Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

}< MEN’S FOOTBALL CHALLENGE THE CHALLENGE: Every week, Jonathan Adam °avid lS,tevan We Thpfiameenrk’sreariepsand Hillyard Beam Stagg Wolfe Van Haren Dawson i staff test the^r"sports knowledge Sports Ed^ f VJtwPoints Reader°f ... , .. editor in chief director editor editor the week I with game predictions. (Q-p) (0-0) _ (0-0) (0-0) (0-0)_ (10-10) USC at Vanderbilt USC USC USC USC _ USC USC | Oregon St. at LSU' LSU LSU " LSU LSU LSU LSU Colorado St. at Colorado Colorado St. Colorado Colorado Colorado_Colorado Colorado UNLVat TennesseeTennessee Tennessee Tennessee Tennessee Tennessee Tennessee Okla. St. at UCLA~ UCLA Okla. St. Okla. St. UCLA~ UCLA Okla. St. Wake Forest at Clemson Clemson Clemson Clemson Clemson Clemson Clemson Pittsburgh at South Florida USFPittsburgh Pittsburgh USF__ USFPittsburgh Florida St. at Miami Miami Florida St. Miami Florida St. Miami Florida St. WANT TO BE READER OF THE WEEK? E-MAIL SELECTIONS FOR NEXT WEEK’S GAMES TO GAMECOCKSPORTS@GWM.SC.EDU. LAST YEAR’S RESULTS: Editor Adam Beam looks to retain his title after beating then-Sports editor Brad Senkiw in a close match. Volleyball begins season at Wake Forest tournament By MEGAN GIBSON THE GAMECOCK The USC women’s volleyball team opens its season this weekend when it travels to Winston-Salem, , N.C., for the Wake Forest I Invitational tournament. USC’s opening match will be against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons on Friday night at 7 p.m. The Demon Deacons might prove to be the most challenging opponent of the weekend. “It’s our opening match and the crowd will be bigger,” head coach Kim Hudson said. “It’s always much harder to play the home team.” The Deacon’s greatest strength this year is in junior outside hitter Valerie Rydberg, who was named to the All-ACC first team last season. She was also an ACC leader in kills, digs and service aces. “Last time we played them, she really gave us a hard time,” Hudson said about Rydberg. “She’s a great ^ player and a really great competitor.” The Deacons’ strength at the net does not end there. They also have two returning letter winners in the middle. Senior Morgan Havig and All-ACC player Christy Williams might also give the Gamecock' some defensive pressure. USC will also face the experienced University of Connecticut team Saturday at 11 a.m. UConn returns to the court this year with five starters from last season, including senior outside hitter Jamie Hadenfeldt, who had a team-best 501 kills last season. She also earned All-Big East second team honors in 2003 and was named to the preseason All Big East team. Brittany Conover was the team’s leading blocker and finished the season tanked sixth in blocks per game among all players in the Big East. UConn finished the 2003 season seventh in its conference with a 20-12 overall record. The veteran team will have the experience and chemistry to play a good match. The Marshall team has four returning players and eight freshmen. The Thundering Herd’s top two blockers are returning starters Nickie Sjtnlin and Amber Sims, who might prove to be the leaders for this young team. Also, keep an eye out for junior setter Katie Stein who already has 2,898 career assists, the second most in school history. As for the Gamecocks, Hudson said it’s difficult to tell which women would lead the way this weekend. “I see good things out of each one of them,” she said. “It’s hard to tell. We still have a distance to go.” The Gamecocks’ will play their first home game in the Colonial Center — the first time volleyball has ever been played in the arena. USC takes on the Clemson Tigers on | Tuesday at 7 p.m Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocksports@gwm.sc. edu ■ SALUTE Continued from page 8 audience how his defense works.a “I keep a bucket next to me, and 1 just pull one out every time,” Minter said. “Get the ball,. stop them from scoring and don’t give up the field. The rest is just fluff.” The team was then introduced under an array of fireworks and smoke to the tune of the ever recognizable “2001” as seniors Jonathan Alston and Jason Capers addressed the crowd, thanking everyone for their support during their time as Gamecocks. ^ But it was when head coach Lou Holtz arose to speak that the crowd went wild. Holtz received an ovation like no other, and his comments reflected his recommitment to the Gamecock football program. “There is only one thought on my mind beside my faith in God, and that is this football team,” Lou Holtz said. Holtz went through a long list of things that people associate when talking about USC football, everything from Williams-Brice being a hard place to play, to the fan support, to “2001” and one of the best entrances in college football. But he made it clear what he wanted USC to be known for. “Its time Carolina football became known for championships, for come from-behind wins, for winning big in clutch games,” Lou Holtz said. Holtz’s closing remarks charged the fans beyond any other occurrence of the night and sent fans out on a high note. “I don’t know if we will win a single football game. But I don’t know if we will lose a single game, either.” Comments on this story ? E-mail gamecocksports@givm.sc. edu ■ FOOTBALL Continued from page 8 Osemwegie led the SEC in tackles last fall with 126 and is like lightning in a bottle, bringing punishing hits and blazing speed to coverage of both the pass and run. The Vanderbilt and USC kicking games have improved but continue to raise questions. Patrick Johnson | returns as Vanderbilt’s place kicker, " but injuries last season hindered his progress. USC returns two talented kickers in Josh Brown and Joey Bowers, but both have consistency issues that could raise questions. “They sort of pushed us around in the first half last year,” Vanderbilt head coach Bobby Johnson said. “They’re very physical. They spread you out and make you do things — you have to make the choice to cover receivers or play the run. They’re going to try to make you choose and then beat you based on that.” This is the second-consecutive year the Commodores have opened the season with an SEC game. Last year, Vanderbilt lost to Ole Miss in its season opener, 24-21. That’s right — Eli Manning and Ole Miss. The Gamecocks haven’t opened the season with an SEC game since the 1995 season, when they took on Georgia. This game could be the biggest building block for both teams’ seasons this year. “The biggest question I have is not whether we’re going to play well or not, but how well we’ll react when things go against us, particularly on the road,” Holtz said. “There’s no doubt that a football game has the ups and the downs and things along that line. We do need to take a complete team to Vanderbilt. By a complete team, I’m talking about we have to play well on offense, defense, kicking Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocksports@gwm.sc. edu Women’s soccer to battle Cougars, Cyclones at home By STEPHANIE PENDRYS THE GAMECOCK With a 2-1 record and fresh off a convincing 3-1 victory against Furman, the newcomers to the Gamecock women’s soccer squad have already shown why Soccer Buzz magazine has ranked South Carolina’s 2004 freshmen class fourth out of 50 schools in the Southeast. USC freshmen Ashley Kirk, Courtney Cobb, Erin Sullivan and Lexi Randazzo have already tallied points in the first three games of the season. New goalkeepers Monica Sanchez and Laura Armstrong have played smart and been solid in the goal box. The Gamecocks, with a surge of momentum in tow, return to Columbia for a Labor Day weekend home stand against a _ pair of worthy non-conference opponents. The weekend competition for South Carolina gets underway Friday night against the Cougars of the University of Houston. The Cougars (0-2), boasting the 22nd best recruiting class in the nation’s central region, have added goal scorers on the front line and playmakers in the midfield in hopes of improving on last year’s 3-13-2 record. Houston’s 2003 season was the toughest campaign in the team’s seven year history, and the team collected only 13 goals in 18 matches. The 2004 recruiting class for the Cougars totals eight, with four signees, two transfers and two walk-ons. Returning for Houston is senior scoring threat Nikki Hawkins, a 2003 USA Conference first team midfielder. Hawkins led the 1 Cougars in every offensive category last season. The f Gamecocks are looking to claim c a victory over a Houston team they battled to a 1-1 tie last season. Game time Friday night is 7 p.m. The Sunday afternoon match pits the Gamecocks against the Iowa State Cyclones. The Cyclones enter the 2004 season with a preseason ranking of 96 in the nation’s top 100 in the Soccer Buzz magazine season preview. Iowa State will play.the Gamecocks after a Friday night match in Raleigh against North Carolina State. Iowa State’s record stands at 1-1 after having completed play in the Iowa State Classic Tournament last weekend. The Cyclones lost a close game to the Arizona Wildcats, 0-1, in the opening game of the tournament but bounced back by shutting out the Drake University Bulldogs, 2-0. Like South Carolina, Iowa State has already had its freshmen class make big contributions on the field. Freshman goalkeeper Jo Flaig has recorded nine saves on the young season, and the Cyclones’ pair of goals against Drake was scored by newcomers Beth Passman and Brittanie Waddell. Iowa State is hoping its newcomers will continue to create several goal-scoring opportunities this season. A lack of scoring was a consistent problem for the Cyclones and contributed to a disappointing 5-10-4 final mark in 2003. Kickoff for Sunday’s game is set for 12:30 p.m. at the Graveyard. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocksports@gwm.sc.edu SARAH ZIIINSKY/THE GAMECOCK ■ophomore Erin Geldhof dribbles down field in the team’s opener gainst Georgia State. The team will play two games this weekend. ijiiMMiii eHbHh^B I IyoumateSn^M SOLUTION!!! I I S WE DELIVER! 7 DAYS A WEEK U I fc——EHI i