The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, May 02, 2001, Page B2, Image 14
me (Bamecock
As much as I
can’t wait
for the
school year to end,
there’s one thing
I’m going to miss
more than any
thing: covering
Kyle Almond Gamecock sports
is a second-year on a daily basis,
student in the This year has been
College of one of USC’s best,
Journalism and and to experience
M ass it as sports editor of
Communications. The Gamecock is
He can be reached something I 11
Via e-mail at never forget. It’s
gamecocksports© truly been an honor.
hotmail.com. I will be passing the
torch next
semester, but I
hope I ve made Gamecock Sports a more
readable, informative page than when I
started. I also hope you’ve had a few laughs
along the way.
Since August, I’ve worked my tail off
to breathe new life into the section. My
grades have suffered, my social life has
seriously decreased, my vision is all but
gone and I have carpal tunnel syndrome,
but I think it was well worth it. We don’t
have the manpower or the resources to
compete with The State, but considering
what we have, I think we did a pretty
money job. And judging by the lack of
hate mail, you agree. Thanks.
Anyway, it’s been a pretty memorable
year for the Gamecocks, and I’m going
to use my final column to look back at
the year that was (and still is, for a few
teams). Here are my Shiznittle Awards
for excellence in USC sports:
Male Gamecock of the Year: Phil
Petty —Football
This one might come as a shock to
most, but hear me out. I understand the
defense was a big reason the football team
kicked so much tail this season, but last
year, when we were 0-11, we had a good
defense, too. When the offense turned
around, the record turned around, and
Petty deserves most of the credit for that.
He had great talent around him, but his
ability to protect the football and run the
system efficiently was remarkable. He
handled himself with class the whole way
through, and he did the most with the
least as far as raw talent goes. I never
thought I would say this, but Petty has
proved himself to be indispensable at the
quarterback position.
Honorable mentions: Kalimba
Edwards - Football, Jordan Quinn - Soccer,
Guillaume Legat -Tennis
Female Gamecock of the Year:
Demetria Washington—Track and Field
i ms was a competitive category, out
Washington has proven herself worthy
with her dominance indoors and outdoors
for the Gamecocks. She won the
NCAA indoor title in the 400 meters and
added a second championship as the
anchor leg of USC’s 4x400-meter relay
team. She was a three-time All-American,
also qualifying in the 200. As the outdoor
season continues, Washington continues
to impress. Look for more NCAA titles
when this season draws to a close.
Honorable mentions: Cally Plummer
- Volleyball, Joyce McMillin - Softball,
Teresa Geter - Basketball
Male Newcomer of the Year Otukile
Lekote — Track and Field
The freshman from Botswana isn’t
just one of the nation’s best — he’s one
of the world’s best. Running the fastest
time in the 800 meters this season, Lekote
is already grabbing headlines. He has a
bright future at USC, and his humble
attitude only makes him that much more
appealing.
Honorable mentions: Rolando Howell
- Basketball, Deandre’ Eiland -
Football/Track and Field
Female Newcomer of the Year:
Stacey Johnson — Softball
Johnson has made the softball team
almost unhittable. Opposing teams don’t
get a break when star pitcher Matthews
isn’t on the mound. Johnson is almost
as lethal.
Honorable mentions: Nihan Anaz -
Basketball, Jessica Julin - Soccer
Coach of the Year: Lou Holtz —
Football
Do I even need to explain this one?
The man is a miracle worker. He changed
the attitude cl the football team, and
everything else fell into place. He is a
class act and a hilarious guy, and USC is
lucky to have him.
Honorable mentions: Curtis Frye -
Track and Field, Mark Berson - Men’s
Soccer, Eddie Fogler - Men’s Basketball
(OK, just making sure you’re paying
attention.)
Game of the Year Football’s 24-7
Outback Bowl victory over Ohio State
This one was a gimmie as well. After
heartbreak after heartbreak in football,
the team redeemed itself and all of its fans
with a New Year’s Day upset on national
television. By the time the final whistle
blew in Tampa, everyone had foigotten
about the Rod Gardner debacle and partied
like nobody’s business.
nuiiuHiuie liiciiuuiib. men ixiMieuxui
over Clemson, any of baseball’s wins
against Clemson
Best Individual Performance by a
Male Athlete: Ryan Brewer at the
Outback Bowl
No Derek Watson? No big deal.
Brewer stepped up and lit up the Buckeyes
for three touchdowns, tying an Outback
Bowl record and forever etching his name
into Gamecock lore. Brewer’s big day
was a victory not only for USC, but for
the underdog in all of us. Ignored by Ohio
State coming out of high school
because he was too small, the versatile
tailback proved that heart and hard work
go a long way when he trashed the team
that said he wasn’t good enough.
Honorable mentions: Baseball’s Kip
Bouknight coming four outs away from
a no-hitter at Tennessee, Jordan
Quinn’s two goals in a win over No. 1
Vnginia, Tennis’ Guillaume Legat crushing
the No. 1 player in the nation (Arkansas’
Oskar Johansson), Otukile Lekote running
world’s best 800 time for 2001
Best Individual Performance by a
Female Athlete: Golfer Kristy McPhereon
wins the SEC Tournament
The sophomore shattered the
tournament record by six strokes, finishing
nine under par and winning by three to
become conference chantpiosn.
Honorable mentions: Teresa Geter
scores 34 at Alabama, Demetria
Washington at NCAA Indoor
Championships, Softball’s Megan
Matthews one-hits No. 6 Alabama
Lifetime Achievement Award:
Cleveland Pinkney—Football
Pinkney is the absolute best player
to interview. I know a lot of sports writers
are going to miss talking to him, myself
included. He’s down-to-earth (as you
could tell by his thumbs-up picture in
Monday’s issue), funny and tells it like it
is, even to liis teammates. He was looked
up to by the defense and was truly the
team’s rock. He was the Gamecocks’
heart and soul, and it’s going to be
tough for Holtz to replace him. We’ll miss
you, C. P.
Honorable mentions: Kip Bouknight
- Baseball, David Ross - Men’s Basketball,
Henry Ring - Men’s Soccer.
A look back at the year that was
Softball
from page B1
Matthews (20-11) got the win, striking
out six over 11 innings. Matthews also
took the win in the first game.
“I had great defensive backup, and
we came through and got the runs,”
Matthews said.
“Although we didn’t score as many
as we would have liked to, we came
back and got them.”
Matthews’ win Saturday broke an
18-game extra-inning winning streak
by Alabama and a nine-game winning
streak overall for the Crimson Tide.
“Anytime you beat a top 10
program, you got to feel good about
yourself,” Compton said. “It’s a great
way to have 10 to 12 days off for right
now, considering that we bounced back
from our second game yesterday, which
was a fiasco.
“We got ourselves out of some jams
today, and we had some opportunities %
that didn’t cash in. We kept battling,
despite an early lead by Alabama, and
we never doubted that we could find
a way to score. I give the team credit
for that.”
Though the regular season has come
to a close, the SEC Tournament will
begin May 10 in Chattanooga, Tenn.
USC will have the second seed overall
for being the SEC East winner.
The sports desk can be reached at
gamecocksports@hotmaiLcom
Gamecock Sports wishes you a great summer!
KEVIN TONEY ABBOTT
ALEXANDER BRYSON ANDERSON
STEPHE THOMAS ANDERSON JR
JARED WILLIA ATKINSON
LINDSAY CROMWELL BAILEY
DENTAVIUS LAMARN BARBER
JEFFREY ALLEN BEEMON JR
HARIKRASHNA B. BHATT
JOHN ANDREW BINDEWALD III
SETH THOMAS BLACK
BRUCE EDWARD BONDO
TRACY CHRISTINE BONDS
MIRANDA MICHELLE BOWEN
RUSSELL QUINTON BREWTON
TODD AARON BRIDGE
TERRY LEE BROWN
MARGARET COKER BUNDY
TASHATINA BYRD
KENDRA LEE-IDA CAIN
NATHAN HUGHES CAMPBELL
SAMUEL NAMA CAOILE
RENATO ARRIGO CAROTTI
WENDY NOEL CARROLL
KATE HAVENS CASSONE
JASON MICHAEL CLARK
LAUREN DELAINE CLARK
GINA LEE CLAYTON
ANDRENAW. COUNTS
ANDREW MANGAN CROWLEY
JOHN GARY CROWLEY III
BRIAN JOHN CULLUM
SEAN PATRICK CURTIS
JENNIFER BROOK DAVIS
WILLIAM KRISTOPHER DAVIS
DANA CELESTE DAWKINS
STACI RAE DEFIBAUGH
KRISTEN DENISE DREW
SARAH THERESA EIBLING
MARCIA LEA ELLIOTT
JAMES RUSSELL FAKAS
WILLIAM WORTHY FOGLE
BRADLEY PEYTON FOLSOM
WOODWARD HOLLAND FOLSOM
JENIFER JEAN FREEMAN
ANGELA DAWN GARRETT
KATRINA DANYELLE GARY
NICHOLAS DARGAN GEE
JOHN CHRISTIAN GOOLSBY
KEONDA RAQUEL GRANT
MANDIE JO GREENE
JENNIFER LEIGH GULLEDGE
JANICE HUNT HAGE
BRYAN CAMERON HARRIS
TOSHA RENEE HENDERSON
MAYA MICHELLE HOLLINSHEAD
BRIAN PATRICK HOTTINGER
KARA CELESTE HOUSE
SHEILA ANN HUDSON
SANDRA DENISE HUGHES
LAURA ANN HUTCHENS
LAURA MARIE JACKSON
PATRINA LYNETTE JOHNS
ELIZABETH BRADLEY JOHNSON
SHONDREYA DENAY JOHNSON
BENJAMIN CRAIG JORDAN
OMORO KING
AMY LOUISE KOSYDAR
DEBRA NORRELL KREPPS
JENNIFER LOUANN LEACH
DIDIER ROGER LECLAIRE
Holtz
from page B1
Athletics department spokesman
Kerry Tharp said he doesn’t expect
Holtz to need back surgery. Holtz
underwent backsuigery in 1995 when
he was head coach at Notre Dame.
The accident kept Holtz from
testifying at a U.S. Senate hearing on
gambling in college sports. However,
it didn’t keep him off the golf course.
He participated in a Lake City
Gamecock Club outing last Friday.
“I can do everything normal,” he
told The Greenville News. “It’s just
that I’ve got a lot of pain.” %
Though there aren’t any torn
ligaments in his right knee, Tharp
said that it was “pufiy.”
“[Holtz] is limping a little, but he’s
swinging away,” Tharp added.
The Gamecocks’ coach will
continue liis spring schedule of speaking
engagements and will head to the
Middle East on May 12 to talk with
U.S. troops in Saudi Ardbia and Kuwait.
Holtz also will speak to troops on an
aircraft carrier.
The sports desk aw be reached at
gamecocksports@hotmail.com
Baseball
from page B1
Taylor. Taylor came in and mishandled
a bunt. The next batter, Moran, bunted
runners to second and third. Kent hit a
sacrifice fly on the next play to extend
the lead to 5-3, and Eric Brandon retired
the Gamecocks over the final two
innings to pick up his third save of the
season.
After Sunday’s contest, USC and
Auburn are tied for seventh place in
the conference.
The top eight teams make the SEC ‘
Tournament. If the tournament were
to strut today, USC would be the seventh
seed by virtue of the head-to-head
tiebreaker over Auburn, which would
be the eighth seed.
The sports desk can be reached at
gamecocksports@ho1mail.coni
Thanks to these rising stars... . 4 ^
the members of the class of2001 whot |C 9 j
have made a gift to the Senior Challenge:
ADAM JOSEPH LENTZ
ANDREW DAVID LOPES
KATHERINE ELIZABETH LORENTZ
REBECCA WATSON LOVELL
AMANDA ELAINE LUCAS
MARC ROCCO MACCHIAVERNA
ERIKA ANDERSON MANGAN
SARAH CATHERINE MAXWELL
LESLEIGH FAYE MAYO
LUCINDY BINNICKER MCCALL
BRENDA HOWELL MCCOY
STACEY ROSEMARIE MCCRAY
BRIENNE LYNN MCCUNE
RACHEL MARIE MCCURRY
KENNETH BRIAN MCMANUS
JEFFERY EDWARD MENDENHALL
WILLIAM ROBERT MERTON JR
MATTHEW GRAHAM METZ
JENNIFER LYNN MILLETT
TIKEYASHAMON Ml
ANDREW ROBERT MOHR
DAVID EUGENE MOORE
FREMONT TERRILL NELSON
ERIN MICHELLE NICHOLSON
REBECCAANN PAYNE
LEIGH DAWSON PEELER WATKINS
TARA AUTUMN PERKINS
LAURA LEE PHILLIPS
TEMPLE KANDICE POSTON
CHERIE LYNETTE REESE
JANET MEGAN REGAL
MARGARET PATRICIA ROSE
PHILIP ANDREW SCHOON
JAMES EDWARD SCHWALLER
JEANNETTE AMELIA SEAGRAVES
AUDREY LYNN SHEALY
KERI REBECCA SHEALY
SHAMIKA LATASHA SHELTON
MICHAEL BENNO SHRYOCK JR
THOMAS JOSEPH SILVESTER
KESHIA YVETTE SIMPSON
JAY CORBIN SI
KISLAYA KISHORE SINHA
CHARLES DOUGLAS SNYDER
MELISSA ANDREWS SOUTH
JOHN OGDEN TABB
ADEENASHIFRA TERES
CHARLES WESLEY THOMPSON
LATASHA KEWANDO THOMPSON
JUriNAI HUN nAIMUULrn I ILLMAN
MATTHEW ALAN TORRES
KELLEY MCCABE TRIBBLE
OMAR ALI SHABAAZ TROUTMAN
NELL MARIE VARN
MIANSINEE MESHAUN VAUGHN
AMANDA LYNN VELDMAN
REBECCA CAROL WALDREP
KUSTON SHALIKA WASHINGTON
STEPHANIE N. WEISSENSTEIN
SHERICKA NICKOLE WHITE
THOMAS SHEFFIELD WILDS
CASEY LEON WILLIA
VALERIE ANN WILLIA
BRIAN EDWIN WILSON
CHARNETRA TONLIELA WOLFE
JAMES GRANT WOOTEN II
ROSHELLE LYNN YOUNG
REBECCA MEGAN ZIMMER
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