The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, December 06, 2000, Page 12, Image 12
■Che ©amccock
Gamecock swimmers impress at U.S. Open meet
by Maneshka Eliatamby
The Gamecock
The USC swim team ended a semester of
competition with a bang last weekend, doing
exceptionally well at the U.S. Open in Auburn,
Ala.
Before the competition, Carolina head
coach Don Gibb said they were all looking
forward to the meet to gain experience and
maybe make the finals in a few events.
But the brilliant show that the Gamecocks
put on last weekend turned out to be a sur
prise to everyone, including the coach and
the athletes themselves.
The best performances came from Zsolt
Gaspar and Istvan Bathazi, both Olympic ath
letes in Sydney this past summer. Gaspar’s
performance might have been the highlight
of the day, as he came in first in his best event,
the 100-meter butterfly. Gaspar went on to
finish fifth in the 50-meter freestyle and ninth
in the 200-meter butterfly.
Gaspar, who went into this competition
merely hoping to make the final in his three
events, was extremely happy with his per
formance.
“I was surprised by my. performance,” he
said. “I swam a lot better than I thought I
would. It was interesting because everyone
else was tapered and shaped for this meet,
while we just went in for the experience, and
I think we performed very well.
“Overall, I am quite satisfied with the way
I performed during this entire season.”
Gaspar has already qualified to represent
Hungary at the Swimming World Champi
onships next July to be held in Fukuoka, Japan.
He went on to say that he hopes to finish
among the top three at the World Champi
onships in the 100-meter butterfly event.
^B A
Fellow teammate and Hungarian Olympian
Bathazi had a successful meet as well. A fresh
man competing at his first major meet, Bat
hazi did well to come in second in the 400
meter individual medley. He also swam the
200-meter individual medley and came in
fifth.
“After just five weeks of practice, I thought
my timing was pretty good,” Bathazi said.
“The break in between the Olympics and this
meet didn’t hinder my timing too much.
I’m looking forward to training camp in ear
ly January, and the next season. I hope that
I can win both the 200 and 400IM at the SEC
(Championships), and I hope the team will
do well at both the SEC and the NCAA. This
is my first time at either one of these com
petitions, and I hope to start off by doing
well.”
Bathazi will join Gaspar at the World
Championships next summer.
Another surprise at the U.S. Open was
Gamecock Tricia Rye.
Even though she didn’t make it into the
finals in the 200-meter breaststroke event,
Rye’s timing in the heats would have placed
her'in sixth place overall.
Other athletes who earned points for the
USC were Mika Salik, who came in 18th in
the 100-meter backstroke, Bret Bums, who
finished in 16th place in the 200-meter breast
stroke, and Christen Butler, who came in 14th
in the 200-meter backstroke.
Gamecocks Chris McCrary and Lir De
rieg came in 21st and 23rd in their respective
events.
Of the 13 swimmers that went to the U.S.
Open from USC, nine of them are freshmen.
So, there is much hope for the Gamecocks in
years to come.
Gibb was extremely satisfied with his
team’s performance in Auburn.
“I thought it was good exposure for our
program and good experience for our fresh
man to be able to compete at that level,” he
said. “It also shows that the direction the pro
gram is going in is very good.
“The level of competition at the U.S. Open
was very good. There were at least three U.S.
Olympians, and there were some of the best
up-and-coming swimmers in the country, and
our team did well against the competition.”
The Gamecocks will compete in One more
meet before they head home for 10 days. The
team will then come back to USC for a week
on Dec. 27 before leaving for Cocoa Beach,
Fla. for training.
The sports desk can be reached at
gamecocksports@hotmail.com.
1. Oklahoma
2. Miami (FL)
3. Florida State
4. Washington
5. Oregon State
6. Virginia Tech
7. Florida
8. Oregon
9. Nebraska
10. Notre Dame
11. Kansas State
12. Texas
13. TCU
14. Purdue
15. Georgia Tech
16. Clemson
17. Michigan
18. Northwestern
19. Ohio State
20. Auburn
21. Tennessee
22. Louisville
23. Colorado State
24. Georgia
25. Toledo •
Sports editor bashes JN BA trends in hnal tarewell
by Jared Kelowitz
The Gamecock
Kelo-Witz
Sports Commentary
Ladies and gentlemen, much to
your dismay, this will be the last col
umn I ever write for The Gamecock.
To my thousands of fans who I re
ceive correspondence from on a week
ly basis, all I can say is, it’s been re
al, and now I must bid you adieu. But
fear not, because my farewell will not
disappoint.
I remember writing my first col
umn here at USC just two years ago,
back when my column was called “At
Least I’m Not From Jersey.” And I
sit here and remember the world of
sports then and look at the world of
sports now, and I can’t help but be
awestruck at the drastic differences.
A lot has changed in just two short
years, and I can tell you, not all of the
changes have been for the better.
A great example is the world of
fashion rearing its ugly head all over
athletics.
I don’t know when exactly it hap
pened, and I don’t quite understand
the appeal, but could someone please
explain to me why there is an influx
of black athletes who style their
hair like Whoopi Goldberg? They call
these things comrows, or “dredlocks.”
The latter is probably a more accu
rate description because these things
are dreadful to a team’s appearance.
Whatever you guys want to call them,
it doesn’t matter because, news flash
— they look stupid.
This is just one of the new and
upcoming fashion trends in sports
which send me sprinting for the stalls
of my hall’s bathroom.
Another trend is the increasing
number of collegiate uniforms that
are too baggy. I guess we can thank
Michigan’s “Fab Five” for this one.
But when shorts on the basketball
teams are starting to be longer than
baseball teams’ pants, a blind man
could see the world of fashion in
sports is bass-ackwards.
Yet another fashion trend that dis
turbs me is the tattoos that are plas
tered all over our athletes. As if these
guys weren’t already walking bill
boards with all their shirts, shorts,
sneakers and headband endorsements,
now they have to engrave the Nike
Swoosh into their skin. Yeah, just
what I want — a symbol on my body
for the rest of my life which just
shouts, “I support East Asian sweat
shops.” Very classy guys, almost as
tactful as Allen Iverson’s musical de
but.
By the way, Iverson, please stick
to basketball. The last thing the world
needs is another hood telling us all
how bad he is. Know your role, and
play basketball. How many times did
you see Dr. J teaming up with Run
DMC and Grandmaster Flash to rap
about his hard knock life? Well, maybe
that’s an unfair comparison. After all,
Julius Erving concentrated most of
his time on bringing an NBA Title to
Philadelphia. What a novel idea.
So that brings me to my next dis
gusting trend in sports. Are these guys
athletes or entertainers? I’m not say
ing you can’t be athletes who enter
tain, but do it on the playing field, not
in the box office or on the billboard
charts. Athletes nowadays are more
concerned with getting a movie
deal or a recording contract than they
are with bringing home a champi
onship to their respective cities.
I don’t know how to explain ei
ther of these phenomena, but I can
tell you where most of it started. It
started in the NBA. And we all know
who started this stuff, but let’s just
leave it at that. I don’t know why it
started, or how it started, and I
don’t know of any legal means to fix
it. I do have some ideas on how to
make things better, but I’m gonna
keep those to myself for now. If you
do know me, then you probably have
a good idea of what I’m talking about.
If not, then find me, and I’d be
more than happy to sit down and share
my views with you.
Before I go, I just want to thank
all the people here at The Gamecock
for the last three years. From Atlanta
to Ghetto Fabulous II, to the many
nights spent fighting a deadline, I
know I won’t forget any of it. In clos
ing, I’d like to quote Jimmy Buffett
and say, “It’s been a lovely cruise.”
Thank you all.
Jared Kelowitz can be reached at
gamecocksports@hotmail.com.
_$
• Registered first triple-double-triple of career vs.
Nebraska in NCAA second round
• Had 58 assists, 23 digs, 12 kills and .458 hitting
percentage against Nebraska
• In first round vs. George Washington, added 39
assists, four kills, eight digs and three blocks
USC's Athletic-Academic Department is seeking tutors for the
Spring 2001 semester. Interested individuals, who are reliable
‘ with great communication skills and a desire
to help others learn, please apply.
Pay: $10.00/hour for graduate students Location:
$ 7.50/hour for undergraduate students Contact:
Hours: Sunday between 5pm-11 pm and
Monday- Thursday 6pm - 11pm. (Flexible)
The Roost Academic Enrichment Center
Billy Swanson,
Tutor Coordinator 777-5284
Academic Enrichment Center - The Roost
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