Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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TH#%AMECOCK /^sA 1—V S~\ ~|—V rri GAME SCHEDULE ^ 1 | If I I I f I 1 ^ 1 WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL vs. Tennessee, 7 p.m. I-J | | ■_< I WOMEN’S SOCCER at Florida, 7 p.m. Friday L ^ I I II I I L ^ MEN’S SOCCER vs. Tulsa, 7 p.m. Friday Page 13 --' —I— W —1— —I— rV_/ Wednesday, Oct. 26,2005 CROSS COUNTRY WELCOMES SEC MEET Hurricane Katrina forces league to move event to Fort Jackson Brian Davis FOR THE GAMECOCK How many times have die-hard Gamecock fans traveled to rally varsity sports such as cross country and equestrian? Those fans will have the opportunity to support USC’s cross country team Saturday at an event that truly matters — the SEC Championships. For the second time in USC history, the men’s and women’s cross country conference championship will be held at USC, this time down the road at Fort Jackson. “We are very grateful to Fort Jackson for allowing us to use Hilton Field as the competition venue, and we are looking forward to the SEC teams coming to Columbia,” USC Athletics Director Eric Hyman said. USC plays host to the event because of the damage Louisiana, and specifically Baton Rouge, suffered during Hurricane Katrina. I “We wish we were hosting the meet here and that (Hurricane) Katrina had never happened, but unfortunately that isn’t the case,” LSU track and field coach Dennis Shaver told LSUsports.net. “Knowing the short amount of time South Carolina was given to secure a facility and the necessary manpower required to host such an event, we are very lucky and grateful that they are willing to do n so. The men’s 8-kilometer run will include one loop around the terrain, two larger loops and one final loop. The men’s run will begin at 9:30 a.m., with the women following at 10:30 a.m. The women’s 6-kilometer run will include three small loops and one final loop. Admission is free. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocksports@gwm.sc.edu If you’re going WHAT: SEC Cross Country Championships WHERE: Hilton Field at Fort Jackson WHEN: Saturday, Oct. 29 Equestrian team seeks greater appreciation Team excels in shadow of larger, more popular sports Rlyssa Rber FOR THE GAMECOCK Only one Gamecock sports team claimed a national championship last year. That team was not the football team, the basketball team, or even the baseball team. In fact, one might be hard—pressed to find an individual at USC, even among the most dedicated Gamecock fans, who could properly identify the equestrians as USC’s only national champions in 2005. Not only are many students unaware of the team’s championship season, but many are generally uninformed about what the equestrian team does, and still others are unaware of the team’s existence altogether. This phenomenon has not gone unnoticed by the members of the equestrian team. “I still have teachers that say, ‘Oh, there’s an equestrian team here?”’ said Tara Brothers, senior hunt seat captain. One explanation for equestrian’s minuscule following is its relatively new stature on the collegiate scene. USC was the first major school in the country to sponsor equestrian with its program beginning in 1997. Furthermore, equestrian has traditionally found its greatest support outside North America. “I think that a lot of people do riot know that we are there just because it is not like football and basketball,” USC equestrian coach Boo Duncan said. “Everyone knows about football, basketball, volleyball, baseball, swimming — all of the Olympic sports — and equestrian is an Olympic sport as well. It’s just not as popular in the U.S. as it is in Europe and Australia.” The location of the team’s facilities is another factor that contributes to Katie Kirkland/THE GAMECOCK * • USC’s equestrian team looks to become back-to-back national champions. the team’s obscurity on campus. The team practices and competes at One Wood Farm in • Blythewood, approximately 30 minutes from campus. “It is obviously not as convenient as other sports ... I think a lot of the reason we don’t get the fans we deserve is that it is so far away, and students a lot of times don’t want to drive this far out,” Brothers said. Brothers and co-captain, senior western captain Laura Pipkin, credit the school’s minimal coverage and • HORSES •m USC PREPS FOR POST-NEWTON RUN Katie Kirkland/THE IIAMECOCK Junior Syvelle Newton is out for the season with a torn Achilles’ tendon. Young players will look to step up in place of injured team leader RJBembry STAFF WRITER Carolina’s offense will face life after Syvelle Newton when the Gamecocks travel to Knoxville, lenn., to take on the slumping Volunteers. USC hasn’t beaten the Volunteers since Steve Taneyhill’s freshman year in 1992, and if Steve Spurrier and the Gamecocks hope to remedy the decade-long drought, someone will have to step up and attempt to replicate Newton’s presence. During Tuesday’s news conference, Spurrier talked about losing the dynamic junior after a breakout game. “Syvelle, obviously with the way he played last week, we should have probably been using him in that situation for the whole season at tailback and moving him around quite a bit, quarterback and so forth. I guess we weren’t smart enough to figure that out. Were all hoping and praying he’ll come back from the Achilles injury.” Newton described the play of the injury with somber recollection. “(I was) just trying to get in the end zone. Trying to make something happen. Trying to be Superman.” With Newton lost for the year and sophomore wideout Travis Lee withdrawing from school, the team made a couple shuffles to the lineup to shore up the receiving corps. Freshman wide receiver turned-defensive back and special teams specialist Carlos Thomas will move back to wide receiver for the Tennessee game and possibly for the rest of the year. Despite injuries and roster moves, Spurrier said Carolina’s offense is headed in the right direction and will continue its season-long production in massive Neyland Stadium. “We’re optimistic about a, lot of things,” Spurrier said. “We’re actually throwing the ball around decently for a first-year quarterback and a bunch of first year receivers.” One of those first-year receivers, Sidney Rice, is fresh off a three touchdown performance against Vanderbilt that broke Jermale Kelly’s school record. for consecutive games with a Graphic illustration by Laura-Joyce Gough / THEGAMECOCK touchdown. Spurrier has been impressed with Rice this season, and he figures Rice to be a dominant factor in the receiving game against the Vols. Spurrier said: “(The coaching staff) thought he had a chance to be a big-time player, and he has certainly proven that. He has wonderful hands and was an all state basketball player. I think the opportunity to play wide receiver and in our offense, I think that is what he said helped him stick solely with football. We’ve tried to use him; sometimes I’ll look back and we should have thrown more ' towards him.” Vanderbilt’s defense didn’t try to craft a specific game plan to shut down Rice, and Spurrier doesn’t FOOTBALL • 15 Graphic illustration by Laura-Joyce Gough/THE GAMECOCK 1 * X Volleyball looks to bounce back against Tennessee [Datt ITIoore FOR THE GAMECOCK While most Gamecock fans have Rick Clausen, Jesse Mahelona and the Tennessee football team on their minds, the volleyball team is focused on a different set of Vols. Carolina’s opponents today, the Tennessee Lady Volunteers, are coming off sweeping a Kentucky team that defeated Carolina 3-1 on Sunday. Tennessee (12-7, 6-3 in conference play) is second in the SEC’s eastern division and fourth overall. USC (10 9, 3-6) is fourth in the East and seventh overall. If that advantage isn’t enough to worry about, standout senior Kristen Andre might be. Andre, a 6-foot-1 inch middle blocker for the Lady Vols, was voted SEC offensive player of the week for her performance against Kentucky last Friday. Andre hit .680 in the match with 17 kills. Her hitting percentage was the highest recorded by a Lady Vol this season. Andre has a solid supporting cast as well. Along with Andres SEC leading hitting percentage of .400, Tennessee brings sophomore Yuliya Stoyanova, the SEC’s leader in kills with 4.61 per game, and senior Julie Knytych who ranks second in the SEC in assists. Junior Sarah Blum is third in the SEC in blocks per game with 1.42, and senior Amy Morris, last seasons SEC defensive player of the year, is fourth in digs with 4.65 per game. Andre, Knytych, and Morris were all first team All-SEC last year. Junior outside hitter Shonda Cole ranks fourth in the SEC in kills with 4.32 per game. Her junior counterpart, outside hitter and setter Iris Santos, is in the top 10 in the conference in assists and service aces. Even with one of the best squads statistically in the SEC, Tennessee is in the middle of what it considers a www. dailygamecock. com down year. After wining last seasons SEC Tournament, the Lady Vols came into the season ranked No. 9 in the country. They quickly fell to No. 16 and weren’t ranked by week four. Wins for the Gamecocks are starting to become necessary as they pass the halfway point of their SEC schedule. Eight teams qualify for the SEC Tournament, and Carolina is just ahead of eighth-ranked Georgia and Mississippi State who are 2-7, and 1 Oth-ranked Auburn at 2-8. If this sounds familiar, it’s because it is what you will be seeing Saturday as well — a USC team looking for wins and the possibility of a postseason matched against an underachieving Tennessee team trying to prove itself. This is USC’s first of two matches with the Lady Vols. The match starts at 7 p.m. in Columbia. Comments on this story? E-mail igamecocksports@gwm.sc. edu i Juan Bias/THE GAMECOCK Junior outside hitter Shonda Cole drops a shot over a Kentucky player.