The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, November 08, 2004, Page 9, Image 9
pafTeo GAME SCHEDULE
, TVT , O MEN’S BASKETBALL vs. use Upstate, 7:30 p.m.
Monday, November 8, 2004 FOOTBALL at Florida, 6 p.m. Saturday
I
Swimming strokes past Tigers
By BRIAN DAVIS
THE GAMECOCK
The USC men’s and women’s
swimming teams dismantled
both Clemson swimming
teams Friday night at the Carolina
Natatorium.
In the dual meet, the men’s team was
guided by freshman Dan White, who
won three events: the 1000- and 500
yard freesryles races, as well as the 400
yard individual medley. White, a
freshman from Florida, is one of 11
freshmen on the Carolina men’s
swimming team, many of whom will
have great impacts on the team this
season.
“This is why we recruited these
athletes. We knew they would work
hard and help us win,” USC head coach
Mike Gibb said.
Additional top finishes for the crew
of freshmen came from Kyle Cormier in
his participation in the 800 freestyle
relay as well as Kevin Cargill in the 200
yard backstroke.
• The men’s final score was 140.5
99.5, a display of the dominance
Carolina recently has had over
Clemson as well as a continuation of
being a prominent team at the national
level.
The USC women’s swimming team,
coming off a third place finish at the
SMU Classic, utterly destroyed
Clemson. The final total was 164-79 in
the contest. For the second consecutive
meet, freshman Heather Roffey, a
native of the Cayman Islands, has led
the USC women’s team as she finished
first in the 1000-yard freestyle, first in
the 500-yard freestyle relay and first in
the 800-yard freestyle relay. In the
SMU Classic, a meet of six teams,
Roffey finished second in the 200-yard
butterfly and fifth in the 500-yard
freestyle races. Freshman Christy
Williams, who finished third in the
200-yard individual medley and eighth
in the 500 freestyle at the SMU Classic,
continued her success with victories in
the 200-yard freestyle and butterfly,
while also earning a first-place finish for
the 800 freestyle relay.
Gibbs was pleased with the teams’
dominance over Clemson.
“I think this is a great way to open
the season and it gives us a lot to look
forward to throughout the year,” Gibbs
iA USC swimmer competes in the dual swim meet Friday against
Clemson. The Gamecocks swept the event.
CHARLIE DAVENPORT/THE GAMECOCK
said.
In the dual meet, Carolina also
dominated in the diving component
where the women took the top three
places with astounding performances by
Lauren King, Lindsay Havens and
Tracey Richardson. On the men’s side,
senior Andy Bradley, an NCAA runner
up a year ago, took first place in the 1
and 3 meters while Ian Balman took
second on the 3 meter and lan
Emmerton took third on the 1 meter.
Both teams will continue
competition when they travel to
Gainesville for a meet against Florida on
Friday where they will face great
opposition. The Gator men’s swimming
team is fourth in the nation and heads
into its weekend meet at the Purdue
Invitational having won its first three
meets by a combined 164 points. The
Gator women are third in the nation but
are 2-1, with their first loss coming last
meet in a major domination by the No.
1 nationally ranked Georgia Bulldogs.
Men’s competition will begin Friday at
10 a.m.
Comments on this story? E-mail
gamecocksports@gwm.sc. edu
Ifs all my
fault we
lost to UT,
Ole Miss
■ With Jake Broom at
home during Saturday’s
game, Gamecocks win
It’s all my fault. I’m sorry it took me
so long to realize this, but I am the
reason we couldn’t win a day game at
home. With Jake: 0-2. Without Jake: 1
0. We’re going to
a bowl game, but
if it weren’t for
me we’d be
talking SEC
Championship.
You see,
normally I’d
never miss a
game. But I
JAKE haven’t exactly
BROOM had the time of
my life the last
SECOND-YEAR two games, and I
POLITICAL . r
SCIENCE woke UP feeling
STUDENT pretty sick, so I
decided to stay
here and watch the game on TV. I
missed being there, but it was so much
less stressful this way.
As most of you already know, we
were down 17-14 at halftime. Normally
I’d be flipping out the entire duration
of halftime while the band played. I can
just picture myself curled up in the fetal
position mumbling something in the
stands about how we never play well in
the second half.
Luckily, I was in the friendly
confines of my room. I just paced back
and forth and sat at my computer.
Then, it came to me, almost like a
gift from God. I discovered one of the
greatest products ever sold in the
history of the world: the Clemson
University Limited Edition Shotgun. I
could go on about the irony and
unintentional humor of this shotgun,
but I won’t. I guess not everybody
thinks the fact that Clemson has an
official shotgun is as funny as I do.
Regardless, it helped ease my normal
halftime stress. (Note: if you think I am
making this up feel free to e-mail me
and I will send you a link.)
Anyway, we all know how the rest of
the game went, and let me just be the
♦ Please see BROOM, page 10
• ' NICK ESARES/THE GAMECOCK
Freshman midfielder J.D. Moon, left, battles a Duke Blue Devil
defender during Carolina’s upset victory in Columbia.
Men 9s soccer splits
games at tourney
By MATTHEW NAGY
THE GAMECOCK
South Carolina got used to playing
from behind this weekend as the team
split two games at the Aaron Olitsky
Memorial Classic in Mt. Pleasant. It
was two days of late heroics that led to
a 3-2 loss against Coastal Carolina and
a 3-2 win against Alabama A&M.
Friday evening the Gamecocks
squared off against interstate rival
Coastal Carolina and came up short in
their comeback hopes in the final
minute of play. Coastal took a two
goal lead against Carolina as Patrick
Robertson and Jordie Hughes put the
ball in the back of the net for the
Chanticleers in the 11th and 38th
minutes of the game. ^
USC was able to rally when
sophomore Mike Sambursky took an
excellent corner right to the feet of
junior Greg Reece who got the
Gamecocks on the board with only
four minutes remaining in the first
half. Sebastian Lindholm, the talented
freshman from Sweden, got the
equalizer for USC in the 72nd minute.
Lindholm got the chance on a free
kick after captain Eric Szeszycki was
fouled just outside the 18-yard box.
The goal was Lindholm’s fifth of the
season, which leads the team.
But the team was not able to hold
on and send the game into overtime.
With just 49 seconds remaining in
regulation, Boyzzz Khumalo was able
to put the ball in the back of the net
for the Chanticleers. The senior from
♦ Please see SOCCER, page 10
Carolina to host USC Upstate
By TERENCE WASHINGTON
THE GAMECOCK
Tonight the USC men’s basketball team opens its
season with an exhibition game against USC Upstate at
the Colonial Center. The Gamecocks are coming off a
three-game warmup in Canada, where they won all three
by an average of 37 points.
Reigning SEC Coach of the Year Dave Odom is 3-0
in season openers as head coach of the Gamecocks. He is
entering his fourth season here after coaching USC to
one of the biggest turnarounds in college basketball last
season, in which the Gamecocks won eight more games
than they had the season before. After Odom led the
Gamecocks to the NIT championship game in his first
season as head coach, the Gamecocks reached the NCAA
tournament in his third season at the helm.
The Gamecocks return two of last season’s top three
scorers in guard Josh Gonner and forward Carlos Powell.
These players, along with fellow seniors Jon Land and
John Chappell, will be expected to provide leadership to
an otherwise young team. Powell was named to the
preseason All-SEC second team, an honor voted on by
the SEC’s men’s basketball coaches. Odom has said that
leadership would be the biggest concern for the
Gamecocks this season. USC lost guard Mike Boynton
to graduation last year, and Odom, who coached two
time NBA MVP Tim Duncan at Wake Forest, has called
Boynton the best basketball leader he has ever coached.
Odom says Gonner, Powell and junior guard Tare nee
Kinsey will have to shoulder most of the leadership
burden.
The void left by graduated seniors Boynton,
Rolando Howell and Kerbrell Brown will impact the
Gamecocks on the court as well as in the locker room,
as these three players accounted for more than a third
of the team’s offense. Carlos Powell, last season’s
leading scorer, also led the team in rebounds, helped
out by Renaldo Balkman and Brandon Wallace.
Balkman, Wallace and fellow sophomore Tre Kelley
impressed poaches in the preseason, and new players
also showed signs of good things to come. Freshmen
Dwayne Day and Stephen McDowell have played well
in practice, and junior college transfers Antoine Tisby
and Roderick Trice had excellent careers before
transferring to USC.
These new players add depth to an already promising
team. Odom is encouraged by the team’s
competitiveness, which he knows will certainly
contribute to the team’s chemistry.
“Our guys are competing with each other instead of
against each other,” Odom said. “Each guy is pushing his
teammates to get better. This competitive fire will help
our team do well this season.”
KATIE KIRKLAND/THE GAMECOCK
Sophomore guard Tre Kelley, left, takes on freshman guard Stephen McDowell during a
preseason practice. Kelley will take over the team’s starting point guard position this year.
Odom says fans can expea to see a more full-court
^ame this season, both on offense and defense. This team
;s quicker than last season’s squad, which should add to
:he effectiveness of the Gamecocks’ trapping defense.
Last year’s team led the SEC in all but one defensive
:ategory, finishing second to Mississippi State in steals,
iveraging 8.82 thefts per game.
Last year, the Gamecocks exceeded the fans’ and their
)wn expectations when they reached the NCAA
ourney.
“Not a lot of people, including myself, thought that
vas possible,” Odom sard.
“This year’s team will be held to a different standard,
rhey’ve got to measure up to that.”
The roaJ to the NCAA tournament will be rough,
vith four SEC teams making the preseason top 25.
While the SEC schedule will be tough, the non
conference schedule, starting with USC Upstate tonight,
will be crucial, as the NCAA reportedly will emphasize
non-conference road games in evaluating teams for a
tournament bid. In the weeks after tonight’s game, USC
plays away at Kansas, the preseason No. 1 team, and
Pittsburgh, No. 17. They also play Temple and Clemson
in Columbia, among other home games.
Tonight is the start of it all, though — don’t look too
far ahead, as USC Upstate is picked to finish as high as
sixth in the Division II Peach Belt Conference. The
Gamecocks tip off against the USC Upstate Spartans at
7:30 tonight.
Comments on this story? E-mail
gamecocksports@gwm.sc. edu