The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, August 13, 2005, Page B4, Image 20
Track finishes second
flliquel Jacobs
THE 6MTICC0CK
The USC women’s outdoor
track team lived up to a its
expectations this season, finishing
as the national runner-up June 6
in the NCAA Outdoor Track and
Field championships. Tied with
UCLA Jt 48 points, Carolina
finished at its best since winning
the title in 2002.
Texas won this season’s
championship with 55 points and
a strong finish on the final day of
competition.
“I am very proud of the
performance we had,” Frye said.
“We are proud that our women
finished second in the nation.
They represented our institution
well — it’s an outstanding finish.
We would have loved to won, but
we take our hats off to Texas and
to UCLA. They have outstanding
programs, and it’s an honor to be
among these teams.”
The Gamecocks posted three
second-place finishes on the
women’s side and collected 18
All-American honors, an
improvement from last season’s
12.
As the final day of competition
concluded, the title hinged on the
1,600-meter relay — the last
event. With UCLA leading Texas
by 3 and USC by 8 going into the
event.
With UCLA not fielding a
team for the event, the relay was
run tightly before Texas squeaked
to a first-place finish at 3 minutes,
27.1 seconds, nine hundredths of
a second ahead of the Gamecocks,
who came in at 3:27.22.
“We knew it was going to
come down to the 4x400-meter
relay,” said senior Shevon
Stoddart, USCs lead runner in
the event. “We all went out there
and gave it our best and finished
second. We have a great team who
will hopefully come back next
year and get it done.”
Freshman Shalonda Solomon
collected a runner-up finish in the
200-meter dash with a time of
22.86. The other runner-up finish
occurred in the 400-meter
hurdles as Gamecocks Stoddart
and junior Tiffany Ross-Williams
finished second and third,
respectively. Both athletes ran
personal bests that qualify as Nos.
2 and 3 on USCs all-time. list.
Stoddart’s time (54.47) and Ross
Williams’ time (54.56) trail only
that of former 16-time All
American Lashinda Demus,
whose time of 53.43 last season
earned her a berth in the 2004
Olympics.
“When I got to the
straightaway (300-meter), I saw I
was in a good position to win and
tried with all my heart to get that
to that finish line,” Stoddart said.
“She (Wyoming’s Shauna Smith)
got that win, but I ran one of the
best races I’ve ever ran.”
Sophomore Stephanie Smith
and freshman Natasha Hastings
posted personal bests at the
championships while earning All
American honors. Smith finished
third in the 400s at 50.93, and
Hastings, the 2005 SEC
Champion, was sixth at 51.87.
USC’s All-American winners
on the women’s side include
Chelsea Hammond (eighth-long
jump), 400-meter relay team
(seniors Erica Whipple and Alexis
Joyce, Ross-Williams and
Solomon), 1600-meter relay team
(Stoddart, Hastings, Ross
Williams and Smith), 400-meter
hurdles (Stoddart and Ross
Williams) and the 200-meter
dash (Smith and Hastings).
Men’s All-American honors
include junior Rodney Martin Jr.
(100-meter and 200-meter) and
freshman Jason Richardson (110
meter hurdles). The men’s team
finished No. 26 with 12 points.
Comments on this story? E-mail
gamecocksports@gwm. sc. edu
JBSON STEELMBN/THE GAMECOCK
USC’s women's basketball team returns a group of experienced and talened veterans, along with
touted newcomers for the 2005 season. They are expected to be contenders for the SEC title.
Women’s basketball regroups
Uliquel Jacobs
the enmEcocH
On the heels of back-to-back
rebuilding seasons, USC’s womens
basketball team will return for the
2005-2006 season with a plethora
of returning talent.
With last seasons entire roster
expected to return along with
heralded newcomers Brionna
Dickerson and Demetress Adams,
the Gamecocks should be able to
build on last season’s late success.
In what could become one of
the conference’s best backcourts in
the next few seasons, the
Gamecocks are solid at the guard
positions, led by former Freshman
All-SEC member Lauren Simms.
Junior Lea Fabbri returns from a
breakthrough season in which she
started 18 games at point guard and
saw all her statistics and shooting
percentages increase. Redshirt junior
Angela Hunter took over the point
when Fabbri took temporary leave
from the team for personal reasons,
becoming an instant threat from the
perimeter and logging key minutes.
Simms was the lone Gamecock
to average double-digits in scoring,
logging 11.8 points per game.
A knee injury against Alabama on
Feb. 20 ended her season, causing
junior Stacy Booker to take over as
leader for the improving squad,
including a 19-point, nine-rebound
performance against Alabama for
USC’s first conference victory.
Booker averaged 37 minutes, 12.4
points and 5.8 rebounds during
Carolina’s final six games. Junior
Shannel Harris rounds out the
backcourt as the defensive stopper
and perimeter threat, averaging a
steal every two minutes.
One of the top shot-blocking
teams in the nation, Carolina has
plenty of height to match any team
in the post. Led by junior Melanie
Johnson’s 6.2 rebounds and 1.9
blocks per game.
Johnson, junior Iva Sliskovic and
sophomore Lakeshia Tolliver led the
post for the record-breaking team, as
Carolina posted 167 blocks on the
season, breaking the previous record
of 115 in the 2001 -2002 season.
Sliskovic, the leading scorer and
rebounder from her freshman
season, came on late last season but
finished as a top player, scoring in
double figures in Carolina’s last
four games, highlighted by a 16
point, 15-rebound effort against
Kentucky in which she was 8-for-8
from the field, a school record.
Olga Gritsaeva returns as the
lone senior for the Gamecocks. She
became one of the tallest guards in
the country at 6-ft>ot-4 after
converting to a wing player to
allow playing time for all of the
post players.
After leading Russia to a 5-3
record in the European
Championships during the summer,
expect Gritsaeva to log more
minutes as a combination player.
Sophomore Ilona Burgrova started
18 games at center for Carolina and
became a key contributor as a true
freshman, including making the All
tournament team at the Carolina
Classic. Junior Larissa Kulscar
provides a physical inside presence
and does a lot in her time, shooting
43 percent from the field.
The 2005-2006 season will be a
treat for fans, as Carolina will play
host to five NCAA Tournament
teams, including Sweet 16
participant Minnesota. The
Gamecocks will play an exhibition
against Everyone’s Internet, a team
of WNBA members, on Nov. 14,
followed by the regular-season
opener against High Point on Nov.
18.
Comments on this story? E-mail
gamecocksports@gwm.sc.edu
Solving Problems
Including:
DUI
Criminal Defense
Auto Accidents
Cromer Law Offices
A General Practice of Law
J.L. "Bubba" Cromer, Jr.
Former S.C. State Representative
2910 Devine Street
254-7900
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