lEhc (3amccock
Hard-hitting Faison brings positive attitude to USC
by Andrew Festa
The Gamecock
use
strong safety
Rashad Faison
looks in the mirror
before each game
and asks himself,
“Am I the best?
Who’s to say I’m
_ not the best? Iam
Faison the best.”
Whether
he plays well that day or not, Faison
says he has to believe he’s the best
before he steps onto the field each
week. It gives one of the most ag
gressive, hard-hitting Gamecocks the
confidence to bring pain to opposing
offenses each week.
Growing up in Florida, Faison
didn’t have a male role model, so his
grandmother provided him with fe
male as well as male influence.
“All the things that a male could
do, I saw my grandmother doing,” .
Faison said, “It’s not about male or
female, it’s about the person inside
and how strong you are.”
Faison grew to love football in
10th grade at Hardee County High
School.
Before then, his coach challenged
him to commit to football because of
his talent, but he was purely inter
ested in baseball.
He decided to play football when
he realized he didn’t want to go home
after school while his friends stayed
and played football. He wanted to be
with them, to sweat, bleed and play
for each other.
He joined the team, and they end
ed up having an opportunity to go
to the state championship in 1996.
According to Faison, for anyone
who wants to play college sports, all
it takes is self confidence and refus
ing to let people tell them they
don’t have what it takes.
“If you have a strong belief in
God, that if it’s meant for you, you’ll
be able to achieve what you are
supposed to achieve,” he said.
Faison said he’s never regretted
his choice to come to USC, despite
being highly recruited by Florida, Mi
ami and Florida State. He said he feels
anybody can to go to a school that
is traditionally ranked high, but he
felt he could be a part in turning Car
olina’s program around.
Faison’s favorite personal saying
is, “I’m untouchable.” He explains
his quote by saying, “I’m out there
and this 300-pound lineman is com
ing at me, but there’s no way I’m go
ing to let them stop me.”
He has had this attitude since high
school when he played both offense
and defense. He can electrify the
crowd by delivering a crushing tack
le or making a key play.
Faison said sometimes everyone
is waiting for a crucial play to turn
the momentum, and it’s shocking to
have that kind of impact on a game.
“The impression it has on the
crowd it’s like ‘Oh my gosh. He’s got
to be the greatest athlete I’ve ever
seen.’ But truthfully, you’re just an
other athlete,” Faison said.
Faison was named Freshman All
America by The Sporting News and
was picked for the SEC All-Fresh
man team last season. He has had an
excellent season so far this year as a
redshirt sophomore, and scored his
first touchdown on a fake punt in
USC’s win against Vanderbilt. Hope
fully, he said, his biggest moment
as an athlete is yet to come.
“Maybe it’ll be next week against
Florida, or maybe it’ll be against
Clemson, you know, but you never
can tell,” Faison said.
“You never want to limit your ca
reer to just one specific highlight be
cause I think if you do, then you’ll
be Stuck in that dream for the rest of
your life.”
The sports desk can be reached at
gamecocksports@hotmaiLcom.
•Women’s swim team to host
Cal-Berkeley this weekend
BY MANESHKA
Eliatamby
The Gamecock
The Gamecock women’s swim
team has a tough task ahead as they
host the perenially tough Cal-Berke
ley Golden Bears Saturday.
The Gamecocks go into their
fourth meet this season with a 1-2
game record. Their two losses came
against Washington State and Flori
da last week when the SEC schools
met in Knoxville, Tenn.
The Gamecocks trailed behind
Florida, who won with a score of 262
^ 49. Megan Johnson was the highest
finisher of the lady Gamecocks, plac
ing sixth in the 200-yard butterfly.
Amy Vinson and Tricia Rye placed
seventh in the 50-yard freestyle and
200-yard breaststroke respectively.
The Gamecocks will take on the
women from the University of Cali
fornia-Berkeley Saturday at home,
and the meet promises to show off an
array of top competitors.
UC-Berkeley, which has a track
record of being among the top 10
NCAA competitors in the last four
years, finished fourth in the nation
last season.
The Golden Bears began their
2000 season with a splash when they
beat San Jose State 183-95. Their sec
ond victory of the season was against
Pacific in Stockton, Calif., 131.5
92.5.
Leading the Bears this season is
freshman Natalie Coughlin, who start
ed the year by winning the 200
yard freestyle and 100-yard butterfly
against Pacific. She also has Cali
fornia’s top times in the 100-yard
freestyle, 100-yard breaststroke, 200
yard breaststroke and 100-yard back
stroke.
Freshman Natalie Griffith, who
is in the world rankings and is a Se
nior National Qualifier, started the
season with wins in the 200-yard but
terfly and 200-yard individual med
ley.
Coughlin and Griffith are joined
by nine other freshmen, eight of whom
were Olympic Trial Qualifiers. Among
them is Kyoko Yokouchi, who has
the best times in the 200-yard back
stroke and 400-yard individual med
ley.
The Berkeley team is strength
ened by the presence of senior Al
ice HenriqueS and junior Adrienne
Mattos.
The Bears’ array of swimmers al
so features Haley Cope, the 2000 Pac
10 Swimmer of the Year and the world
record holder in the short course 50
meter backstroke. She also finished
second in the nation last year in the
100-meter backstroke and sixth in the
100-meter butterfly.
The Bears, who so far are 2-0
on the season, come into Saturday’s
meeting fresh off a win against
two-time defending national cham
pions Georgia.
Saturday’s meet, held at the Car
olina Natatorium, is scheduled to be
gin at 2 p.m.
The sports desk can be reached at
gamecocksports@hotmail.com.
Clemson-Florida St.
Alabama-LSU
Virginia Tech-Miami
Minnesota-Wisconsir
Duke-Wake Forest
1
.Gamecock Sports Challenge
Sports
Editor
(27-18)
Florida St.
Alabama
Miami
Wisconsin
Wake Forest
\~\
Sports
Editor
(31-14)
Florida St.
LSU
Miami
Wisconsin
Wake Forest
Editor in
Chief
(29-16)
Florida St.
LSU
Virginia Tech
Wisconsin
Wake Forest
r_\
Defending
Champion
(29-16)
Florida St.
LSU
Miami
Wisconsin
Wake Forest 1
Robyn
Gomber
(28-17)
rlorida St.
\labama
Miami
Minnesota
)uke
• ;-;--—
(Samccock sports is always looking fori
new writers. If you like covering USC
athletics, can write well and are depend
able, e-mail us at gamecocksports@hot
mail.com.
V' A
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