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PSP! If/'f-lll H3ie (Bamtcock Track from page 8 expected to continue in Athens. Distance runner Otukile Lekote is prepared, no matter what the weather ^ brings in. “All of the schools and athletes are good,” he said. “Kentucky and Arkansas have a lot of talent, but that’s why I work every day at practice — so I’m ready to go up against them. “People expect a lot from us. I will just try to be confident because when you believe in yourself, good things will happen.” This weekend is a showcase for all four schools, but the Gamecocks will try to send a message that the publicity they get as a dominant track force is not just hype. ^ “I’d like to tune up and show the conference that our team or myself will not be easy to beat,” Steddum said. “Once you get into somebody’s head that they can’t beat you, then they can’t,” he said. “Every opportunity we have to win, we will take full advantage of.” The sports desk can be reached at gamecocksports@hotmail.com Sean Rayford/The Gamecock Lori Tvarkunas and the rest of the USC track and field team are heading to Athens, Ga. for the SEC quad meet Football from page 8 From practice, some other offensive players emetged that the coaching staff % is very excited about—namely redshirt freshman tailback Gonzie Gray. Gray broke a 38-yard touchdown run in an earlier scrimmage and had a promising showing in the team’s 140-play scrimmage last Saturday. Derek Whtson and Andrew Pinnock also had good springs and should remain the go-to guys in the Gamecock backfield. On the defensive side, Lou Holtz said he continues to be impressed. “Defensively, we have a chance to be pretty good,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of quickness, and we have good ball instincts.” Defensive Coordinator Charlie Strong also said his group is in good shape. “Comerback is one area that we are looking to get better at,” Strong said. “We have Andre Goodman and Kevin House, but we are also looking at Rachiem Monroe and Brian Elam.” Strong and Lou Holtz have said the defense might be able to switch to a four-man front instead of the 3-3-5 alignment from last year in order to put more pressure on opposing quarterbacks. “Right now, Langston Moore and Dennis Quinn are on the inside with John Stamper and Kalimba Edwards on the outside,” Strong said of the defensive line. “We have a young nucleus that is doing well.” Lou Holtz has said Moore is making good strides to be a solid player in place of graduating senior Cleveland Pinkney at defensive tackle. “Langston is difficult to block,” he said. “He is really a good player.” In last year’s spring game, the White team beat the Black team 21-16 in front of nearly 6,000 fans at Wrlliams-Brice Stadium. Carolina opens the regular season Sept. 1 at home against Boise State. The sports desk can be reached at gamecocksports@hotmaILcom Softball from page 8 Debralee Troesh then singled to left field, driving in Megan Donohoo for her 12th RBI of the season. Adrianna Baggetta followed with a single to the same spot, and Amber Curtis reached on a fielder’s choice. Genovese gave the Gamecocks the 6-0 lead with a double to left field, driving in Baggetta and Curtis. In game two, Georgia jumped out early on Johnson (11-4). Johnson struck out the side in the first inning, but allowed three runs on three hits between the strikeouts. Bell singled in two runs to give the Bulldogs an early 3-0 lead. The Gamecocks cut the lead to 3-1 in the top of the fourth. Troesh led off the inning with a single to left and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Baggetta. Troesh then scored on a Genovese single up the middle. Genovese, who has been Carolina’s hottest hitter lately, had three RBIs on the day. In the fifth inning, USC fought back to tie the score 3-3. Evans, who had three hits in the two-game set, tripled to deep left and was brought in by a two-run home run by Joyce McMillin. The homer was McMillin’s sixth on the season and 23rd of her career. Carolina took the lead for good in the seventh, once again taking advantage of Bulldog errors. Quinones reached on another error by Bell, who made four errors in two games. Nancy Crane entered the game to run for Quinones, and with two outs, Georgia intentionally walked McMillin and Donohoo to get to Troesh. The sophomore Troesh then knocked a double down the left-field line to score Crane and McMillin, giving the Gamecocks a lead they would hold on to until the end. The Gamecocks have this weekend off and will resume play next Tuesday against Tennessee (14-20,4-7). The teams will play a doubleheader on Tuesday and finish on Wednesday with the last of a three-game set. The sports desk can he reached at gamecocksports©hotmai!.com Sports Briefs ■ Whittaker picked as candidate for top college award USC senior catcher Tim Whittaker has been selected for the Johnny Bench National Collegiate Catcher Award Watch List for 2001. Whittaker is one of 35 catchers, from around the country selected to the watch list, which is chosen by the Greater Wichita (Kan.) Area Sports Commission. The list will be trimmed to ten on May 15, and three finalists will be selected at the College World Series in June. The winner will be announced in Wichita at the conclusion of the'College World Series. In its second year, the Johnny Bench Award recognizes the top catcher in the country. Last year, Gamecock catcher Brandon Pack was one of 10 semifinalists for the award. Whittaker, a native of Conway, S.C., leads the Gamecocks in home runs with 11, RBIs with 42, and slugging percentage with .796. His .333 batting average is third on the team. Whittaker hasn’t committed an error in 162 chances and has thrown out 12 of 17 baserunners. ■ Men’s basketball joins Duke, Kansas in Maui Invitational USC’s men’s basketball team is one of eight teams that will compete in next season’s Maui Invitational. Duke, Kansas and UCLA will headline the tournament, which is hosted annually by Chaminade University. All three schools are coming off stellar seasons and NCAA Tournament runs. With those three teams and Chaminade, USC will be joined in the eight-team, three-day event by Seton Hall, Ball State and Houston. “Our 2001 Maui field looks very strong with Duke in the Final Four and Kansas and UCLA boasting Sweet 16 appearances,” Maui Invitational chairman Wayne Duke said. “Add in our other teams, which are all considered on the rise, and we know the Maui Invitational will once again start the college basketball season with a bang.” Held Nov. 19-21 at the 2,400-seat Lahaina Civic Center on the island of Maui, the tournament’s 18th edition will feature six games live on ESPN or ESPN2. Pairings will be announced later this summer, with the possibility of more games being offered on ESPN Plus. ■ Price of new basketball arena about $70 million The USC Athletics Department has taken the next step toward beginning work on its new 18,000-seat basketball arena. Last Thursday, the department posted an intent to award the construction bid to Beers Construction Company of Atlanta. Following a 16-day protest period, USC plans to sign a contract with Beers to handle the project. The total construction cost is set at $46,439,097. Through negotiations between USC and Beers over the past several weeks, nearly $2.8 million was eliminated from Beers’ original bid of $49.2 million on Feb. 27. The total construction and design budget for the arena project has been approved at $54,250,000. The total project _ cost, including land, furniture, fixtures and scoreboards, is estimated to be $70 million. “We’re pleased that we were able to stay within our original budget without affecting the scope of the overall project,” said Mike McGee, USC director of athletics. “We’re committed to building an outstanding facility that is a showcase for the university and community, is fan friendly and cost-efficient." McGee stressed that none of The revisions would have a significant impact on the look or functionality of the facility. Beers has constructed such projects as Phillips Arena, the Georgia Dome and Turner Field in Atlanta. Ground-breaking for USC’s new arena is scheduled for next month. The arena is scheduled to open in November 2002. - »■ '.«•= ^-. 'V'^ -•v< s^-f^.-!' > ~; ftJnriri rtt«i»iTT^r ^yfrMt «jlr‘'4ffi^«*f /w ^wwct ■ |'. •“’ :-v %4*_45 .*%**§*®v-*v N.i, ■; - f ’-■ ti' L'H [I V' $ |H8SH|MflHp|MRHI8H^H (5,amecock SPORTS CHALLENGE FINAL RESULTS WINNER: Kyle Almond (Sports Editor) 50-18 2nd: Brock Vergakis (Editor In Chief) 39-29 3rd: Gamecock Sports 35-33 4th: Gamecock Readers 34-34 5th: Gamecock Staff 33-35 Almond www.dailygamecock.com the o theatre I RiverbendFH f I Apartments 100 Riverbend Drive W.Columbia, SC 29169 I Call today about our move-in specials! 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