairly solid." Defensively, Notre Dame's 4-3 >rmation returns five starters om last year. Two of those top layers are linebacker Eddie eopold and Steve Cinchy at strong afety. Cinchy was expected to liss the '79 season because of a eak bone structure in his lower ack. Since returning, the Irish ^ ^Pkv i fires a pass in She is a freshman v lay. Johnson is outside shooting, agio" Johnson. jfense together we should have a ;al good team and it will be hard beat us. We have a real quick tam, with a lot of height and a lot shooters," she said. Johnson, the sister of Michigan tate star Ervin "Magic" Johnson, lid she does feel added pressure > perform well because of her e squad Dame facts i Stadium (59,075) , Ind. 2:30 p.m. CDT itre Dame leads 1 -0 j >C (5-1) ?tre Dame (4-2) :s available at $5 each local time at Carolina >um sophomore has intercepted one pass and made 40 tackles. The youth of the Notre Dame squad has led to some doubts about the team's strength. The starting line-up includes eight sophomores j and three freshmen, most of whom are on defense. "We lost 12 individuals who lettered all four years they played," conceded Devine. "I can understand why people will point to a lack of experience. That nucleus won three straight bowl games and a national championship and it won't be easy to replace." I Tomorrow's game will be broadcast by live closed circuit television at the Carolina Coliseum. Doors will open at 1:30 p.m., an hour before kick-off. General admission tickets are available for $5 each at the Pnl ICOI 1 PV\ KAV v/wuovum kJKJ* UilltC. hhhk k^;, . v':*' |j?ff w 'SS?? ^^^^^&w?BXcI^TAMICOCK ?ho could h"'" r?r?ii?n -r ? mm inii mro brother. "Everybody expects me to do as well as my brother did. There's no way I can be like my brother and lead USC to a AIAW championship. I'm just going to try to contribute as much as I can/' she said. The first game of the season is Nov. 28 at Georgia Southern.