Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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_ A L a THE GAMECOCK ♦ Wednesday, October 24,2001 11 GAME SCHEDULE CONTACT US VOLLEYBALL vs. Auburn, 7 p.m. Friday WOMEN’S SOCCER vs. Ole Miss, 7 p.m. Friday Story ideas? Questions? Comments? MEN’S SOCCER at UCLA Tournament, 7p.m. Friday Write us at gamecocksports@hotmail.com FOOTBALL at Tennesse, 6 p.m. Saturday VOLLEYBALL vs. Alabama, 2 p.m. Sunday LADY GAMECOCK SOCCER JESSICA JUUN Leading the way Player draws on experience traveling with national team BY CASEY WHITE THE HAMECOCK She's been around the world, but now she's back in Gamecock country. Jessica Julin, midfielder and defender for the USC women’s soc cer team, is glad to be back in the United States after traveling with a national team this summer. Although she didn't have an off season, the sophomore said she enjoyed the experience. "Traveling was great, but I learned from this summer that I can't say yes to all the national teams who want me to play for them," Julin said. Originally from Tampere, Finland, Julin spent her child hood days playing European soc cer. Her influences from these early years include top players from Holland and Finland whose styles helped shape her game into the quality level we see today. However, Julin’s transition from European soccer hasn't been as easy as she makes it look. "Soccer in the United States is very different from soccer in Europe," she says. "European soc cer is more tactical, whereas in the United States soccer is very fast-paced and we run a lot more.” Although she prefers the European style of soccer, her tal ents definitely bridge both vari eties, even if it takes a little extra work. "Since the soccer here is so dif ferent, it takes time to get back in the system," she admits. "It's not hard, but I have to get use to it." She works quickly, as her record demonstrates. In only nine games so far this season, Julin has already notched a goal and an assist for the Lady Gamecocks. In the 2001 season, the women's soccer team has put forth an ef fort that has vastly improved their game, reaching a record of 6-6-3. Julin gives a large amount of credit for this to the three new Coaches, including head coach Shelley Smith, as well as to the dedication of the team. "I’m really impressed with all the work the coaches are having us do, especially all the running. We are working very hard this year," she said. "They also go to our opponents' games and scout for us so we will know what we are up against, which is very im portant." Julin’s life doesn't revolve en ♦ JULIN, SEE PAGE 13 Jessica Julln has one goal and one assist so far this season. PHOTO from media guide Holtz could quiet UTfans Rule hushing rowdy crowds could be used against Vols BY PRESTON BAINES THE GAMECOCK . South Carolina head football coach Lou Holtz said in a press conference this week that the Gamecocks "would not come out of the huddle" if it got noisy in Knoxville, Tenn., during Saturday's game (6:00 p.m., ESPN2). When he said this, he obviously wasn't bluffing. Article three of the NCAA football rules states "when the offensive team believes it is un able to communicate its signals to teammates other than players positioned more than seven yards from the middle lineman of the offensive formation be cause of crowd noise ... [the quarterback] may raise his hands and look to the referee to request a legal delay." After the quarterback re-, quests the stoppage in play, the referee can either point to the defensive goal line to signal for the quarterback to continue or he can call a timeout so the of fense can huddle without penal ty. The official then decides when the ball is ready for play and will blow his whistle. The rule doesn’t stop there, though. The offense can request a timeout for the same reason as many times as they want. If the A loud home crowd can sometimes hurt their team. .PHOTO BY AARON hark quarterback again asks for time because of crowd noise, the ref eree can point to the defensive captain, who must ask the crowd for quiet. It then becomes the public address announcer's duty to ask the fans to show "cooperation and courtesy," by quieting down. He must also say that anoth er crowd noise penalty will re sult in a timeout being charged to the defense. A five-yard penal ty would be enforced if no time outs remain. • Although the ruling has not been enforced in recent memo ry, coach Holtz's comments on the rule will give the officials for this week's game something to think about. The Yankees make it to the Series... again KYLE ALMOND JBUZINI24@HOTMAIL.COM In major league baseball, some things never change. « The Braves winning the NL East. Home run derbies at Coors Field. The Expos, Brewers and Royals out of playoff contention by June. Randy Johnson's mullet. But the most disturbing trend, the one that frustrates me to no end, is the Yankees winning the World Series. Sadly, this season should be no different. The Arizona Diamondbacks have had a great year, but it's time for them to give in to the inevitable: The Yankees will win again, and there's nothing anyone can do about it. Don't fool yourself, people. As much as you'd like to believe in Arizona's chances for an upset, they're about as likely as a Rick Ankiel strike. I’ve tried to come up with ways for the D-Backs to somehow pull it out, but I keep coming up empty. For one, their lineup isn’t the most impressive around. Luis Gonzalez is the only regular in the batting order that hit more than .300 this season. Reggie Sanders bats behind Gonzalez in the clean-up spot and hit 33 home runs this year, but he's among the NL leaders in strikeouts per at-bats (3.5). Filling out the roster is a bunch of old-timers. Mark Grace is 37 years old. Steve Finley, Jay Bell and Matt Williams are 36. Throw in 32-year-old Tony Womack, and you can see these D-Backs aren't the most sprightly players in the league. All right, so Arizona does have perhaps the best 1-2 punch in baseball with starting pitchers Johnson and Curt Schilling. But after that, they look to Miguel Batista and Brian Anderson. You can bet Bernie Williams, Derek Jeter and the rest of the Bronx Bombers are salivating at the chance to rip into those guys. And while Schilling has been the best pitcher in baseball this season, Johnson isn't such a sure bet. Before winning a pair against a feeble Atlanta squad, the Big Unit lost seven straight postseason games. Johnson's effectiveness thrives on intimidation. Do you honestly expect the three-time defending champs to get intimidated? Me neither. On the other side, you can’t overlook New York's pitchers. There's not a deeper rotation in the game. Roger Clemens and Mike Mussina are probably the only two who can contend with Schilling and Johnson for best 1 2 combination. And there aren't any Miguel Batistas following them. Andy Pettitte is one of the most underrated pitchers in baseball, a guy who could be the ace on about 20 other teams in the league. Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez is a wily veteran who might not have his best stuff anymore, but he finds a way to get the win. Add to that a dependable bullpen, and the odds are stacked once again in New York's favor, much to the dismay of myself and countless other Yankee haters. The frustration continues. Is there anybody out there who can ever hope to challenge the Yanks' dominance? Is there any way to bring them back down to earth? Don't worry - there most definitely is. The Yankees’ string of titles can in fact be brought to a halt. But the answer isn't an up and-coming team or an expanded strike zone -- it's a salary cap. As long as George Steinbrenner can fork out the cash for all these superstars, the Yankees will always stay on top. Until a salary cap is implemented, you better get used to seeing pinstripes in October. Shoutouts Guilty pleasure of the week: watching The Tommy Bowden Show on Sunday after Clemson's 38-3 loss to North Carolina. Bowden looked morbid, to say the least, and it was great to see them try to fill a whole half-hour program with the limited highlights the Tigers had. ... WOLO, as much as I enjoyed the Bowden show, I wanted to watch the beginning of the MLS Cup. How can you pre-empt a national championship game like that? If it was a sport other than soccer, ♦ ALMOND, SEE PAGE 13 Men strong at USC tournament Seth Rose won his title again, photo by athletics department BY CHRIS FOY THE GAMECOCK For the fourth year in a row, South Carolina had a tennis play er walk away victorious from the USC Fall Invitational. USC played host to 33 teams in its annual tour nament this past weekend. On the first day cf competition, Gamecock singles players went 8-3 on the day. USC also took a doubles match. Seth Rose, the top seed in the A-l bracket, advanced to the quarterfi nals with a victory against Ricky Martinez of USC-Spartanburg. Martinez had to retire after suffer ing an injury. USC's Angelo Niculescu, the fourth seed, knocked off Alex Navinkov of Georgia Tech 6-1,6-2. Other Gamecock winners on Friday included Marcus Westman and David Nelson. In the B-l bracket, Rob Cassidy won his match and Nasir Sherazi pulled an upset over No. 2 Eduardo Richelle of Stetson, 7-5,6-1. SUNDAY Rose continued his dominance Sunday by successfully defending his title with two wins en route to taking the championship. Rose opened up in the semifinals against No. 3 Tony Mule, beating him 6-1, 7-6. In the finals, Rose was matched against fellow Gamecock Angelo Niculescu. Niculescu, who upset No. 2 Marcio Petrone earlier in the day, was unable to pull off another upset against his teammate as Rose won the final match in three sets, 6-3,1-6,7-5. Throughout the tournament, Rose had "R.I.P. Richard Lynch" etched on his shoe. Lynch, who died in the World Trade Center at tacks on September 11, played for the Gamecocks from 1989-1993 and was part of the 1989 NCAA semifi nal squad. Rose was not the only successful USC player Sunday. In the A-2 bracket, sophomore Marcus Westman won his first collegiate tournament. Westman took down East Carolina's Julien Crevelier in the semifinal round before knock ing off No. 2 Andrew Lux of James Madison in the finals. Westman took the victory 6-4,6-0. The Gamecocks return to ac tion this weekend when they travel to the ITA Regional Championships in Chapel Hill, N.C. use at No. 15 in BCS polls Top 15 ranking at season’s end would put team in consideration for major bowl BY PRESTON BAINES THE fiAMECOCK For the South Carolina football team, the No. 15 spot they hold in this season's first Bowl Championship Series rankings is n't where they are in the two main polls, but it’s good enough for now. In fact, the ranking would en sure the Gamecocks of being con sidered for one of the four major bowls. In order for a team to be considered for the Rose, Fiesta, Sugar or Orange Bowls, they must finish in the top 15. Last year, Carolina finished 30th in the final BCS poll. ) Defending national champion Oklahoma (7-0) is ranked No. 1 in the poll with rival Nebraska (8-0) right behind it. The rankings make the teams’ matchup this weekend the biggest game of the season to this point, just as it was last year. Carolina is joined by fellow SEC members Florida (5-1) and Tennessee (4-1) in the top 15. The BCS is thought to have a complicated formula by most. The two major polls, the Associated Press and Coaches’ polls, make up 50 percent of the formula. Eight computer polls make up 25 percent of the formula. The low est and highest ranking a team has in these is dropped in an at tempt to eliminate any biases. The remaining 25 percent uses calcu lations based on strength of sched ule and number of losses. While there are no official rankings past the top 15, unoffi cial rankings have Auburn and Georgia ranked 17th and 19th, re spectively. Clemson is ranked 31st unofficially.