Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Incoming spell suo swimmir senior writer ACHIM HUNT In bringing South Carolina's pro gram to prominence in the SEC, the South Carolina coaches have learned that the key is recruiting. Finding a way to win in a conference that sets the national example for excellence in so many sports takes a serious commitment, one that begins by bringing in quality athletes capable, of competing at such a high level. At USC, the women's swimming and diving program is answering that challenge, pushing its student-athletes to new heights in the pool while helping spur their academic and social development outside of the arena. In her fourth year at the helm, Women's Swimming head coach Beth Harrell has turned the South Carolina program around, bringing new energy, a new commitment and new goals. Top swimming prospects from around the country are no longer just taking notice of South Carolina; they are now coming here to swim in large numbers. The evidence? This year Har rell will usher in an outstanding class of 12 freshmen swimmers. "I'm very excited," Harrell said. "At this point we think it's very important to not only have that experienced athlete but also to have a corps of girls who we can develop. We were looking for swimmers who were hungry, who wanted to work to swim faster in college, who had enthusiasm and a commitment to the sport. This is a big recruiting class that we feel will carry the true characteristics of our program." With third-year assistant coach John Pellizzari at her side, and the leadership of seniors like Ashley Murray, Bridgette Smith and Michelle Suozzi, the prospects for success in the toughest swimming conference in the nation look better than ever for Harrell's swimmers. "Last year we finished 22nd in the nation so our goal this year is to be in the top 20," Harrell said. "We think that's an extremely feasible goal, and we'll be disappointed if we're not there. The level and quality of athletes that are now looking at our program, and coming through to visit our program is much higher than when I first came here, so we are watching our program change and grow stronger." As Harrell's program begins the process of developing these 12 new swimmers, much of that strength in 1998-99 will undoubtedly come from, senior sprint freestyle swimmer Ashley Murray. A team leader who is focused on high goals, last season Murray fell just short of her best times that she achieved as a sophomore. Harrell said Murray will return to that focus that she exhibited her sophomore year because she knows that this year is her last chance to show the SEC that she is one of the best sprinters in the conference. "Ashley is a leader," Harrell said. "She swam lifetime best times her sophomore year." m i wugn scneauie u SWIMMING continued from page IB stroke last year at the SEC Championships. Sophomore Jamie White will add depth in the 200 meter backstroke, and sophomore Micah Silik will be competitive in the 100 meter and 200 meter backstroke. Andrew Cho will also help out in the 200 backstroke during the dual meet season. At the SEC Championships the corps of Waldenmayer, White and Silik will anchor the team in all of the backstroke events. "Our 200 backstroke is deep," Switzer said. "We think that we have several swimmers who should contend for some SEC honors. In fact, all four of our 200 backstrokers have that kind of potential, which is very exciting for us." Butterfly This event will be the deepest and strongest for the Gamecock's again in, 1998-99. Deep in both the sprint and 200-meter events, the butterfly should score big points for the Gamecocks during the season and in the SEC Championships. Julio Aparecido will look to build-en his stellar freshman campaign^Aparecido, a former walk-on, scorea in the 100- and 200-meter butterfly in the conference meet. Helping Aparecido in the butterfly events will be the brothers from British Columbia, Andrew and Jimmy Cho. < Andy is in the top 5 all-time in the 200- i i i u (l.. 1 t: '- il. meter uutteriiy, turn tmiimy is 111 me Top 3 all-time in the 200 butterfly. Jimmy also swims in the 100-meter but- 1 terfly. i Also expected to make an immedi- i ate impact on the men's swimming and j diving program will be incoming fresh- ( V* T j, returni cess for v tg team ii With SEC powers like Auburn, Georgia and Alabama lurking at the end of a challenging regular-season schedule, Harrell's squad will rely on that kind of leadership as they look to develop their talent, achieve their goals and qualify even more swimmers for this year's NCAA Championship. Freestyle Six of Harrell's new recruits will participate in one or more of the freestyle events, with three freshmen swimmers, -Till MqtxtIov VonocGQ Frortmcpmn/* on/1 XAU TT j V (U1VODU A lUUViOVUTIV (UlVi Kristin Handkammer, partiripating in the higher scoring sprint-freestyle events. The Gamecocks return senior Ashley Murray, the team's top middle distance freestyler, and juniors Kristi Krause and Tequesse Grubbs. Harrell said she looks for these returning swimmers to challenge the younger talent. "Kristie is a very enthusiastic and great leader who works veiy hard," Harrell said. "She's very coachable. She has what it takes to break through to the big league." Versatility among the younger sprint swimmers, Patricia Donovan, Kristin Handkammer, Vanessa Franciscovic and Jill Hawley, should give Gamecock fans something to look forward to this season as well, as coaches Harrell and Pellizzari work to establish consistency in this crucial scoring event. Butterfly Lauren Donahue should excel in the butterfly for USC this season. Donahue will be the best incoming sprint flyer on the team. She is an excellent student who comes to USC on an academic scholarship. The Lady Gamecocks also added freshmen Katrina Kraus and Mariana Root to the squad. "Katrina is a solid performer who needs to gain experience with some solid fly training," Coach Harrell said. "We hope to see her reach the 57-second range in the 100-meter butterfly and develop her background for the 200. Lauren is our best incoming sprint flyer. We hope to develop her in more events and use her speed to develop her 200 butterfly." Emili Greenway, a sophomore from Richmond, Va., gained needed experience last season competing as a sophomore, and should contribute to this event with more consistency this year. Michelle Dosson, a sophomore from Cape Town, South Africa, is highly-tout ed in this event and will likely swim the butterfly exclusively at Carolina. Backstroke The backstroke event will be led by sophomore Brooke Fonder. Her times stayed in the same range, but she gained much needed experience and technique work. She has all of the physical capabilities to be an SEC scorer. Freshman Sara Trohaugh is looked upon to be the top backstroker for Carolina. She hopes to break 2:00 in the 200-meter backstroke. o challenge men's man Zsolt Gaspar. Gaspar is worldranked in the 200 butterfly and will be an immediate impact. "Once again the butterfly will be the deepest area on our squad," Switzer said. "For us to continue our success, we have to have solid efforts from Julio and Andrew and Jimmy Cho. We will also look to our freshman, Zsolt Gaspar, to help us in the butterfly events." Breastroke This event will be one of the Gamecock's gray areas on the team this year. The ability to score points at the SEC meet in the breaststroke events will rest on the shoulders of some incoming freshmen, who will be counted on to develop quickly in the breaststroke events. Andrew Cho will swim the 200-meter breaststroke throughout the year, and Jamie White will help in the 100 breast and on the relay teams. Junior Ryan Mallam will also add to the 100-meter and 200 breaststroke. He had a SEC level performance his first two years and will be looked upon to score at the SEC Championships this year. "We are not as deep in these events are we are in some of the other strokes, but the caliber of swimmers we have here along with their versatility should balance that out," Switzer said. individual Medley (IMJ This event will be key for the Gameiocks this year. The team will be looking to show off their strong individual versatility in this event. Andrew Cho, Jason Erickson, Banks Halloran, Ryan Mallan and Scott Sinon will lead the 200-meter individual nedley. Most of these swimmers will Darticipate in the individual medley iven^s throughout the season and at ng talent women's 1 '98-99 "She is a great addition to the strong freshman class that we brought in this year," Harrell said. "We look to develop her two strong events and try and find a third event for her to compete in as well." Breaststroke The most talented dimension of last year's Gamecock squad, the breaststroke event looks even stronger for Harrell in 1998-99. Senior Bridgette Smith will lead the squad, with sophomore Allison Redmond close behind. "Bridgette had a great year last year swimming," Harrell said. "She had her best year in her third year here. She loves swimming and focuses hard on each of her events. We are hoping that she will have her best year at Carolina this season. Allison is tough competi tor who scored valuable points at the SEC Championships." Freshman Tracy Macaulay will also add depth to the breaststroke event. She shows potential for improvement and will push Smith and Redmond this year in the breaststroke. She should become an SEC scorer. Individual Medley (IM) Sophomore Lisa Webb will be the leader for the Gamecocks in the individual medley event. Webb is coming off of a stellar freshman year in which she came of out of a small slump to set some career best times. "Lisa is a veiy hard worker who did not finish as well at the SEC's as desired. She will be back with the desire to swim fast all year. We look forward to watching her go for the school record in the 400-meter IM," Harrell said. Freshman Lauren Donahue will also help in the 200-meter IM. Harrell hopes to also have some help from the incoming freshmen to help with the medley events. Divers The 1997 United Sates Olympic Committee (USOC) Developmental Coach of the Year Todd Sherritt has another outstanding group of young divers to work with again this season. Sherritt returns five divers who qualified for the NCAA's Zone Diving Championships last year, Cheryl Lemon, Nikki Unroe, Kim Woo, Michelle Suozzi and Michelle Davison. Coach Sherritt is confident that each of his divers can not only score in the SEC's this year, but will also be capable of performing competitively in the NCAA's as well. "Michelle Davison had a tremendous year for us last year," Sherritt said. "Michelle broke a Carolina record and an SEC record in the 3-meter competition. Suozzi finished 14th at our Senior Nationals, so we have some talent we're going to really work with this year." With Coach Sherritfs ability to train his divers in scoring fundamentals earning him the "gold medal" of his profession, Carolina's Diving program will doubtless continue to attract the na swimming team the SEC Championships at the end of the year. In the 400-meter individual medley, one of the hardest, most physically demanding events in swimming, the Gamecocks are ready to make a serious challenge to the conference powers. One of the hardest workers on the USC men's swimming and diving team is Andrew Cho, and he will be looked to carry the load in this event for the Gamecocks. "He got better last year in the 400 individual medley, but we are looking for bigger and better things out of him this year," Switzer said. Mike Reynolds will also swim in the 400 individual medley all year, as he has scored in the event at the SEC Championships. "RnfVi nf fV>ncn mitrn r.maaJ a/vui \ji uicoc gujro aic icciiiy guuu 400 IMer's," Switzer says. "Andrew Cho and Mike Reynolds, are our fastest IMer's and will fill our lanes throughout the season. Both of these two have the potential to score in the SEC." Relay All of last year's relay team members are back. With the addition of incoming freshman Zsolt Gaspar, the Gamecocks should improve dramatically in 200and 400 meter medley. The sprint relays will be deeper than they have been in the last few years. "Our relays will be strong," Switzer said. "Probably our best relays will be 200 and 400 medley relays which will show our versatility and our strength in the strokes. We'll need to develop our sprint relays, they're still very young in those, and our 200 and 400 freestyle relays all have youngsters that will have to develop over the course of the year." I : ' . L. c ' _ ' V - M&J <r We are more I . a b "hrough cultivation of exce ioth our customers and ou ias built a tradition of trust a sspect. High ethics. A frienc ulture. Join us in out ierformance and growth pportunities in Columbia: 1 tLtrHUJyJt Full and Part-time 1 {esponsible for building cus slephone-based customer iformation source for nswers about banking sen roblem resolution. 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