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T)An rn ci Patre 17 I ^ II k | i WOMEN’S TENNIS at Francis Marion, 2 p.m. \\ta A a -1* ->nnc 1 I I LI MEN’S TENNIS vs. Clemson, 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 6,2005 _I_ V^/ _ ^ BASEBALL vs. The Citadel, 7 p.m. Defense dominates practice KATIE KIRKLAND/THE GAMECOCK The football team’s defense has gotten the better of coach Steve Spurrier’s offense so far in the first spring practice. By AJ BEMBRY FOR THE GAMECOCK Another day of practice for the USC football team, another day in which the defense dominated the drills and scrimmage. Co-defensive coordinators Tyrone Nix and John Thompson have installed a gritty, quick and strong defense in their mutual first season at Carolina. Though the practice was in shoulder pads and shorts, it consisted of different scrimmage type drills, ranging from 11-on-ll to just backs and receivers vs. defensive backs and linebackers. No matter what the composition, the defense set the pace, routinely getting through the offensive line to pressure the quarterback, and surrounding wide receivers in double and triple coverage. OFFENSE Despite the defense outshining the offense in general play, the offense wasn’t without merit. Blake Mitchell took the majority of the snaps Monday with the first team offense and was rather accurate, completing the majority of his passes to former quarterback and current wide receiver Syvelle Newton. The two players connected for several passes and look to be developing a fair amount of chemistry. Mitchell wasn’t without fault, however, as USC coach Steve Spurrier broke down a few plays for him and had a few brief lectures on his passing mechanics. Fellow quarterbacks Brett Nichols, Antonio Heffner and Mike Rathe also took snaps, with Nichols showing a good grasp of the routes. Running back Albert Ashcraft has solidified himself as the most impressive newcomer in spring practices. The lanky 6-foot-3, 199 pound redshirt freshman from Monroe, N.C., has blazing speed and the ability to turn the corner, leaving linebackers in the dust. His quick feet and well-timed jukes allowed him to dance through four defenders on a sweep to the left side Monday. The redshirt freshman has not run many plays up the middle, as Daccus Turman took most of the interior snaps. DEFENSE The defense’s early drills focused on turnovers and blitzing. For the better part of practice the defense showed good team cohesion. During interception and pass coverage drills, the secondary’s members relayed the ball’s position ♦ Please see SPRING, page 18 Tar Heels Complete Carolina title weep UNC outlasts pesky Illinois to wrap up first championship for battle-tested veteran coach ) By MATTHEW NAGY FOR THE GAMECOCK The University of North Carolina held up its end of the bargain Monday night, joining USC as the only two NCAA basketball teams to end their seasons with wins. It was like-father, like-son as Sean May led UNC to its first basketball national title since 1993, defeating Illinois, 75-70. The Illini fought hard in the second half, making two comeback bids, but Bruce Weber’s team never led after coming back from 15 points down with less than 10 minutes left in the second half. The Tarheels went up 18-17 with just about 11 minutes left in the first half and trailed after that point. May, UNC’s junior , forward, was the big reason for UNC’s * success, as he scored 26 points while making 10-of-ll shots from the floor. It was quite a birthday present for May, who turned 21 Monday, as he went on to become the tournament’s Most l* r»l_ i i i i* vuuiaiiuiug i iajvi aim wdd lilt mduuig scorer and rebounder for the tournament — the only player since Danny Manning in 1988 to lead both categories and win a national championship. May, whose father also led his 1976 Indiana team to a national championship with 26 points, was the focal point in the second half to keep the Illinois surge at bay. With Illini senior James Augustine in foul trouble all game long, the Illini had no answer in the paint as Roger Powell Jr. was overmatched by the bigger and stronger May. Augustine, the Big Ten Tournament >\r\i 11_ mnntnnw i nt vjruyituuurx, c.r\ u«w i nc. noouumi cu rncoo USC senior forward Carlos Powell, left, and UNC junior forward Sean May, right, led their teams through postseason tournaments and finished with a title. MVP, got in foul trouble early trying to handle May and never recovered, finishing with no points in five minutes. The Illini did not go down without a fight, however, as they rallied from a 13 point halftime deficit, as well as a 15-point second-half deficit to tie the game, but were unable to take the lead from a Tarheel team that never doubted its ability to stave off the Illini comeback. Luther Head, who led Illinois with 21 points, hit the back of the iron with 17 seconds left to go on a 3-pointer that would have tied the game. That, like many other Illini 3s, did not fall Monday night, as the team made only 12 of its 40 attempted 3-pointers. The 40 attempts also set an NCAA championship game record. Illinois’ shooting from the field was not impressive either, as the Illini shot only 39 percent from the field and only attempted six free throws, whereas on 16 fewer shots, UNC was able to shoot 50 percent on the evening as well j as 56 percent from beyond the 3-point line. Despite the loss, Weber was proud of what his team has accomplished this season, finishing 37-2 with both the Big Ten regular-season and tournament titles. “It goes down in history,” Weber said. “Not only Illinois history, NCAA history. Tied the most wins ever, No. 1 for all the time. You get to the championship game. You know, I mean, if you’re not happy with this, I feel sorry for you, because life ain’t getting better.” For Roy Williams, his team was able to silence doubters and bring a championship back to Chapel Hill for the first time since the 1993 Tarheels did it. Williams also made the jump from being the coach with the most wins without a championship to the coach with the most wins before his first championship. Prior to Monday, Williams had been involved in two national championships with the Kansas Jayhawks, losing first to the Duke Blue Devils and then in 2003 to the Syracuse -o The game will be remembered mainly for May’s play, but most importantly for May and his teammates, as they won the game and they won it as a team, proving their season-long critics wrong. “A lot of people said we were just talented, but not a team,” May said. “But when times got tough, we banded together and came through. We showed we’re not just talented. We’re a team.” Comments on this story? E-mail \amecocksports@gwm.sc. edu USC, The Citadel to tangle at Sarge Frye By BRIAN DAVIS FOR THE GAMECOCK The USC baseball team will play host to The Citadel in hopes of earning its 25th win tonight at Sarge Frye Field. The Carolina baseball team is 6-0 against in-state rivals this season, including a series sweep against Clemson, a two-game series sweep of Wofford and a 4-2 victory against The Citadel in the teams’ initial meeting in Charleston. USC outscored its opponents 36-13 in these games. In their first contest this season, USC and The Citadel played before a record 5,803 fans at Riley Park in Charleston. The Gamecocks jumped out to a 3-0 lead before the Bulldogs put a run on the board. Individual performances by sophomore outfielder Jon Willard, who had a double and a home run, and senior right-hander Cliff Donald, who allowed four hits in five innings, generated USC’s 19th wift of the season. . USC is coming off a three game sweep of the Georgia Bulldogs, this past weekend. The much-needed victories boosted USC to 5-4 in the SEC from a previous 2-4 record, and came in convincing form. After battling to a 7-5 victory in Friday’s initial contest, the Gamecocks went on a tear, holding the Bulldogs to three runs in the final two games. Carolina scored 23 runs in this span. Stand-out hitters Jon Willard, Steve Pearce and Steven Tolleson were at the forefront of the obliteration. The trio combined for 10 RBIs in the final two days. After a mediocre series start on the mound in senior right-hander Aaron Rawl, Carolina pitching allowed only nine hits and three runs in the final 23 2-3 innings of the series against Georgia. The Citadel (11-15) won most recently last weekend, going 2-of 3 against Wofford in Charleston. Before this, the Bulldogs were stuck in a seven-game drought in the middle of March, displaying the team’s inconsistency. The team is led by senior third basemen Chris Ard (.364, 18 RBIs) and freshman first basemen Chris Swauger (.333, 20 RBIs). These two sluggers have not been able to carry the load brought on the team by its pitching staff, as the Bulldogs have given up 11 more runs than they have scored this season. This should be cause for concern for the Southern Conference team as it travels to Columbia to face the No. 8 team in the nation. The Bulldogs have scored 138 runs on the season and given up 149, while Carolina has scored 230 runs and allowed just 89 on the season. Considering the numbers, the team will clearly have to attack at every opportunity against USC. Facing Carolina pitching is no breeze either. The USC pitching staff has a combined 3-30 ERA, while the Bulldogs give up nearly 6 1 -2 runs per contest. The game begins at 7 p.m. tonight at Sarge Frye Field. Starting pitchers have yet to be named. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocksportsWgwm.se. edu KATIE KIRKLAND/THE GAMECOCK Senior first baseman Stewj Pearce, left, and junior shortstop , Steven Tolleson congratulate each other during Saturday’s win. It’s OK— Tigers claim they’re only about football ■ Clemson nut blames basketball mediocrity on false football success We all know I’m addicted to college sports. Well, I mean, if you didn’t know ... um ... I’m addicted to college sports. Anyway, there comes a time every few days when I actually rim out of Carolina-related stuff to read and talk about. During such times □ I orten frequent a Clemson Web site recommended to me by a friend that plays football for Clemson. I usually just read what they BROOM are talking about, take joy SECOND-YEAR in their defeats POLITICAL , science and STUDENT complaints and sometimes float out the occasional cow related insult. No big deal. Friday, April 1 was one of those days where I had totally exhausted my Gamecock reading material, so I took a trip over to the Clemson Web site to see their reaction to our NIT championship. Since they were practically dancing in the streets (wait, it’s Clemson, make that “dancing in the pastures”) celebrating the fact that they actually got invited to the NIT, I expected a few respectful congratulatory posts. What I got was the exact opposite. After a slew of posts talking about how the NIT is not important, I saw the most simple yet hilarious post in internet history: “Thank God we’re a football school.” Huh? Do my eyes deceive me? Since it was April Fools, I abruptly pulled out my sarcasm meter and scanned the post. Surely this was some sort of sick, twisted joke. Nope. This guy was dead serious. i name uoa we re a football school.” So what exactly makes a school a “football school”? I did a little research on www.cfbdatawarehouse.com and found a few answers for you, the reader, to contemplate. All-time, Virginia Military Institute holds a 5-5-2 record versus Clemson, “a football school.” Villanova holds a 1-1 record versus Clemson, “a football school.” Vanderbilt holds a 3-1 record versus Clemson, “a football school.” Tulane holds a 6-4 record versus Clemson, “a football school.” Kentucky holds a 7-4 record versus Clemson, “a football school.” Pacific holds a 1-0 record versus Clemson, “a football school.” Baylor holds a 1-0 record versus Clemson, “a football school.” Centre (wherever that is ...) holds a 3-0 record versus Clemson, “a football school.” And, my personal favorite, Sewanee holds a 1-0 record versus Clemson, “a football school.” In the world of college football, Clemson is known for two things: winning the National Championship in 1981 and cheating to win the National ♦ Please see BROOM, page 18