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Gamecocks showcase NCAA
potential at SEC Championships
■ Men's and women's
swimming and diving
teams finish 7th and 8th
respectively in Alabama
by Katie Schmidt
Special Correspondent
TUSCALOOSA, Ala.—The USC
swimming and diving teams’ chances of
winning the SEC Championships have
not been the best over the past several
years, but this year's performance might
be the beginning of a bright fiiture for the
Gamecocks.
The Gamecock men finished seventh
overall in the SEC competition, and the
women finished eighth, but the team's raw
talent has begun to show. With 26
freshmen on the team and a few
experienced performers to set the
standards, a change in the team's confidence
levels could be seen after the success of
the week's events.
One of the team's veterans, diver
Brandon Hulko, set the tone in one of the
first events of the competition. Hulko, a
junior, won two bronze medals this week.
Hulko, an All-American and U.S. National
Team member, took third in both the one
and three-meter springboard events.
"I felt more confident this year than
in the past." Hulko said. "Having two years
under my belt gave me enough preparation
of what to expect. I am one step closer
to achieving something better next year."
In two weeks, Hulko will know
whether he has earned a spot in the NCAA
Championships, which will take place
next month in College Station, Texas.
Other athletes winning medals for
USC included freshman Tamas Szucs (gold
in the 200-yard freestyle), freshman Tricia
Rye (silver in the 200-yard breaststroke),
freshman Istvan Bathazi (bronze in the
400-yard individual medley) and junior
Zsolt Gaspar (gold in the 50-yard freestyle
and bro'nze in the 100- and 200-yard
butterfly). These four athletes will all
compete in the NCAA competition
next month.
Gaspar, last year's SEC Swimmer of
the Year, was overwhelmed by his
performance in Tuscaloosa.
"It was unbelievable," he said. Gaspar
has had an outstanding season for USC so
far, swimming the fastest collegiate
time in the 50 freestyle earlier this year.
Gamecock head coach Don Gibb
spoke of the great family support and the
enthusiasm the team showed this week.
"You can look at years past," he said.
"We have never sent this many young
athletes to the NCAA championship."
Gibb, who was a SEC and NCAA
champion, has only been head coach at
USC for two years, but he has secured a
foundation for many successful years to
come. USC also posted three provisional
marks for the NCA As this past weekend.
In the 200 butterfly, freshman Chris
McCrary finished ninth, which
provisionally qualifies him for the NCAAs.
Fellow freshman Megan Johnson
provisionally qualified in the 200 butterfly,
where she finished eleventh. Finally,
Gaspar, McCrary, Ed Murphy and Mickey
Kramer finished fifth in the 400-yard
freestyle relay, also good enough for a
provisional spot.
The SEC Championships will be aired
March 3 on FoxSports South. The men's
NCAA Championships will be held March
22-24 in College Station, and the women
will compete March 15-17 in Long Island,
The sports desk can be reached at
gamecocksports@hotmail.com
Readers: Now you have a chance to enter the Gamecock Sports
Challenge. Take a look at next week’s games and submit your picks to
I gamecocksports@hotmail.com. You can also bring your picks up to RH
333. We will choose one person’s picks at random each week. If you can
beat all four other panel members, you’ll win a free Gamecock T-shirt!
Sports | Sports Editor in Gamecock _ .
3rWl I O Editor Staff Chief Staff
CHALLENGE (27-13) | [ (24-16) | (20-20) (18-22) ( U'
Tennessee-USC Tennessee Tennessee Tennessee Tennessee Tennessee
Memphis-So. Miss. Memphis Memphis Memphis Memphis Memphis
Indlana-Purdue Indiana Purdue Indiana - Purdue Indiana
Florida SL-Clemson Florida St. Clemson Clemson Florida SL Florida St
_Stanford-UCLA Stanford Stanford Stanford Stanford UCLA _
Alabama-Ole Miss Ole Miss Ole Miss' Alabama Alabama^ Alabama
USC-Miss. SL USC USC Miss. SL USC Miss. St
Georgia-Arkansas Arkansas Arkansas Arkansas_Georgia Arkansas
Duke-UNC DukeDukeDukeDukeDuke
Kentucky-Florida Florida Kentucky Florida Kentucky Kentucky
1 I
Next Week’s Picks (March 5-March 11)
! ■ SEC Tournament Winner ■ Big East Tournament Winner ■ C-USA Tourney Winner j
! ■ ACC Tournament Winner ■ Southern Conf. Winner ■ Oregon at Oregon St. !
; ■ Big Ten Tournament Winner ■ Big 12 Tournament Winner ■ Arizona at Stanford
J ■ How many wins in the SEC Tournament for USC? Tum in picks by 1 p.m. Sunday, March 4 I
I I
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SEC
from page 10
it’s on. And if it’s off, it’s off.”
If Johnson’s game is on, the rest of the
conference might be in trouble. Johnson’s supeib
play earned the Razorbacks to a surprise SEC
Tournament title last season and earned them
a postseason berth.
Elsewhere in the SEC:
Alabama: The NCAA told Alabama on
Thursday that it was officially investigating the
Tide’s football program for recruiting violations.
In a preliminary letter of inquiry to the
school, the NCAA said they were investigating
whether university representatives offered
inducements to prospective players and provided
extra benefits to those enrolled from 1997 to
2000.
No specific violations were cited in the
letter, but according to the Commercial Appeal,
the Memphis area has received a lot of attention
from the NCAA.
The NCAA is looking into one claim that
a high school coach in Memphis received
$200,000 to steer Parade All-American Albert
Means to Alabama. Also, former Alabama
running backs coach Ivy Williams was recently
questioned about his recruiting success in
Memphis, which includes Ahmaad Galloway,
a feature back last season for the Tide.
“The University of Alabama folly intends
to continue its aggressive investigation of any
issues involving rules compliance, working
closely with NCAA officials,” University
President Andrew Sorensen said in a statement.
“Our goal is to get to the bottom of these matters
as quickly as possible.”
Tennessee: In women’s basketball, it’s more
of the same in the SEC.
No. 1 Tennessee (28-1,14-0 SEC) finished
a perfect SEC regular season Sunday, the fifth
in its history, with a 63-49 win over Auburn.
The Lady Vols have now won four straight
conference titles and are on a 17-game winning
streak.
“I told [Tennessee head coach Pat Summitt]
this is a special team for her because they’re
unselfish,” Auburn head coach Joe Ciampi said.
“That’s the mark of a championship team right
there.”
Summitt likes her team’s chances for another
reason.
“What separates us from the rest of the
teams is our bench,” she said. “Depth could
help us win a championship in Memphis,
Tennessee (the site of this week’s SEC
Tournament).”
That depth came in handy when star Tamika
Catchings went down with a tom ACL weeks
ago. According to Summit^ Lady Vols Semeka
Randall and Kristen Clement have done a good
job in stepping up their play since Catchings
went down.
“Semeka Randall and Kristen Clement have
led by example, and that is what Tamika did so
well for us,” Summitt said. “Those two have
also committed to more than just scoring,
including things like becoming better screeners,
better passers and playing better defense.”
Tennessee has a first round bye in the SEC
Tournament, which starts Thursday.
The sports desk can be reached at
gamecocksports@hotmail.com
NBA
from page 10
situation.
Allen Iverson, maybe the league’s most exciting player?
He can’t stop offending people with his rap lyrics. Gary
Payton? Currently whining to be traded. Karl Malone?
Complains about everything. Tint Duncan? Doesn’t speak.
Just as the NBA has to concentrate on a certain fan, it
also needs to concentrate on a certain player. It needs to find
that player quickly and market the crap out of him. Whether
it’s one that I’ve mentioned, a diamond in the rough or a
nucleus of players, the NM needs someone to shore up its
shoddy reputation, or no one will want to watch the
games, low ticket prices or not.
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