The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, October 13, 2000, Page 11, Image 11
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.”
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