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CHARLIE DAVENPORT/THE GAMECOCK Senior forward Ashley Williams, center, battles Florida defenders in overtime of Friday’s game. USC battled the Gators throughout the game but could not extend its season, losing 2-1 in double OT. Soccer starts with bark, finishes with whimper ■ 4-1 start, win over Clemson overshadowed by conference struggles By STEPHANIE PENDRYS THE GAMECOCK The USC women’s soccer team’s season has been one bumpy ride. The Gamecocks began the season with high expectations that stemmed from the stellar incoming freshman class that would be donning the garnet and white. Soccer Buzz Magazine ranked Carolina’s recruiting class fourth out of 50 schools in the Southeast region. The Gamecocks were expected to be competitive in the SEC and had goals to reach the SEC and, quite possibly, NCAA tournaments. The journey began smoothly in August with a 1 -0 win over Georgia State, and the road ahead seemed to be relatively bump-free as the Gamecocks traveled to the Virginia Tournament with a 4-1 record. USC continued to cruise as it picked up a pair of victories against Charlotte and Clemson, and USC senior Sarah Lentz was named SEC defensive player of the week after tallying game-winning goals against Clemson and Charlotte. But the road changed when' the Gamecocks traveled through SEC country and their conference schedule. The road became tumultuous as USC was derailed and lost batdes to Tigers, Wildcats and two breeds of Bulldogs. The games were fist-clenching heartbreakers to players and USC fans along for the ride. USC suffered 1-0 losses to Auburn, Kentucky and Mississippi, and a 3-2 overtime loss to Mississippi State. The Gamecocks, with a 0-5-2 conference record in late October, found themselves in danger of being on the outside looking in at the SEC Tournament. USC needed to sweep its final three SEC games and get a little help from other teams in the conference to clinch the eighth and final seed in the tournament. The Gamecocks steered out of the dark tunnel that was the basement of the SEC standings by taming the Arkansas Razorbacks and the LSU Tigers to break twice into the SEC win column. USC found itself in a clearing, with the SEC Tournament not that far off in the distance. But the road to the promised land went past a swamp that was inhabited by some hungry Florida Gators. In USC’s regular season finale against Florida, the Gators bit first with a Stephanie Freeman goal. Freeman controlled a well-placed cross by Ashley Kellgren and shot the ball out of the reach of USC freshman goalkeeper Lindsay Thorstenson. Carolina was not intimidated by the Gators and tied the game in the 49th minute with a scoring drive that began with a cross by Amanda Thurber. The ball was collected by freshman Courtney Cobbs, and she shot a missile past Florida net minder Jen Gardner to even the score. USC finished regulation play with a 13-8 shot advantage. The overtime minutes looked like more of a ping-pong match as the ball bounced back and forth across the halves and left Gamecock fans cheering with their hearts in their throats. In the 105th minute, Gator KeLeigh Hudson found the back of the USC net from a cross by Cherry Pickman to win the game. USC’s ride was cut short, and the Gamecocks finished 8-10-2 overall and 2-7-2 SEC. Auburn has been selected as the replacement site for the 2004 SEC Tournament, which will be played Nov. 4, 5 and 7. The original site was in Orange Beach, Ala. First round match ups are as follows: (2) Auburn vs. (7) Ole Miss; (3) Florida vs. (6) Alabama; (1) Tennessee vs. (8) Kentucky; and (4) Vanderbilt vs. (5) Mississippi State. Tennessee has clinched its second straight SEC championship. SEC Eastern Division teams posted a 17-13-6 record versus SEC Western Division squads this season. The winner of the three-day event receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Comments on this story ? E-mail gamecockspoits®gW7n.sc. edu ■ CLEMSON Continued from page 10 hearing, they’re like 1-37 this season, aren’t they? We should beat them without breaking a sweat. Not quite. After starting the year 1-4, Clemson has won three games in a row to even out its record at 4-4. They’ve managed to overcome like a billion interceptions from Heisman Trophy-candidate-turned-human turnover Charlie Whitehurst by playing great defense, and they have actually won a few games. Their next two are about as easy to predict as the sunrise. They play Miami one week after the Hurricanes lost, and Miami does not lose two games in a row. Ever. Then there’s ACC (basketball) powerhouse Duke, and Duke does not win football games. Ever. Savor that one Tiger fans, because once basketball season starts, you’ll have no such luck. So the Tigers, barring a catastrophe, will be 5-5 heading into the Carolina game. And the Gamecocks, barring a miracle, will also be 5-5. A pair of teams who hate the ever loving crap out of each other fighting for their football lives and quite possibly their coaches’ jobs in a game that was already the most important one of the season before it ever started — how scary would that be? - Jg —g---1 ■' V: ...4 Interested in taking The Gamecock Challenge? If you can beat the editors, you’ll win a free Gamecock T-shirt. Send your picks to gamecocksports@gwm.sc.edu by 2 p.m. Thursday. We’ll select ONE person’s picks, at random, to be our Reader of the Week. This week’s games: 2 Oklahoma at 22 Texas A&M Minnesota at 4 Wisconsin Notre Dame at Tennessee Maryland at 13 Virginia Purdue at 20 Iowa 19 Oklahoma State at 7 Texas Clemson at 10 Miami Georgia Tech at NC State Kansas State at Missouri Arkansas at South Carolina ♦ FOR TIE-BREAKING PURPOSES, PLEASE'lNCLUDE YOUR SCORE FOR THE USC ARKANSAS GAME. AND DON’T FORGET YOUR NAME! BRIEFS Golfers represent respective countries USC junior golfer Eirik Johansen and former Gamecock golfer Martin Rominger participated in the World Amateur Team Championship this past weekend at the Rio Mar Country Club in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico. Rominger’s Switzerland team finished fourth, while Johansen’s Norway team finished tied for 34th place. Rominger shot an even-par 72 in the first round, 3-up in the second round and 2-under in the third and final round. The fourth round of the tournament was canceled because of inclement weather. His teammates Nicolas Sulzer and Roger Furrer shot 7 under and par, respectively, to lead their team to a score of 422, tying Canada and Italy. Johansen shot 4-over par in the first round and even par the last two rounds to finish the tournament at 4 over par. Overall the Norwegians shot 148, 145 and 151 for a 444 tournament score. Johansen has been an All-American ^selection the past two years. Last year, he won the Palmetto Intercollegiate along with five other top 10 finishes. As a senior last year, Rominger had the lowest stroke average (72.54) on the team and also marked four top-10 and six top-20 finishes. He was also a two time All-SEC selection. Gamecock runners finish 11th in meet The USC cross country team participated in the 14th annual SEC Cross Country Championships Saturday in Fayetteville, Ark. The Gamecocks finished 11th, just eight points behind Alabama. Senior captain Jenny Lake led the way for USC by placing 23rd overall with a time of 21:59 in the 6K race. Also finishing were Amy Wike (22:48), Rebecca Chain (23:58) and Caitlin McGroety (24:30), along with sophomores Karen Wigal (23:31), Tristan Rackow (24:08) and Shay Shelton (25:12). The tournament was the closest in SEC history with the Tennessee Lady Vols edging Arkansas by just two points to successfully defend last year’s SEC championship. Tennis dominates home tournament The USC women’s tennis team combined to win six championships at the Southern Intercollegiate Tournament Sunday. The Gamecocks woii four singles championships and two in doubles action. In singles, Laura Ganzer won the A2 flight with a 6-2, 6-2 win while Miranda Gutierrez won the B1 flight 6 0, 6-0. Seniors Magda Wojdylo and Audrey George claimed the B2 and C2 flights with two set victories. In doubles, Gutierrez teamed up with Fallon Koon to win the A2 doubles draw while Ganzer and Megan McGavock won the other USC doubles championship. The Gamecocks will be back on the court next weekend in Peachtree City, Ga., for the 2004 SEC Fall Coaches Classic. KAPPA KAPPA GAMMA'S 4TH ANNUAL-KAPPA KICKOFF Flag Football Competition & Battle of the Bands $3 Tickets will be sold in advance on Greene St. November I-5th Or purchase them at the gate! Free Food, tons of music & prizes! Nov. 7 Competition from 10am~6pm at Davis Field Money to benefit READING IF FUNDIMENTAI Program & Queen for a Day. •> i_♦| Gamecocks Connection! Your source for Gamecocks news alerts right on your wireless phone! Get up-to-the-minute news about the Gamecocks, from the Gamecocks, on your wireless phone. Log on to www.vtext.com and select "Coaches Comer!" _1 Subject to Customer Agreement and Calling Plan. $35 activation fee may apply. $175 early termination lee applies. Requires credit approval. Subject to taxes, charges and other restrictions. 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