Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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* -» THE GAMECOCK • Wednesday, June l, 2005 Q X Vy_lLl GAME SCHEDULE BASEBALL vs. Michigan, noon Friday Women’s track eyes next NCAA title FILE ART/THE GAMECOCK USC’s men's track and field team finished fourth in regionals. Five men will compete in the national championship next week. By MIQUEL JACOBS STAFF WRITER After more than 100 years of struggles, the USC women’s track team captured the school’s first national championship June 1, 2002. Only four weeks before, the team won the SEC championship, and coach Curtis Frye was named National Coach of the Year. Three years have passed, and the Gamecocks seem to be blazing the same path toward the school’s third national championship, the second going to the equestrian team earlier this vear. The womens outdoor track team won the SEC championship May 15 after an amazing comeback on the final day of competition. The Gamecocks claimed victory with a 145.2 point finish, 20 points ahead of second place Arkansas. The NCAA East Regionals in New York were the next hurdle for the Gamecocks, one that All American junior Tiffany Ross Williams, sophomore Ronnetta Alexander and senior Shevon Stoddart jumped over with ease. The trio, along with nine other individual athletes that earned automatic berths for the NCAA Outdoor Championships, helped Carolina dominate the field with 102.25 points. The closest competitor was Miami at 81, with in-state rival Clemson finishing 13 th with 17. “Our women’s team did a great job advancing everyone to nationals that we need to give us a shot for the national title,” Frye said. “The athletes, coaches and staff did a wonderful job. The Gamecocks are the regional champions for the first time.” USC claimed two victories in the regionals, courtesy of the traditionally dominating relay teams. In the 400-meter relay, freshmen Amberly Nesbitt and Shalonda Solomon and seniors Erica Whipple and Alexis Joyce ran 43.68, barely squeaking by Miami for first. The 1,600-meter relay was run by Stoddart, freshman Natasha Hastings, junior Tawana Watkins and sophomore Stephanie Smith in 3:29.19. The victory was the Gamecocks’ last of the day and sealed the regional title, finishing nearly three seconds ahead of runner-up Miami. All-American senior Chelsea A Hammond qualified with a second-place showing in the l9ng jump (20-7), an improvement from her third-place finish in last years regional. Junior Cheryl Terrio’s third-place finish in the pole vault with a personal best of 13-3 M earned her first trip to the championships. Alexander and Ross-Williams finished second and fifth, respectively, in the 100-meter hurdles, with Ross-Williams also advancing with a second-pl^ce finish in the 400-meter hurdles. Stoddart, who had already advanced in the 1,600-meter relay, also advanced in the 400-meter hurdles with a third-place showing. Joyce, Solomon, Smith and Whipple, qualifiers in their respective relays, earned championship berths with strong showings in the dashes. The Gamecocks finished 2-3-4 in the 100-meter with Whipple and Solomon leading the way, 11.44. The two later qualified with top five finishes in the 200-meter. Smith was the lone qualifier in the 400-meter, finishing second with a ♦ TRACK, page 10 USC enters regionals By ALEX RILEY SPORTS EDITOR After starting the season on fire, the formerly top-10 Gamecocks have found themselves faced with hard times. USC hitters haven’t helped back solid outings by the pitching staff, leading to the Gamecocks’ fall from being one of the nation’s elite teams. USC closed out the regular season against the SEC cellar dwellers of Kentucky with a three game sweep, which fans believed would be the starting point of another magical postseason run for the Gamecocks. Those hopes looked to be coming true, as Carolina downed the Tennessee Volunteers 12-2 in the opening round of the SEC Tournament, advancing in the winners’ bracket. But the hope of a late-season turnaround and possible host site for the NCAA Regionals was quickly dashed, as the Gamecocks found themselves staring down a 13-strikeout performance by Mississippi State senior Todd Doolittle and a 6-2 loss. Carolina bowed out the next day to Tennessee 4-1 behind another 13 strikeout performance, this time by freshman James Adkins. Even with a dismal end to the regular season, USC has found itself in a familiar place — the NCAA Tournament. The Gamecocks grabbed the No. 2 seed in the Atlanta bracket, headed up by host school Georgia Tech (42 16), No. 3 Michigan (41-17) and in-state rival Furman (30-27). “It’s easy travel, we’ve been there before, we have some experience ♦ BASEBALL, page 10 CHARLIE DAVENPORT/THE GAMECOCK Ian Paxton waits on a pitch behind the plate earlier in the season. The Gamecocks travel to Atlanta on Friday for their regional.