The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, September 17, 2003, Page 10, Image 10
J_0 yffi' THE GAMECOCK ♦ Wednesday, September 17,2003 GAME SCHEDULE
. “I-'V S~~\ “|-V rTI WOMEN'S SOCCER vs. Davidson, 7 p.m.
, ■f'Sifii/ I B M \ I I I H 1 VOLLEYBALL vs. Santa Clara at Gamecock Invitational, 7 p.m.
CONTACT IIS I Jm 1 r I 1 Thursday
uu ^ | ■ ■ | MEN’S TENNIS at Southern Collegiate Championship in
Story ideas? Questions? Comments? I \ 111 Athens, Ga., Friday
E-mailusatgamecocksports@hotmail.com _ ■ V_y ■ M r\_/ CROSS COUNTRY at UGA Invitational in Athens, Ga., Saturday
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»
USC set for volleyball invitational
PHOTO BY1MARK SCHILLING/THE GAMECOCK
' USC’s Lynae Vanden Hull serves during a match earlier in the year.
Vanden Hull and the Gamecocks will play three games this week.
BY BRAD SENKIW
THE GAMECOCK
After the USC volleyball
team (4-5) had a solid week in
which the they knocked off
then No. 15 Notre Dame and
ranked by Volleyball Magazine
with the llth-best'recruiting
class of2003, Carolina plays yet
another invitational Sept. 18-20
at home.
The Gamecock Invitational
gets going this weekend as No.
17 Santa Clara (5-4), Duke (4-5)
and George Washington (9-0)
travel to Columbia to take on
USC.
The Gamecocks come into
this week’s matches ranked
seventh in the SEC in hitting
percentage, while freshman
Katelyn Panzau is sixth in the
league in assists. Redshirt
freshman Lynae Vanden Hull
was named to the all-tourna
ment team at the Shamrock
Invitational last weekend after
being the first Gamecock to
record 20 or more kills in a
match this season with her 21
against the Fighting Irish.
Carolina will battle its sixth
ranked opponent this season
when it plays the Santa Clara
Broncos. SCU comes into the
match to finish off its 12-g^me
road trip. The Broncos last
played three-ranked teams in
the U.S. Bank/Arby’s Invi
tational in Lincoln, Neb.,
where they lost to No. 8
Nebraska, No. 5 Georgia Tech
and No. 15 Michigan State, a
team the Gamecocks fell to ear
lier in the season.
The Broncos are led by
senior Becky Potter, who was
named to the All-Tournament
team this past weekend. She has
recorded 147 kills this season,
which gives her 1,420 for her ca
reer and is good enough to land
her in third place in school his
tory. Potter also leads the team
with 114 digs and is second on
the team in blocks with 32.
Senior Kelli Sousa, a setter,
leads the team with 13.38 assists
per game.
Santa Clara is led by head
coach Jon Wallace, who is in
his fourth season with the
Broncos and led the team to a
24-8 record last season with a
NCAA Tournament appear
ance.
It’s the second overall meet
ing between SCU and Carolina,
with the Gamecocks winning
the past match 3-1 in 2001.
On Friday, USC will play the
Duke Blue Devils, who are com
ing off a tough loss to No. 25
Wisconsin on Sept. 13 at the
InnTowner Invitational in
Madison, Wis. The Blue Devils
got behind early to the Badgers
but made a strong comeback. It
wasn’t enough, though, but
Duke head coach Jolene Nogel
was pleased with her team’s per
formance.
“We played with strong in
tensity and with passion,”
Nogel said. “The team worked
well together on the court, and
we did a good job blocking to
enable us to play some good de
fense. “
Duke -lost another close
match to Iowa but had won four
straight matches before the
InnTower Invitational.
Tiffany Rufai leads the team
with 110 kills, while Krista Dill
is second with 98 and is first in
blocks with 58.
Carolina finishes up on
Saturday with a match against
George Washington, who
equaled the best ever start with
nine-straight wins to open the
season.
It’s the second time in the
programs 28-year history that
the team has accomplished this
feat, as the 1979 squad opened
up 9-0.
Head coach Jojit Coronel
helped keep the Colonials un
defeated at the Clarion Suites
Volleyball Invitational in New
Brunswick, N. J., last weekend.
George Washington knocked off
St. Reters, Delaware and
Rutgers on its way to tying the
school record.
The team is led by six-re
turning starters including
Sarah Hokom, who has been
named MVP at the last two in
vitationals the team has partic
ipated in and was named
Atlantic-10 Player of the Week
two weeks in a row. She has
recorded 104 kills and 24 blocks
this season, while Ruth Lazzari
leads the team in kills with 106
and digs with 117.
The Gamecocks’ match
against Santa Clara is set to be
gin at 7 p.m. with Friday’s game
versus Duke also to start at 7 p.m.
The Gamecocks last match
against George Washington will
be played at 10 a.m.
Comments on this story?E-mail
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Women’s soccer team to take on Wildcats
BY JAY POU
THE GAMECOCK
The USC women’s soccer team
(2-3-1) will return home to face
Davidson on Wednesday night af
ter losing 2-1 to No. 5 Texas A&M
in overtime and tying Houston 1
1 to complete a two game road
trip.
Sophomore Amanda Thurber
provided Carolina’s only goal
against Texas A&M (4-0), giving
USC a 1-0 lead that they held un
til two minutes remained in the
contest. Senior goalkeeper Elise
Matthews played the entire game
and had two saves in goal for the
Gamecocks.
“We knew it would be a great
opportunity against a top team,
and our players showed a lot of
heart and a lot of pride,” said USC
head coach Shelley Smith. “Our
players put forth a great effort
tonight, and it was very tough to
come that close and be ahead up
until the very end. We proved a
lot, and I’m proud of the team’s
effort.”
At Houston (2-4-1), freshman
Erin Geldhof scored her first goal
as a Gamecock to provide
Carolina’s only scfire. Matthews
had three saves, and the
Gamecocks outshot Houston 18
9, including all three shots in
both overtime periods. Abi
Markham led USC with four
shots on goal, and Melissa Hutson
and Shelly Hoddeson each con
tributed three shots. The tie rep
resents USC’s third overtime
match in six games played this
season.
“Our team came out flat and
we gave up an early goal, and it
was a bad way to start the game,”
Smith said. “We had some
chances in the second half of the
match, but we couldn’t find the
back of the net.”
. The Gamecocks now look
ahead to tonight’s match with the
Davidson Wildcats who own a 3
3 record coming off a 3-0 shutout'
of Gardner-Webb. The Wildcats
were led by their dynamic for
ward duo of senior Leigh Anne
Hoskins and sophomore sensa
tion Kara Koehrn, a preseason
All-Southern Conference selec
tion and reigning conference
freshman of the year. Each had a
goal in Davidson’s victory over
Gardner-Webb.
Davidson defeated High Point
3-2 last Sunday but got shut out 5
0 by ACC foe Wake Forest last
Tuesday. The Wildcats are 0-1
against SEC opponents this year,
having already lost to Kentucky.
Koehrn showed her versatility
during the match with Wake
Forest by filling in on defense for
an injured teammate and doing
an admirable job.
“We know that we can be
stronger on defense with Kara
back there, but we also think she
can score goals for us up top,”
Davidson head coach Ke.vin
Hundley said.
Koehm leads the Wildcats with
four goals already this year. Her
fellow forward Hoskins has
scored twice this season.
For USC, Matthews is averag
ing 1.1 goals allowed per game, an
average that ranks eighth in the
SEC. She is tied for ninth place in
the SEC’s save category, with 17
saves so far this season.
USC’s match tonight with
Davidson begins at 7 p.m. at Stone
Stadium in Columbia.
Comments on this story? E-mail
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PHOTO BY MARK SCHILUNG/THE GAMECOCK
USC's M.A. Foster dribbles past a Furman player during a game Sept. 2. Carolina hopes to get
back on the winning track against Davidson tonight at 7 p.m. at Stone Stadium.
Quarterbacks’ job status becoming less secure
BY PETE IACOBELLI
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
COLUMBIA — Add this to the
oxymoron list — quarterback
security.
It seems little in college foot
ball is as dicey as a quarterback’s
job status. A couple of bad throws,
some dropped passes, a few three
and-outs and you go from Big
Man on Campus to the end of the
bench.
Just look at last year.
Clemson’s long-anointed succes
sor in Willie Simmons failed to
move the Tigers, lost his spot to
freshman Charlie Whitehurst and
left this spring to finish his career
at Division I-AA Citadel.
South Carolina’s Corey Jenkins
was yanked around in a constant
tussle between offense and defense,
finally abandoning quarterback for
linebacker in a desperate attempt
to save the team’s bowl chances.
Again this season, South Carolina
and coach Lou Holtz struggle to
find stability at the game’s most
important position.
“You don’t like to have (that)
going into the fourth game of the
football season,” Holtz said. “But
that’s the situation we find our
selves in.”
Dondrial Pinkins, who came
into the season as the South
Carolina starter, has not per
formed lip to expectations in the
team’s 2-1 start. Worse yet to
Gamecocks coaches are his
turnovers — a fumble against
Louisiana-Lafayette, an intercep
tion against Virginia and two
picks in the 31-7 loss at Georgia
last week.
So Holtz opened a quarterback
derby — not a controversy, he’s
quick to make clear — in practice
this week. Pinkins, and freshmen
Bennett Swygert and Blake
Mitchell, will split time through
most of the early week drills.
Junior college transfer Mike
Rathe, Pinkins’ backup, was sent
with to the scout team after his
only pass against Georgia was in
tercepted.
“Let’s see out there. Let’s eval
uate every play, let’s evaluate
them in practice,” offensive coor
dinator Skip Holtz said. “You put
a couple of balls in jeopardy this
week in practice, you’re not going
to be the starter. You may not
play.”
The younger Holtz said this de
cision had nothing to do with de
laying Jenkins’ move a year ago.
Offensive coaches had hoped to
go with Pinkins earlier last sea
son but a fractured ankle in
August drills slowed the transi
tion, Skip Holtz said.
Swygert, who’s twice recov
ered from knee surgery, has good
presence and movement. He com
pleted four of his five throws
against Georgia and connected
with Demetris Summers on a 37
yard pass for the Gamecocks only
touchdown.
“All the quarterbacks are
looking at it as a chance to get
better as a group,” Swygert said.
“As far as the line, the running
backs and receivers, I don’t
J8
think they really care who’s
back there as long as they get the
job done.”
The quarterback situation
could change the plans to sit
Blake Mitchell out this season.
Mitchell’s sharp play on the scout
team combined with Pinkins’
poor play to give him this chance
to impress.
But Pinkins thinks a strong
week of practice will keep him un
der center when the Gamecocks
face Alabama-Birmingham on
Saturday night.
“I feel like if I can continue to
go out and work hard and show
the coaches and the team that I
can lead the team, I feel I can hold
on to this job,” he said.
Pinkins has completed only 42
percent of his passes. However,
South Carolina coaches count 21
drops by receivers this season.
Still, the Gamecocks have
scored just 52 points, their lowest
total at this point since Holtz’s 0-11
season in 1999 when they had 12.
The odd-man out, at least for
now, is Rathe. This week, Rathe
says, isn’t about Holtz sending a
message to Pinkins or anyone else
on the depth chart, it’s about find
ing a quarterback to move the
Gamecocks.
That’s what Clemson coach
Tommy Bowden faced last fall
when he replaced Simmons, his
first major recruit in February
1999, with Whitehurst. Most diffi
cult for Bowden was shelving a
player who was so committed and
loyal to Clemson the previous
three seasons. Waiting until the
season’s ninth game with the
Tigers 4-4 also left the situation
ripe for dissension that Bowden
and his coaches would have to dif
fuse, he said.
When did Bowden feel he made
the right choice in Whitehurst?
“Probably after the (Duke) game
when he threw for 400 yards,”
Bowden said.
Whitehurst passed for 420
yards and tied a school single
♦ QUARTERBACKS, SEE PAGE 11
Ber son’s
squad is
school’s
best story
TYLERJONES
GAMECOCKSPORTS@HOTMAIL.COM
The men’s soccer team’s
success is worth noting.
I have always been a fan of
loud-mouthed trash-talking, mink
coat-wearing sports stars. I would
gladly kiss the polished Gators of
Michael Irvin or iron an over- ~
sized, mustard-colored blazer of °
Deion Sanders in a blink of an eye.
But I have no respect for quarter
backs who are ranked last in ev
ery category in the SEC (except
rushing) running their mouths off •
at future NFL stars.
While I am no Nostradamus, I
am prepared to make a bold pre
diction that David Pollack will be
cashing large checks from Paul
Tagliabue, while Dondrial
Pinkins will be lucky to cash
checks from the Arena2 Football
League. You see, when you talk
smack in the media about a supe
rior opponent, one who dominated
you, you have to back it up. Now,
Mr. Pinkins, you have found your
self in the midst of a quarterback
controversy and deservedly so.
miuugu ui ims luuiuan laijk.. i
have had enough of this Dr. Jekyll
and Mr. Hyde show that is slith
ering out of The Roost. Even
Robert Louis Stevenson could not
script a novel as sadistic as the
one that the Holtz family is forced
to read every day.
There is, however, an interest
ing story brewing on the other
side of campus. It is a story of
drugs, winning and tradition. It is
a tale that takes place in a grave
yard with a young protagonist ar
riving from nowhere to lead a
team of question marks to what
can only be a happy ending.
Yes, friends, the men’s soccer
team has bolted from the shadows
of obscurity to a Top 10 national
ranking amid the doubts from last
year’s season ending collapse and
the dismissal of several players be
cause of their failure to abstain from
South America’s finest import.
Under the guidance of head
coach Mark Berson, the young
team has run up an impressive 6
0 record. For Berson, it is perhaps
the biggest challenge in his 25-year
coaching career at USC. A quarter
century that includes 16 trips to the
NCAA tournament and the ninth
winningest program in the ’90s
with a record of 113-39-12.
What makes the start so sur
prising is not only the soap opera
expulsion of veteran players, but
the fact that last year’s team leapt
out to a 7-0-1 record before finish- .
ing the season an abysmal 4-8 and *
losing in the first round of the
NCAA tournament. Somehow,
Berson and Co. have convinced a
ucuu Tiumuijjvitu* ui juuiig
ers to believe the system they are
preaching, a far cry from the dis
combobulated nonsense that is on
display every Saturday afternoon
in Williams-Brice.
The real measure of success
will be how the team finishes off
this remarkable start, because last
year’s team did not seal the deal.
Games against perennial power
houses like Portland, Clemson,
Furman and UNC remain on the
schedule for an inexperienced
team that has not faced a legiti
mate opponent.
Regardless of the finish, I find
myself interested in the journey
and so should you, dear reader. Go ^
online, find the schedule and go to
the games. Now you know what a
great reality show this could be —
drug-related suspensions, a veter
an coach with something to prove
and a young leader in goal. I sug
gest you show up for the game this
Sunday against Appalachian State,
or you could just stay home and
cry about UAB beating us this
weekend in football.
Jones is a graduate student in the
College of Mass Communications
and Information Studies.
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