The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, October 28, 2002, Page 8, Image 8
g THE GAMECOCK * Monday, October 28,2002 GAME SCHEDULE
■ 'V ■ 'V fl B ^ / NJ WOMEN'S SOCCER vs. Wofford, 7 p.m. Tuesday
I 1/ VI ■fllLl SWIMMING AND DIVING vs. Kentucky, 5 p.m. Friday
TIS5 B fl B B J fl MEN’S SOCCER vs. Coastal Carolina in Charleston, 5 p.m. Friday
LtUlM 1AI/1 U O ^4 B I B I A I . VOLLEYBALL vs. Ole Miss, 7 p.m. Friday
Story ideas? Questions? Comments? fl fl fl B fl 111 WOMEN'S TENNIS in Southern Intercollegiate (in Columbia), Friday
E-mailusatgamecocksports@hotmail.com B .. B , B WOMEN’S GOLF at Auburn, Friday
v •
Third-ranked
Gators sweep
Gamecocks
BY JASON NOLL
THE GAMECOCK
It was a veritable battle of the
SEC titans Sunday at the
Volleyball Competition Facility,
with two teams, both undefeated
in the conference, trying to wres
tle control of the top spot.
One had to lose and one had to
win, and, in the end, a crowd of
1,276 saw the No. 3 Florida Gators
sweep the 21st-ranked Gamecocks
3-0.
With the victory, the Gators
move into sole possession of first
place in the SEC East.
The Gamecocks (17-4,10-1 SEC)
were plagued by er
games of the
match, committing
17 attack errors
and four net errors.
“We were try
ing so hard. That’s
going to cause
some 01 me uei ei - unrisiopner
rors,” USC head
coach Kim Christopher said. “You
have to be in a relaxed state.”
Christopher also said the offici
• ating might have contributed to
her team’s high error count.
“The officiating was really
tight; I’m pretty frustrated with
that,” she said.
The Gamecocks lost the first
two games 30-24 and 30-23. In both,
the team had an early lead before
being overwhelmed late by
Florida’s attack.
In the final game, USC con
trolled play and held a 25-21 lead
before the Gators tied the game at
25. The teams then went point-for
point to a 30-30 tie.
USC senior Sam Alban tied the
game at 29 and 30 with two im
pressive kills, displaying the
team’s refusal to quit.
But, despite the effort, Carolina
fell in the third game 32-30.
“We didn’t give up; we fought
to the very end,” Alban said.
The biggest difference for the
Gamecocks in the third game was
that they committed fewer attack
errors, with only three.
“We started making some plays
at critical times,” Christopher
said. “We’ve got some really good
athletes on our team, and they
worked very hard.”
Senior Cally Plummer led the
team with 13 kills, and Alban and
Sarah Morgan had 10 kills each.
The Gators (20-1,10-0) were led by
Nicole McCray with 16 kills and
Aury Cruz with 15 kills._
Despite losing, Christopher said
she was excited that her team
could play well against Florida,
one of the top teams in the nation.
She said playing the Gators helps
her team improve.
“I wish that a match like today
happened every day; we would be
a much better team,” Christopher
said. “In order to beat a team like
Florida, we’ve got to be a great
team.”
The win extends Florida’s SEC
regular season winning streak to
108 matches — an NCAA record.
SEC Standings
EASTERN CONF. OVERALL
Florida10-0 20-1
USC 10-1 17-4
Tennessee6-4 17-6
Georgia4-6 14-11
Kentucky 3-7 9-12
WESTERN CONF. OVERALL
Arkansas8-2 17-5
Alabama6-4 15-9
LSU5-4 13-7
Ole Miss2-8 9-13
Mississippi St. 1-9 10-14
Auburn 0-10 1-21
The last time the Gators lost a
match to an SEC team in the regu
lar season was in 1994, when they
fell to USC. Including tournament
play, the Gators have won 78
straight matches against confer
ence opponents, which is good for
fourth in NCAA history.
Florida is now 27-6 all-time
against USC, but the Gamecocks
will meet the Gators in a rematch
Nov. 15 in Gainesville.
Going into the match against
Florida, the Gamecocks were 10-0
in conference play, their best start
ever.
USC defeated Georgia 3-0 on
Friday night for the record break
ing 10th straight SEC victory.
Its next match will be Friday at
home against Ole Miss.
Comments on this story? E-mail
gamecocksports@hotmail.com
PHOTO BY AARON HARK/THE GAMECOCK
JSC’s Sarah Morgan rises for a spike during the Gamecocks’ match against Florida on Sunday,
rhe Gators came out on top, however, sweeping Carolina 3-0. With the victory, Florida gained
sole possession of first place In the SEC Eastern Division and improved its conference record to
L0-0. The Gators haven’t lost In the regular season to an SEC team In 108 matches.
28 DAYS TO TIPOFF
Getting to the point
Gamecocks looking for new point guard
after departure of floor leader Aaron Lucas
BY MATT ROTHENBERG
THE GAMECOCK
When Phil Petty graduated, it
was fairly obvious to the USC
football coaching staff that the
heir apparent would be Corey
Jenkins.
Carolina’s men’s basketball
coaches, however, have yet to fill
their own “quarterback” spot.
The Gamecocks' point guard po
sition is one of this fall’s hottest
races in South Carolina, outside
of politics.
Aaron Lucas graduated in
May after several solid, produc
tive seasons at the helm of USC’s
offense, but just who will replace
him remains unanswered.
The leading candidate for the
job is senior Chuck Eidson, who
has significant playing experi
ence at the point.
Eidson, at 6 feet 7 inches, is
hardly the prototypical point
guard, especially compared to
Lucas, who was dwarfed by
Eidson’s stature.
That difference in size, though,
could mean a big modification in
the'way the Gamecocks play of
fense and defense.
Eidson is confident about his
ability to take over the position.
“I’m about as quick as I am,
but I do have a lot of steals, so I
can get to some places,” he said.
“So I’m not worried about that.
“What I am worried about is,
Aaron always put pressure on the
man bringing the ball up, so the
first pass was always a tougher
pass.... Aaron was a time-eater
on the shot clock, and I look at
that and think about stopping my
guy. I think I can do that.”
Eidson said he doesn’t have a
preference for playing the point
or the wing.
“I want to play anywhere, as
long as I’m playing,” Eidson said.
“I like both. But I also like hav
ing the ball and moving it
around. When you got someone
like Mike Boynton, who’s play
ing the point pretty good, and
Jarod Gerald, a freshman, who’s
playing pretty solid, too, it’s nice
to move to the wing.”
The starting lineup for the
Nov. 24 season opener against
East Tennessee State is far from
finalized, but both guard spots re
main open. Odds are that these
positions will fall into place in
practice, as well as in the two ex
hibition games.
Boynton, a 6-foot-2 point L
guard, saw minutes last season |
as Lucas’ primary backup.
Averaging only 1.9 points per g
game, Boynton
was among learn
leaders in assists "
and 3-point per- r
centage. Though P
his performances
last year ranged
between shaky
and poised.
Boynton Boynton would
have the inside
track at the position if the coach
es don’t go with Eidson.
“We’ve got two natural points
in Michael Boynton and Jarod
Gerald, and then we’ve got
Chuck. So those are the three that
we’re working there right now,”
USC head coach Dave Odom said.
♦ POINT, SEE PAGE 9
’ PHOTO BY TRAVIS LYNN/THE GAMECOCK
Carolina senior midfielder Dave Moore rockets a shot toward the Furman goaf In the second half
of the two teams’ match on Sunday. Furman triumphed 1-0, with a score In the 25th minute.
PHOTO BY ROBERT GRUEN/THE GAMECOCK
Senior Chuck Eldson Is one of the leading candidates to replace
Aaron Lucas at point guard this season.
Odom
readies
USC for
new year
BY KYLE ALMOND
THE GAMECOCK
In one of his team’s first
practices earlier this month,
USC men’s basketball head
coach Dave Odom thought it
was a little too quiet.
“This practice was notice
ably quieter, and I spoke to a
couple of our leaders — upper
class guys—tQ try to chime in
and take away that void,”
Odom explained. “Basketball
is a game that’s played sponta
neously, but there’s a lot of
communication in there.”
It might not seem like a ma
jor adjustment now, but by en
couraging his team to be more
vocal, the second-year coach is
laying the foundation for what
he hopes will be a successful
season.
The Gamecocks went 22-16
last season, and they saved a
mediocre finish by advancing
♦ ODOM, SEE PAGE 9
Men s soccer shut out again
BY KYLE ALMOND
THE GAMECOCK
The scoring drought continues
for the USC men’s soccer team.
Four days after losing 1-0 at the
College of Charleston, the
Gamecocks were shut out again
Sunday, falling 1-0 to No. 22
Furman at the Graveyard.
Carolina (9-5-1) has lost five of
its last seven matches $nce, start
ing the season 7-0-1. In their last
nine matches, the Gamecocks have
only managed to score five goals.
Head coach Mark Berson can’t
explain the team’s offensive woes.
“If I knew the reason, if it was
easy to fix, it would have been
fixed,” he said. “We are creating
chances. We aren’t finishing them.
It’s just something we need to
work on at this point.”
In the 25th minute of play,
Ricardo Clark scored the game’s
only goal. From outside the box,
Clark trapped a pass and, in one
motion, unleashed a hard shot at
USC goalkeeper Michael
Bachmeyer. Bachmeyer got a
piece of the ball, but it trickled by
him for the score.
Furman (12-2-1) dominated the
first half and had many quality
scoring chances. Bachmeyer was
forced to come up with some big
saves to keep his team in the
game, and he also received help
from the crossbar on a couple of
shots. The Paladins outshot USC
9-5 in the first 45 minutes.
The second half, especially the
last 25 minutes, was a different
story, however. After an unin
spired first half and little in the
way of creative scoring chances,
Carolina came roaring back for
the equalizer. The Gamecocks
moved forward and challenged
Furman’s defense with a lot of
deep crosses and headers.
f» f
♦ SOCCER, SEE PAGE 9