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TOe (gamecock Swim team faces Cougars in season opener Friday BY MANESHKA E L I AT A M B Y The Gamecock Entering the pool area at the Blatt PE center, one can hear the sound of a voice booming instructions over the sound of splashing water. This is what it sounds like when the 47 men and women on USC’s swim team hit the water twice a day six days a week. Determination is written all over their faces as they plunge into the water. On the sidelines, four dedi cated coaches shout out instructions that drown out the sound of the splashing water, their enthusiasm just as great as that of the athletes they are training. With their first meet looming in the horizon, the team is preparing themselves for the challenges that lie ahead for them this year. These 47 athletes, along with their four coaches, are determined to try to have a better season this year than they did last year. Having been hand icapped with a relatively small team of only 11 men and 10 women last season, the Gamecocks had a diffi cult season. The men finished with a record of 2-6, the women fin ished 1-7. However, this season looks more promising for the Gamecock Aquatic Team. Having brought in 30 new fresh men, it is fair to say that the squad is well equipped. The new blood in cludes athletes from all over the Unit ed States and some swimmers from other nations as well. The team’s highest hope is prob ably Istvan Bathazi from Budapest, Hungary, who represented his na tion at the Olympics in Sydney this year. He joins fellow Hungarian team mate Zsolt Gaspar, a returning Game cock junior. The team also boasts two women from South Africa and one woman from Guatemala, all of whom are incoming freshmen. These Gamecock swimmers are tested for both their physical and mental endurance every day of the week. Their practice sessions usual ly run around four hours a day, six days a week. They are trained under the supervision of head coach Don Gibb and his three assistants, while their strength training is supervised by Paul Beckwith. Practice is not the only part of their week. Unlike most other ath letes that are assigned eight hours of study, the swimmers are assigned ten hours a week. This has not af fected their grades, however, as the team’s GPA last year was 3.1. The swimmers also participate in a number of volunteer activities around campus. Last week, the women’s squad participated in a Breast Cancer Prevention program. In just a few hours, the Game cock swim team will take on the Col lege of Charleston Cougars. They will meet in Columbia at 6:30 p.m. When asked about the team’s chances of claiming a victory at their first meet of the season, Gibb said, “Friday’s meet shouldn’t pose much of a problem for us. We’ve never re ally had many problems with Charleston in the past, and this time shouldn’t be an exception.” Gibb, who is in his second year as USC’s head coach, also went on to say he felt the team was much stronger since the addition of the 30 new recruits. The team is scheduled to partic ipate in 15 swim meets and two div ing meets throughout the season. The sports desk can be reached at gamecocksports@hotmail.cotn. Volleyball from page 9 McCarley and Jen Gracen. This season, l McCarley leads the Tigers with 220 kills. Gracen has contributed 139 digs. Senior middle blocker JauneUe Hamil ton, a three time first-team SEC selec tion, leads the Tigers with 67 block as sists, She also has 214 kills and 141 digs so far this season. Sophomore middle blocker Nicole Sandifer leads the team in block assists with 44. Freshman Melanie Wille has stepped up to make 90 kills, 86 digs, and 26 block assists in her first season as an outside hit ter. USC (144,5-1 SEC) fell to second place in the SEC Eastern Division after losing to Florida Sunday by a score of 3-1. Florida claimed the top spot by end ing a 10-game Carolina winning streak. It was the Gamecocks’ longest streak since 1983, when they won 13 games i in a row. i “We lost to Florida on Sunday, but I :hat’s over,” said senior outside hitter Vlandy Quarterman. “There’s nothing ve can do about it now; it won’t change anything. Right now, we just have ;o focus on what we have next. We can’t itart thinking about Florida because we tave no control over that now. We know vhat we have to do.” “I feel like we’re in a situation where ve’re going to have to work really hard o get off of a plateau,” said USC head :oach Kim Christopher. “We’re play ng well, but we could be playing a lot >etter.” Women’s soccer looks for first win in SEC this weekend in Mississippi by Chris Foy The Gamecock The USC women’s soccer team is traveling to Mississippi this weekend in hopes of getting their first conference win of their 2000 campaign. In a pair of SEC West matchups, South Carolina battles the Missis sippi Rebels (10-3,3-1 SEC) tonight and then heads to Starkville to face the Mississippi State Bulldogs (5-9, 1-3 SEC) on Sunday. The Rebels are looking strong this season, as they are not only on top of the SEC West, but the entire SEC. They also are coming off their third shutout of the year, this time against Auburn. However, despite Mississippi’s strong showing this year, South Carolina has reason to be optimistic about the match. The Gamecocks are 2-0 all-time against the Rebels. In their last game, South Carolina won the match 4-0 in Co lumbia. The Rebels have a powerful team on both sides of the ball. Offensively, Mississippi is led by sophomore mid fielder Jennifer Soileau and sopho more forward Bridget Brooks. Soileau has been putting heavy pres sure on opposing defenses this season, as she leads her team with six goals and nine assists, with 21 points total. She has also taken 46 shots on the goal this year. Brooks is second on the team with points. She has 15 points off of seven goals and one assist. Defensively, the Rebels have ar guably the best goalkeeper in the conference. Junior goalkeeper Melin da Smith boasts a stingy 1.5 goals against average for the season, in addition to 37 saves. The Lady Bulldogs got their first and only SEC win last week as they put away Alabama 2-0. Although they have struggled so far this sea son, the team has shown glimpses of promise from a unit mainly com prised of yourig players. Sophomore forward Jessica Kauffman leads the team with 10 points off of three goals and four as sists. In addition to Kauffman, Mis sissippi State features two up-and coming freshmen who have already made a large contribution to the Bull dogs’ offense. Forwards Sam Schwenke and .« Leslie Nickles have combined this season for four goals and 10 assists. Schwenke is tied for first on the team in points alongside Kauffman, while Nickles is right behind them with eight. Senior goalkeeper Kristen Ol son has 37 saves on the year and has a 1.5 goals against average. In the midst of a season plagued with injuries and heartbreaking loss es, the Gamecocks are trying to re group and utilize their talent to the fullest possible extent. Despite their frustration, head coach Sue Kelly has been stressing the virtue of pa tience to her team. “We are taking a practice at a , time and a game at a time,” Kelly said. Freshman forward Becca Epstein remains the team’s leader in goals ' and points with four goals and 10 points on the season. Junior forward Morgan McIntyre also reasserted herself this past weekend, as she had the team’s only goal in their two matches. Junior midfielder Lydia Bienias and sophomore forward Becky Leep er each have two goals for this year’s campaign and both have hit double digits in shots taken. Goalkeeper Elise Matthews has held up the Gamecock’s defense this year with 46 saves. In light of her team’s record, Kel ly sees these trials as tests to over come that will make the Gamecocks a better team down the road. “Even though this might be an adverse time for us right now, it brings us great experience for the future,” Kelly said. The sports desk can be reached at gamecocksports@hotmail.com. Football from page 9 fourth and 12th respectively in pass efficiency defense (91.7) and sec ond and 11th respectively in total defense (271.2). The Razorbacks rank 11th in the league in scoring defense with 22.2 points allowed per game. Senior linebacker Quinton Caver is a Butkus Award and Bronco Nagurski Award candidate. Caver has 48 total tackles, with three tack les for losses and one fumble re covery. Holtz says his team must be at their best this weekend if they in tend on winning against the Ra zorbacks and possibly becoming el igible for postseason play. “I haven’t talked to the team about going to a bowl,” Holtz said. “But after the way they beat us last year, if we can find a way to beat them, I would personally tear down the goal posts. I don’t need any help. If I can’t do it on my own, I don’t want it done.” B B B Jr i I i I ■ I ■ ^k ^Hj^r ■< stfTT 1 - t f 1* rjTI^^^HI^k, ^^■RB^HlgflllK i ' I I «11 kyl1 1 ^«Mi— V ,»i u <■ *~ t| ’ iT §) 4giii'i ^^^KMKMM|KaEE it ,i:: Ir I*.... :; . [, . .,' a* ^ rll1]!! Mm ^k j^f RMJ RM ^^k KVn jr ik jr Af a£ JV IMk A k #*? ^Bk f m ^k . K k A A yf ■ ^B w K.A.A >/ ^ \ \ /\* A /\ * /] football jerseys ^ sideline apparel, arriving soon!j|^ spirit wear & yl 4 a A iV K k K Bp