The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, March 30, 2001, Page 9, Image 9
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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.
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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
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