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Gamecocks close year on a high - - ranked fourth By Brian Hand bhand@spursandfeathers.com

outh Carolina is ranked a program-best fourth in the final Associated Press and USA TODAY Coaches’ polls of the year. In both polls, National Champion Florida State was No. 1 followed by Auburn and Michigan State. Missouri was just behind the Gamecocks in fifth in both polls. The ranking of fourth marks South Carolina’s first-ever top-5 national finish. The ranking of fourth bests last year’s previous program-best ranking of eighth in the final AP tally and seventh in the final Coaches’ poll of the 2012 season. The Gamecocks have now been ranked in the top-10 in the final polls in each of the last three seasons. South Carolina commenced the 2013 season ranked sixth in the AP preseason poll and seventh in the USA TODAY Coaches’ poll. “Being ranked No. 4 in both major polls is an honor for the University of South Carolina and for our football program,” Gamecock head coach Steve Spurrier said in a release from South Carolina. “Thanks to the players for achieving another 11-2 record. Thanks also to the coaches, the support staff and our fans for their contributions. Also thanks to the voters for thinking so highly of us. We are very appreciative and thankful for being the highest– ranked team in school history and hope to do better next year.” South Carolina has been ranked in a program-best 64 straight AP polls, which ties them with Stanford for the fifth-longest streak in all of college football. The Gamecocks have now been in the AP top-10 37 times in school history. South Carolina, Alabama and Oregon are the only teams to finish in the AP top-10 in each of the last three seasons. Described by Spurrier as the “bowl national champs,” South Carolina downed a nation-best six teams this past year that won bowl games, including BCS winners UCF and Clemson. The Gamecocks were the only team to defeat UCF. In addition to Clemson (Orange Bowl) and UCF (Fiesta Bowl), South Carolina also picked up victories this season over the winner of the Belk Bowl (North Carolina), the Autozone Liberty Bowl (Mississippi State), the AT&T Cotton Bowl (Missouri) and the BBVA Compass Bowl (Vanderbilt). South Carolina collected its third straight 11-win season by besting then 19th-ranked Wisconsin, 34-24, in the Capital One Bowl. South Carolina is just one of five programs to pick up 11 wins in each of the last three seasons, joining Alabama, Oregon, Northern Illinois and Stanford. The South Carolina (11-2) bowl win over Wisconsin garnered the Gamecocks three straight New Year’s Day bowl victories. The Gamecocks bested

Nebraska, 30-13, in the 2012 Capital One Bowl and Michigan, 33-28, in the 2013 Outback Bowl. South Carolina has now claimed a program-best 42 wins over the course of the last four seasons. The Gamecocks were the only team in the country this season to beat three teams in the top-15 of the final BCS standings (Clemson, Missouri and UCF). South Carolina posted five wins over teams that finished in the top-25 (Missouri 5/5, Clemson 8/7, UCF 10/12, Wisconsin 22/21 and Vanderbilt 24/23). Prior to the Capital One Bowl win over Wisconsin the then 10th-ranked Gamecocks concluded the regular season with a 31-17 victory over then sixth-ranked Clemson in the first-ever top-10 showdown between the two programs. The victory allowed the Gamecocks to procure their fifth consecutive win over their rivals. The regular season-ending win over Clemson also allowed the Gamecocks to extend the nation’s longest home winning streak to 18 games. South Carolina was a perfect 7-0 at home in the 2013 season. The Gamecocks closed out the year with six consecutive wins, including victories over ranked Missouri, Clemson and Wisconsin. After the conclusion of the Capital One Bowl, Spurrier noted what a great three-year run it has been for the Gamecocks. “Everything in all my life, in all the Gamecock life, we’ve never had three years identical,” Spurrier said. “I mean, think about it: 6-2 in the conference, 11-2, win a bowl game, beat Clemson in all three. They’re identical years, almost. Won 18 in a row at home. That’s something that is amazing to me, too. “We lead the nation right now in consecutive home victories … 18 in a row we’ve won at home and they have not been blowouts. They have not been like some of the games when I was coaching in the Swamp, there were a lot of blowouts there, but these were just games that could have gone either way and somehow or another, these guys make plays to win the game, so it’s been amazing. It’s been a wonderful time for all of us,” Spurrier continued.

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To subscribe: Please call 800-559-2311; annual subscription price is $50 Ellen Priest Publisher & President Aiken Communications, Inc. Tim Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Briant General Manager tobriant@spursandfeathers.com (803) 335-1400 Ext. 500 Brian Hand Executive Editor bhand@spursandfeathers. com (803) 335-1399 Ext. 506 Mike Kucharski Reporter mike@spursandfeathers.com (803) 335-1399 Ext. 507 Ed Girardeau Contributing Editor ed@spursandfeathers.com (803) 335-1399 ext. 501 Dee Taylor Advertising Director (803) 644-2371 Kathy Boyette Advertising Sales Manager (803) 644-2349 kboyette@spursandfeathers.com Matt Socha Graphic Designer Allen Sharpe and Jenny Dilworth Photographers Bart Wright Contributing Writer Andy Demetra Contributing Writer Visit our website at www.SpursandFeathers.com Follow us on Twitter @SpursFeathers. You can also like us on Facebook at Spurs & Feathers.

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By Brian Hand & Mike Kucharski

GAME ONE

#6 South Carolina 27, North Carolina 10 (Columbia, S.C.) In a game that was halted for almost two hours in the fourth quarter due to lightning, South Carolina’s offense proved to be the unit with the ability to strike quickly as the sixth-ranked Gamecocks rode a 17-point first quarter to a 27-10 victory in the season opener at Williams-Brice Stadium. The Gamecocks got things rolling almost from the outset in the season-opening win over North Carolina in the “Battle of the Carolinas.” On the third play from scrimmage, the Gamecocks opened the scoring in the game when quarterback Connor Shaw found wide receiver Shaq Roland for a 65-yard touchdown just 1:19 into the game. The touchdown marked South Carolina’s quickest score in a season in its SEC era (since 1992). Shaw eventually concluded the game 11-for-20 for 149 yards passing to go along with the touchdown pass to Roland. Shaw also rushed for 43 yards. Mike Davis led the Gamecocks on the ground in the game with 115 yards on 12 carries. His lone touchdown in the game came on a 75-yard run for South Carolina’s final points in the third quarter. T.J. Gurley procured a game-best nine tackles for the Gamecocks. He had seven solo stops. Skai Moore had seven tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and half a sack.

GAME TWO

#11 Georgia 41, #6 South Carolina 30 (Athens, Ga.) The 11th-ranked Georgia Bulldogs claimed a 41-30 victory over the sixth-ranked South Carolina Gamecocks in an offensive shootout at Sanford Stadium. At the end of the day, the outcome was due to Georgia’s defense being able to make a few more stops than the Gamecocks. The two teams entered halftime tied at 24-24, but Georgia outscored the Gamecocks, 17-6, in the second half. South Carolina and Georgia combined for 990 yards of total offense in the game. The Gamecocks were able to obtain 454 yards of total offense, but fresh off their season-opening loss to Clemson the Bulldogs rallied to put up 536 yards of total offense. Shaw concluded his afternoon with 228 yards passing. He was 16-for-25 in the loss. Davis continued his hot start to the 2013 season in the Georgia game. He rushed the football for an average of 9.3 yards per carry. He closed out the Gamecocks’ first loss of the year with 149 yards rushing on 16 carries. He had one touchdown run. Shaw rushed the football 16 times for 75 yards. Kaiwan Lewis led the Gamecocks in tackles in the game with 12 tackles, including five solo stops. He had

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one tackle for loss. Gurley had eight solo tackles en route to 11 total tackles.

GAME THREE

#13 South Carolina 35, Vanderbilt 25 (Columbia, S.C.) South Carolina rushed out to a 28-0 advantage and then never looked back again in a 35-25 victory over Vanderbilt at Williams-Brice Stadium. The Gamecocks dominated the game statistically. In fact, South Carolina more than doubled up the Commodores in total yards in the game at 579-268. The Gamecocks also more than doubled up Vanderbilt in first downs at 31-14. The Gamecocks were 11-of-17 on their third down conversions, while the Commodores were just 2-of-12 on their third down conversions. Shaw finished the South Carolina victory 21-for-29 with 284 yards passing and three touchdowns. He also rushed the ball 19 times for 84 yards. Bruce Ellington was the top target on the day for the Gamecocks. He had eight catches for 111 yards. Ellington also had one touchdown catch. Davis finished the Gamecock win with 144 allpurpose yards in the game on 77 yards rushing and 67 yards receiving. Marcquis Roberts and Jimmy Legree led the Gamecocks in the game with seven tackles each. Legree also had an interception and two tackles for loss.

GAME FOUR

#12 South Carolina 28, UCF 25 (Orlando, Fla.) In what would prove to be the only loss of the season for Fiesta Bowl-winning UCF, South Carolina erased a 10-0 halftime advantage for the Knights to take a 28-25 victory at Bright House Networks Stadium. South Carolina commenced the second half by scoring 28 straight points - 21 in the first 16 minutes of the second half - to put the game out of reach despite a late charge from the Knights. Davis claimed three touchdowns in the game. He rushed the football 26 times for 167 yards. Dylan Thompson replaced an injured Shaw early in the game and finished the game with 261 yards passing. He was 15-for-32 with one interception. Ellington had 88 yards receiving in the Gamecock come-frombehind win. South Carolina’s defense was able to force four turnovers from UCF. Victor Hampton, Legree and Holloman each had an interception and Gerald Dixon recovered a fumble. Holloman, Lewis and Sharrod Golightly each had five tackles in the game.

GAME FIVE

#13 South Carolina 35, Kentucky 28 (Columbia, S.C.) South Carolina owned a 24-7 lead at the halftime break, but the Gamecocks had to hold off a late Kentucky charge to collect a 35-28 win over the Wildcats at

Williams-Brice Stadium. Davis closed out South Carolina’s victory over Kentucky with 106 yards rushing to go along with two touchdowns. Davis also had 54 yards receiving on three catches in the Gamecock win over Kentucky. Shaw ended the Gamecock win 17-of-20 with 262 yards passing. He had the one touchdown pass to Byrd, who had five catches for a total of 98 yards receiving. Kelcy Quarles led the Gamecock defense in the game with six tackles and one sack.

GAME SIX

#14 South Carolina 52, Arkansas 7 (Fayetteville, Ark.) South Carolina picked up a complete team victory from both the offense and the defense in a 52-7 road demolishing of Arkansas at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. Arkansas scored the first seven points of the contest, but South Carolina scored the final 52 points in the game to claim the resounding victory. The Gamecocks obtained 537 total yards of offense in the game. South Carolina controlled the clock almost completely in the contest, possessing the football for 43:25 of the game. One of the big reasons for the advantage in possession was that the Gamecocks claimed 277 yards on the ground in the big win. Shaw accounted for four touchdowns (three passing, one rushing). He was 19-for-28 passing for 219 yards. He also had 37 rushing yards. Davis finished his efforts in the Gamecock win with 128 yards rushing and a touchdown on 19 carries. Ellington had two touchdown catches and 96 yards receiving. Damiere Byrd and Kane Whitehurst also had touchdown catches in the game. Moore led the Gamecocks in tackles in the game with six. He had one tackle for loss. Legree forced a fumble in the game, while Hampton had an interception.

GAME SEVEN

Tennessee 23, #11 South Carolina 21 (Knoxville, Tenn.) South Carolina battled back from a halftime deficit to acquire a third-quarter advantage, but Tennessee scored the final six points of the game to obtain a 2321 win over the Gamecocks at Neyland Stadium. Tennessee’s Michael Palardy hit a 19-yard field goal as time expired to give the Volunteers the victory. Despite the loss, the Gamecocks owned a 384-325 advantage in yards in the game. Shaw finished the loss to Tennessee 7-for-21 with one interception. He threw for 161 yards. Shaw had one touchdown passing as well as one touchdown run. Davis rushed for 137 yards on 21 carries. He had one touchdown. Byrd led the Gamecocks in receiving with 121 yards receiving on four catches. Byrd had one touchdown catch.

eight tackles. He also had one fumble recovery.

GAME EIGHT

#20 South Carolina 27, #5 Missouri 24 (2OT – Columbia, Mo.) South Carolina overcame a 17-point deficit in the fourth quarter to force overtime and eventually earn a thrilling 27-24 victory over then unbeaten Missouri. The first overtime victory in South Carolina football history was made possible when Missouri’s Andrew Baggett missed a 24-yard field goal attempt in the second overtime period. South Carolina’s Elliott Fry had hit his 40-yard field goal earlier in the second overtime. South Carolina and Missouri both scored touchdowns in the first overtime stanza. Shaw engineered the comeback for the ages for the Gamecocks. Coming off an injury, Shaw entered the football game with 6:46 left in the third quarter. Shaw would end the game 20-for-29 with 201 yards passing and three touchdowns. Shaw’s best pass of the game came in the first overtime on fourth and goal from the 15-yard line when he found Ellington. The touchdown forced the second overtime and the eventual Missouri missed field goal. The Gamecocks were able to pass for 423 yards in total with Thompson finishing with 222 yards passing before giving way to Shaw. Ellington ended his day with 136 yards receiving on 10 catches. He had two touchdown receptions. Davis caught 10 passes for 99 yards. He rushed for another 51 yards. Quarles led the Gamecocks in the game with six tackles, three tackles for loss and two sacks.

GAME NINE

#14 South Carolina 34, Mississippi State 16 (Columbia, S.C.) The 14th-ranked Gamecocks utilized strong defensive play and a 17-point third quarter to pick up their school record-tying 15th straight win at Williams-Brice Stadium in a 34-16 victory over Mississippi State. South Carolina closed out the game with just 307 total yards of offense on 54 plays, while Mississippi State ended its loss to the Gamecocks with 385 yards of total offense on 78 plays. The lack of yardage for the Gamecocks in the game proved to not be an issue as five turnovers garnered by the Gamecock defense led to 20 of South Carolina’s 34 points. Davis concluded South Carolina’s victory with 128 yards rushing on 15 carries. He also had 26 yards receiving on two receptions. His 128 yards rushing in the game allowed him to become the eighth Gamecock in school history to claim 1,000 or more yards in a single season. Shaw only completed 10 passes in the game, but four of his 10 completions went for touchdowns. The four touchdown passes for Shaw in the game tied his career high. Shaw in total was 10-for-20 with 147 yards passing. Victor Hampton led the Gamecocks in the win with

GAME 10

#11 South Carolina 19, Florida 14 (Columbia, S.C.) South Carolina put together a second-half surge behind the final 12 points of the game to set the program record for the longest home winning streak at 16 consecutive wins in taking a 19-14 home victory over Florida at Williams-Brice Stadium. South Carolina’s freshman kicker Fry had a career game with four field goals, going four-of-five with a 45 yarder in the second quarter. Shon Carson led the Gamecocks in the contest with 102 yards rushing on 13 carries. He averaged 7.8 yards per carry. Rory Anderson led the Gamecocks in the game with 69 yards receiving. Ellington had 67 yards receiving and one touchdown receiving. Moore, Hampton and Golightly led the Gamecocks in the game with six tackles each. Clowney had two tackles for loss and five tackles in total.

GAME 11

#12 South Carolina 70, Coastal Carolina 10 (Columbia, S.C.) Despite being one of the top FCS teams in the country, Coastal Carolina was no match for South Carolina as the Gamecocks obtained a dominating 70-10 victory over the Chanticleers at Williams-Brice Stadium. The 70 points scored by the Gamecocks in the game are the most during the Steve Spurrier era of South Carolina football. South Carolina owned a 639-294 total yardage advantage in the game. The Gamecocks rushed for 352 yards in the game, while throwing for 287 more yards. The Gamecocks owned a 32-13 advantage in first downs. In a game where a bevy of Gamecocks were able to see action, Thompson led the Gamecocks with 140 yards passing. He threw for two touchdowns and was 8-for-11 overall. In a contest in which he became the program’s all-time winningest quarterback, Shaw was also 8-for-11 in the game. He passed for 115 yards and ran and passed for a touchdown. Jamari Smith was the top rusher for the Gamecocks in the win over Coastal Carolina with 103 yards rushing on 10 carries. He also had one rushing touchdown. Pharoh Cooper rushed for 81 yards on two carries, which included a long run of 71 yards. Cooper had one rushing touchdown. Brandon Wilds rushed for two touchdowns and 62 yards in total. Holloman was the top tackler for the Gamecocks with seven tackles, including five solo stops. He also had one sack.

GAME 12

#10 South Carolina 31, #6 Clemson 17 (Columbia, S.C.) In the first-ever top-10 showdown in the 111-year history of the rivalry, No. 10/9 South Carolina claimed its record fifth straight win over No. 6/4 Clemson in a

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Brison Williams had four solo stops and four assists to lead the Gamecocks with eight tackles. Quarles had a sack in the Gamecock loss.

31-17 victory over the Tigers before a crowd of 84,174 at Williams-Brice Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 30. The victory over Clemson allowed South Carolina to extend the nation’s longest home winning streak to 18 games. South Carolina was a perfect 7-0 at home in the 2013 season. South Carolina closed out its win owning a large 38:09-21:51 advantage over Clemson in time of possession. Clemson actually finished with more yards than the Gamecocks at 352-318. Clemson turned the football over six times in the contest. In finishing his time at Williams-Brice Stadium a perfect 17-0 as a starting quarterback, Shaw passed for 152 yards and ran for another 94. He rushed for one touchdown and threw for another. Lewis and Quarles led the Gamecocks with six tackles each. Lewis had one sack, while Quarles had 2.5 sacks in the contest.

CAPITAL ONE BOWL

#8 South Carolina 34, #19 Wisconsin 24 (Orlando, Fla.) Eighth-ranked South Carolina collected its third straight 11-win season by besting 19th-ranked Wisconsin, 34-24, in the Capital One Bowl before a crowd of 56,629 at the Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium. The South Carolina (11-2) bowl win over Wisconsin (9-4) gave the Gamecocks three straight New Year’s Day bowl victories. The Gamecocks bested Nebraska, 30-13, in the 2012 Capital One Bowl and Michigan, 3328, in the 2013 Outback Bowl. South Carolina has now claimed a program-best 42 wins over the course of the last four seasons. Spurrier coached his 300th career game in the Capital One Bowl win over Wisconsin. South Carolina closed out its win over Wisconsin with 438 yards of total offense on 60 plays. Wisconsin finished with 410 yards of total offense on 69 plays. The Gamecocks threw for 321 yards in the game, while Wisconsin passed for 117 yards. Wisconsin rushed for 293 yards as a team in the game, while South Carolina accumulated 117 yards on the ground as a team. Gamecock quarterback Connor Shaw was named the Most Valuable Player of the Capital One Bowl. He finished his final game in a Gamecock uniform with 312 yards passing, 47 yards rushing, three passing touchdowns, one rushing touchdown and a touchdown catch. Shaw was 22-for-25 passing in the Gamecock win. Two Gamecocks finished with over 100 yards receiving with Ellington obtaining a career-best 140 yards receiving on six catches to go along with his two touchdown receptions. He also had the touchdown pass to Shaw. Roland concluded his day for the Gamecocks with six catches for 112 yards receiving. Lewis led the Gamecocks in tackles in the contest with nine. He also had one fumble recovery and one interception. Legree finished with eight tackles, including seven solo stops.

Final Record 11-2 Final Ranking Fourth Bowl Won Capital One Bowl High Five Beat Clemson, 31-17

C B H e Th

Spurs & Feathers Staff

outh Carolina closed out its 2013 season with a record of 11-2. The Gamecocks under the guidance of ninth-year head coach Steve Spurrier have now won 42 games over the course of the last four seasons. South Carolina has won 11 games in each of the last three seasons. The Gamecocks are winners of a nation’s best 18 consecutive home games at Williams-Brice Stadium, Spurrier sat down with Spurs & Feathers General Manager Tim O’Briant and Executive Editor Brian Hand just before the Capital One Bowl for an exclusive interview in his office to discuss the 2013 season, what the future holds for Gamecock football and much more. Spurs & Feathers: You mentioned after the Clemson win that it was pretty special to see such a young team accomplish so much this year. How much pride do you take in the fact that you have built up the program to a point that a 10-2 regular season is still possible with the youngest team in America? Yeah, I did mention that at the beginning of the season we were picked in the top-10, 7-8-9 by most of the preseason experts and the reason we were picked that high is because of Jadeveon Clowney’s hit on the Michigan player last year and I guess all the experts thought that he would completely disrupt every team’s offense as we went through the season and we would have such a great team because of that. In actuality, we did have the youngest team, only four seniors starting the season on scholarship. It was very encouraging watching our defensive team get better as the season went on, especially the young linebackers. True freshman Skai Moore became the leading tackler on the team. Kaiwan Lewis, Marcquis Roberts, Jonathan Walton, all those freshman linebackers really contributed and played well. T.J. Holloman is the other one. That was really encouraging and we won our share of the close games. I tell you what, I looked back and there was five or six games that if the ball bounces the wrong way we could have been the loser. So, it was fun to

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r e i r r u p S Steve terview exclusive in

win a lot of close games. It was fun to win a bunch of them in the fourth quarter and obviously a lot of fun to win 10 again and go undefeated at home … this team has accomplished most of our goals. Spurs & Feathers: The record of 10-2 (after regular season) and the current sustained success speaks a lot about your program… Well, we have excellent coaches, we have excellent support staff and really it is ironic that we’re sitting on almost exactly three straight seasons of exactly the same stuff happening. We beat Clemson every year, we beat the division winner, Georgia twice, Missouri and lose one other and the division winner doesn’t lose again. It’s just the way it has happened. I mean we’re within one game of the winning the division four straight years, but those other teams seem to win them all and that’s the way it’s happened. But again, winning 10, 11 games is certainly an outstanding season for anyone in the country.

his typical year. Very good in most of the games, especially in the (Clemson) game where we had to depend on him to run the ball as well as throw it. That was one of his best games, the last one here. But other than that, most guys played pretty much up to par. Receivers all did well … I think for our defense to finish third in the conference was extremely good, considering what a bunch of young guys there were on defense. Spurs & Feathers: You just finished your ninth regular season at South Carolina. When you took the job in November of 2004 you took a page from the Boston Red Sox and noted “Why not USC” in reference to the point that despite a not great history like the Red Sox the Gamecocks could one day be a major player in college football. Are you comfortable with how far you have come in nine years? Well, we’re a top-10 program right now and hopefully we can stay there. We’d like to win an SEC and maybe that helps in recruiting. I still tell the young men that you have a chance to be on the first-ever SEC championship

““Right now, we’are in a pretty good habit of winning and you got to really keep working and pushing to hopefully sustain that - Spurrier” Spurs & Feathers: What players surprised you the most this season? Probably the biggest surprise is Pharoh Cooper, who we finally learned is a really excellent player. Returning punts, kickoffs, wildcat formation, playing wide receiver and, of course, we let him throw a couple the last (regular season) game of the year. He was a player nobody knew much about so he was probably one of the surprises. Other than that, Mike Davis had an excellent year. Didn’t do much towards the end. He didn’t have any blocking the (Clemson) game; he didn’t have a chance, but overall Mike Davis gained over 1,000 yards, had an excellent season and, of course, Connor Shaw had

team here. We’ve been awfully close to winning the division a lot of times … so that’s the one goal that has eluded us. Spurs & Feathers: You have worked hard to make beating Clemson not the major emphasis among Gamecock players and fans, but it must give you a ton of pride that you have beaten the Tigers in each of the last five years and six of the last eight seasons? How do you view this rivalry nine years into your tenure? I think it means more to our fans, beating those guys. Obviously the Gamecocks who’ve been Gamecocks for 30, 40, 50 years, beating Clemson this many times in a row is really special

for them. Personally for me, I didn’t grow up in South Carolina and I’ve had an opportunity to coach at Florida where we beat Georgia actually seven times in a row and they had won 15 of the last 20 prior to that. Hopefully, we can get Clemson seven. That’d be neat, wouldn’t it? But we’ve got to worry about six. I think it is for our fans is the biggest part and our team enjoys it too. Our team saying I’ve never lost to them is something they can say the rest of their life. In actuality, it is another win, it’s a win against your in-state rival and for us it was our 10th victory of the year each of the last three years so that made it special right there. Spurs & Feathers: At SEC Media Days prior to the season you were asked if you ever could have imagined being at South Carolina for as close to as long as you were at Florida. You were the Florida head coach for 12 years and next year will be 10 years with the Gamecocks. You now have 77 wins as head coach of the Gamecocks. Is winning 100 games at the helm of the Gamecocks as we talked about in the preseason Spurs & Feathers magazine still a goal of yours? Certainly you always plan on several more years and that’s what I’m planning on. We have such an excellent assistant coaching staff, strength coach, trainer, equipment men; support staff here is one of the best I’ve ever had. Our assistant coaches they can all go out and recruit extremely well. I mean, I do my part, but I don’t have to chase these kids all over the country or call 30 guys every night sort of the way I used to. In the early days or in the 90s, it seems like players did not commit until January and now they commit early and your assistant coaches are extremely important in getting those commitments because actually the head coach cannot go out until December, January. So you’ve got to have a strong assistant coaching staff and we have that here. Yeah, certainly that’s something down the road. Certainly we didn’t expect we were going to average 10 the last four years, but we have and if the ball bounces our way next year we got to believe we have a shot at winning 10 or more again. Again, I think one thing all coaches

need to do is you never ever let up because that ball can turn on you in a heartbeat. If somebody were going to tell the University of Florida that they were going to go from 11-2 to 4-8 they would have said no way in the world. Well it can happen. You have a few injuries, you lose a few close games then all the sudden that losing becomes a habit. That’s one thing we never want to get into around here is that habit of losing. Right now, we are in a pretty good habit of winning and you got to really keep working and pushing to hopefully sustain that. Spurs & Feathers: A lot has changed since your arrival on campus. Can you talk about some of the changes that have happened that have made your program what it is today? Obviously when I got here and Eric Hyman got here about four months after I got here, I think our facilities were near the bottom in the SEC and the best thing Eric Hyman did is he found Dodie Anderson, a lady in the Upstate that loved South Carolina and had the financial situation to give millions and she’s done that. So, after Dodie we’ve actually got, I think, 11 boosters now, Gamecocks that

have given over a million dollars. When I got here the only one in the history of the school is the one’s the stadium’s named after, Mrs. Williams-Brice. We’ve got 11 now; for example, Florida’s got about 40 boosters that have given over a million. So we are way behind, but we’re catching up. We’re slowly catching up with these big schools. Facility-wise we’re in good shape now. We’ve got the indoor facility that’s supposed to be completed about a year or so from now. Everything’s falling into place and football is, I call it the ultimate team sport, because there are so many people involved. Even you guys (Spurs & Feathers) writing the magazine, you’re involved in with it too. Everybody’s involved. I don’t know exactly who it starts with; it starts with the University President really and then you go through the Athletic Director and then the coach. The boosters are extremely important because they help the coach, the Athletic Director and the President put the players on the field. The players do all the playing; they do all the blocking, tackling, catching and running, but with the other parts of the football program in place it makes it easier to recruit really good players.

And you got to coach them also. I think South Carolina is a very comfortable place for our assistant coaches to be. I very seldom ever lose an assistant coach because he think it’s better somewhere else, but every now and then obviously one will move on, but this is a good place to live and a wonderful University to coach at. Spurs & Feathers: You always talk about one of the reasons you took the South Carolina gig being the passion of Gamecock Nation. That fervor for Gamecock football has only increased since your arrival. You are currently in the midst of an 18-game home winning streak. Do you feel that WilliamsBrice Stadium is the toughest place to play in all of college football? I tell you what. I have heard a lot of people say that. I always like to say one of the most difficult. I think we had one of those assistant doctors, or some guy on the medical staff when Florida played here, he told our team doctor “this is the loudest place I’ve been in. This is the best atmosphere I’ve seen this year.” Obviously the Swamp (Florida’s Ben Hill Griffin Stadium) is not liked it used to be and that was a young doctor

that hadn’t been to a lot of places, but there’s a reason we’re undefeated at home the last two years … we definitely have a good home field advantage. There is no question. Spurs & Feathers: With it coming to a close, how will you view the BCS era of college football? It did sort of what it was supposed to do, try and get the top two teams to play each other. Still, next year they will go to four teams, which is better than two. I think they ought to go to eight, but four is better than two so it’ll be more fair that way, I think. College football I’ve always said is the most unfair sport in the world … we all play different schedules. My 12 years at Florida, we played FSU the last game of the season and they were in the top-4 in the nation 11 of 12 years. Now, that’s not the way to win a National Championship to play a team that’s in the top-4. Then we had the SEC Championship. We all don’t play the same team so sometimes it’s the luck of the draw who you play and so forth is who becomes National Champion. Until they get eight teams and play it on down it is still a lot

of luck involved.

Spurs & Feathers • 7

Inside the Chart

By Andry Demet a

w a h S r o Conn

he details have dimmed with time, but South Carolina’s alltime winningest quarterback still remembers the night of January 1, 1997. He was five years old, Georgiaborn and football-mad. That happens when your Dad was a high school coach, and signed you up for your first team, the White County Warriors, the following year. He gathered that night with his Dad and older brother to watch the Nokia Sugar Bowl between #3 Florida and #1 Florida State. The Gators lost to the Seminoles in the final game of the regular season, but a loss by #2 Arizona State in the Rose Bowl suddenly gave them a shot at a national title. For four quarters, they watched as

Florida left contrails behind a helpless Florida State defense. Danny Wuerffel picked apart the secondary. Ike Hilliard and Reidel Anthony flew past cornerbacks. It looked like Florida was playing with 14 men. The field seemed wider, the turf faster and the running lanes more spacious when the Gators had the ball. The game began as a rematch and ended as an evisceration. Florida beat Florida State 52-20, securing the school’s first National Championship. “They just beat the heck out of us in every part of football,” FSU coach Bobby Bowden told the ABC cameras afterwards. He looked into the distance as he spoke, tugging at the brim of his cap, bewildered, like he had just stepped out to survey the damage from a summer

storm. That game may not have started the boy’s allegiance to the Gators, but it certainly cemented it. There were other reasons, of course. “I grew up in Bulldog country and I guess I just wanted to be different,” he said. “So I went with the Gators. I just love pissing people off.” His bedroom walls were painted blue and orange to drive home the point. But there was another reason the boy was drawn to Florida. He was down there on the sidelines, jogging toward midfield, orange polo shirt sodden from a post-game Gatorade bath. The mastermind of this high-powered offense that averaged 46 points per game. The former Heisman Trophy winner who turned simple “pitchin’ and catchin’”

into a ruthless, marauding force that no defense in 1996 could stop. “Swanny, God is smiling on the Gators, no question about it,” he told ABC’s Lynn Swann. Some kids root for a school because of its colors. Some root for a school because they imitated the star player in their backyard. Isn’t it fitting that a coach’s son would root for a team because of its coach? Then again, how could a young quarterback not be enthralled by him? His offense looked like a video game come to life. The Gators put up tons of points and they did it in style. To a five-year-old, it probably looked like the most fun you could have on a football field. It was all

Record as starter 27-5 Career Passing Yards 6,074 Career Rushing Yards 1,683

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Capital One Bowl MVP

swagger, and id, and unapologetic scoring. Even its nickname – the “Fun N’ Gun” – sounded cool, exciting and intimidating all at once. And the coach who called the plays, the man who directed this chaos, was as much a star as his own players. It was love at first smirk. Perhaps there’s a deeper explanation. The Ball Coach always carried himself with an air of confidence - arrogance, his critics might say. Heck, the Ball Coach might agree with them. He knew you were beat before you did. Coach’s sons tend to operate on a higher plane of understanding than their peers; they have a more sophisticated grasp of the game than kids their age. They’re smarter and they don’t mind showing you. Perhaps in the coach, he recognized a bit of himself.

His childhood had all the familiar tableaus of a coach’s son. He and his brother were ball boys for their Dad’s high school teams. “When he was coaching, I was watching,” he recalled. His Dad – a former quarterback in college, number 14 at Western Carolina – groomed him and his brother for the position early. They played on the same youth league teams together (his Dad insisted on playing him two years above his age group). Perhaps that’s where his toughness came from. His family eventually moved to Flowery Branch, an Atlanta suburb, in middle school. Dad had taken a job as head football coach at the new high school. Their house was blocks from the Atlanta Falcons’ training complex. The Ball Coach also moved, leaving his

empire in Gainesville to coach the Washington Redskins in the NFL. In 2005, he took over at South Carolina. Most kids grow out of their childhood fascinations, but not him. He continued to follow the coach’s career closely. The boy entered high school the following year. He threw a touchdown in his first career pass attempt. He had come on in relief of his brother, the starter, who would eventually accept a scholarship to Georgia Tech. Not long after, he developed into a college prospect of his own. In his junior year, his first full season as a starter, he threw for 2,200 yards and 22 touchdowns and led Flowery Branch to the state championship game. He wore his Dad’s old number 14. Scholarship offers poured in. College assistants started

visiting him and his Dad at school, one after another, until that one day when… Let’s let South Carolina’s winningest quarterback finish the story. “I got called down to my Dad’s office. He let me know the day before that Coach [G.A.] Mangus was going to come in. I’ve known him since he was recruiting my brother. But I came down, and Coach Spurrier was there. That was my first time meeting Coach Spurrier. I idolized him growing up. So my jaw just kind of dropped. I remember him saying, ‘I understand you were a Florida fan.’” Connor Shaw, the man who who’d become South Carolina’s all-time wins leader, already knew his answer. “I said, ‘No sir. I was a Coach Spurrier fan.’”

THE MAN BEHIND THE MIC By Mike Kucharski mike@spursandfeathers.com he Gamecock fans are known as some of the loudest and most faithful in the nation, creating one of the biggest home-field advantages in the SEC and the man leading the crowd in cheers is a factor in that. Mic Man, the Garnet and Black-clad man leading the fans and supporting the cheer squad, is really Student Body President Chase Mizzell, who is slated to graduate in May of 2014. Mizzell exhibits a dichotomy in his duties of wild, energetic and animated Mic Man and responsible, conscientious and level-headed student at the Moore School of Business and Student Body President. How does one come to serve such roles at South Carolina? Mizzell spoke with Spurs & Feathers about his time at the University and serving as Mic Man.

for everyone there,” Mizzell continued. After the evening, Mizzell was approached and asked if he had ever done anything like that before to which he answered “not particularly.” After discussing the situation with some members of the Athletics Department, Mizzell was asked if he would be interest in being Mic Man. “I took a pause, thought about it and said ‘absolutely.’ It seemed like such a good opportunity, a unique experience to have while in college … I’ve been coming to games since I was three years old. I’m a lifelong Gamecock fan, my entire family comes to home games and I thought this would be a lot of fun,” Mizzell explained. Mizzell said that he went to meet the cheerleading coach and squad on Wednesday that week since they work together so closely and he began his service as Mic Man the following Saturday.

THE ORIGINS

THE OUTFIT

Mizzell began serving as Mic Man in the fall of 2012 at First Night Carolina, an event held on the night that freshmen move into the dorms in Williams-Brice Stadium that celebrates Gamecock spirit with the band, cheer squad, student-athletes, administrators and many other Gamecocks. The event gives the freshmen an insight into the Gamecock cheers. Mizzell was a cohost for the event, but he said there was a problem. “Many of the freshmen were quiet and weren’t participating in the cheers. So I asked the woman who was in charge if she would mind if I got up there and riled them up a little bit,” Mizzell recalled. “She said she didn’t have a problem with me doing that. She asked me what I was going to do and I said ‘frankly, I don’t know, but I will get up there and we’ll see what happens.’ “So that night at First Night Carolina I got on stage and that was my first experience that led to Mic Man. I got up and started cheering, hooping and hollering, jumping, and dancing - much like Mic Man does each and every game now - and got everyone riled up. We had the DJ play ‘Sandstorm’ and ‘2001.’ People were on their feet enjoying it - not all by my efforts - but following that they put on the fireworks and it all just came together as quite an exciting and memorable moment

Mic Man is decked out in Gamecock gear on gamedays, from the garnet blazer and Gamecock bow tie to his pants with Gamecock logos on them. Mizzell said the outfit comes from Brittons on Devine Street, who partially sponsors the wardrobe as well to help him “look nice and show off the Gamecock spirit on the field.” Mizzell said that he primarily wears the same outfit every game except during the Breast Cancer Awareness game when he wore pink pants and bow tie. He said the consistent outfit helps build the character that people can relate to and remember.

THE EXPERIENCES

Mizzell said one of the fascinating aspects of serving as Mic Man is how fast the game seems to go by while being excited for three-plus hours during the action. He added that he is able to feed off the energy of the crowd and explained his job as “not being responsible for making fans loud, but rather opening the door to allow people to exhibit the passion that they already have.” Some of the perks of being Mic Man are being able to travel to the bowl games the past two seasons and getting an on-field view of the games. Mizzell said

that there are still many jobs including leading multiple pep rallies - six or seven in Orlando for the Capital One Bowl this year alone - and maintaining energy for the fans throughout the game. Mizzell said that while he has enjoyed all of his experiences in the role, his favorite memories while serving as Mic Man have been defeating in-state rival Clemson to end the 2013 regular season. He also noted that it has been great that South Carolina went undefeated at home during his tenure as Mic Man. “I think that I would be remiss to not celebrate our last home game as Mic Man being the historic fifth win against Clemson in a row. The football players coming over and joining the student section, the vast majority of the student section staying long after the game and singing the alma mater,” Mizzell said. “It demonstrated a great commitment to the Carolina family.”

THE DIVISIONS MIC MAN AND MIZZELL

Mizzell said that it is not difficult to have the separate personas and it is something that he truly enjoys doing. He reiterated that it has been a great collegiate experience and he definitely enjoyed his time serving as Mic Man, business student, Student Body President and all-around Gamecock fan. “Before I take on responsibilities I do a thorough reflection on whether it is something I’m capable of, interested and passionate about doing. I don’t want to overcommit and do things at a lesser quality. I think the best part about the contrast of the different responsibilities is that it stretches you and challenges you in different ways. It allows you to really be out of the box,” Mizzell said. “It’s a great juxtaposition of experiences and activities. “One day you’re dressed professionally and leading a meeting or giving a speech and then the next weekend you are dressed as Mic Man leading 80,000 cheering on the Gamecocks. It has been great,” Mizzell described. “Every experience has been unique and valuable.”

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@thegamecockclub

utilizing social media as service tool By Brian Hand bhand@spursandfeathers.com

t has never been easier to get the word out as quickly as possible. Social media has changed the world in many ways and the Gamecock Club is utilizing Facebook and Twitter as another avenue to let stakeholders and fans know exactly what is going on in Gamecock country. Even with over a billion users worldwide on Facebook and almost 600 million Twitter users at their last reports according to the website statisticbrain. com, not everybody has embraced social media and the services it can provide. The Gamecock Club is working to change that, while also making sure people understand the significance of social media. The Gamecock Club has had a Facebook page since 2009, but it was not until earlier this year that they started using the social media avenue as a resource. This past May the Gamecock Club started a Twitter account and not even a year later they have over 2,800 followers. The Facebook page has really boomed over the last year as well, going from 5,600 likes in May to almost 7,400 likes as of the early part of January. South Carolina Coordinator of Stewardship and Development Communications Kendall Belk helped start the march towards making social media an important cog for the Gamecock Club. “Jeff Crane (Senior Associate AD/ Development and the Gamecock Club) said that we’re either (Gamecock Club) going to be engaging, or we’re not going to do it at all,” Belk remarked. “There’s no reason for us to do it a little bit. So I took that as we need to be posting frequently … but also be informative. I feel like you can send people emails and you can do these automated calls and that is a great tool for us that we have used in the past, but this is another way that we can get the information out,” Belk said. Gamecock Club Executive Director Patrick McFarland feels social media is extremely important. “That’s the way a lot of companies and personalities disseminate information,” McFarland commented. “It’s important for us to do so as well. People find out about everything through there. We’re lucky enough that we have

a group of people that understand that more so than I do. If there’s some news with anything related to the Gamecocks or the Gamecock Club we can get it out.” And get the information out they have. Right now the Gamecock Club is third among all booster organizations in the Southeastern Conference among likes on Facebook with the almost 7,400 likes. The over 2,800 followers on Twitter leaves the Gamecock Club middle of the pack in the SEC among the booster organizations. The Gamecock Club Twitter and Facebook accounts sort of mirror each other according to Paige Kristan of the Gamecock Club. Kristan will be taking over most of the social media duties for the Gamecock Club from Belk in the upcoming year. “We play off each other … I always run it through Brittany (Lane, the athletics department Assistant Director of Marketing/Digital and Social Media) because we don’t want to ever break news,” Belk pointed out. “That’s obviously not our business, but if we can put our spin on it then it helps each other. I let Brittany know when I have something that is about to go out so she can retweet it, share it with the fanbase in general.” The Gamecock Club has made a concerted effort over the past few months to make members aware of the Twitter and Facebook accounts whether through their emails or on their splash page at www.GamecocksOnline.com/ GamecockClub. The whole purpose of the social media push is for the Gamecock Club to be

more well-rounded with its customer service in addition to engaging. The Gamecock Club is also thrilled that many of their chapters are taking it upon themselves to not only create their own websites, but also have a

social media presence because it is a tremendous tool for getting their information out. Social media is also a way that the Gamecock Club can more easily communicate with their stakeholders. It allows the Gamecock Club to not only educate their chapters, but all Gamecocks. Plus, it is another way to remind people that are not members how important the Gamecock Club is to the University of South Carolina. “We’re trying to be consistent. It’s always helpful when we get these comments and responses. We want to know what the fans want to see, want to know, hear and all of that. I think it (social media) just reiterates our emails and our messaging,” Belk concluded. You can follow the Gamecock Club on Twitter @TheGamecockClub. You can also like the Gamecock Club on Facebook. You can follow Spurs & Feathers on

Twitter @SpursFeathers. You can also like Spurs & Feathers on Facebook.

Spurs & Feathers • 11

Gamecock graduates honored By Mike Kucharski mike@spursandfeathers.com

outh Carolina Athletics honored 26 studentathletes at the 2013 Senior Breakfast and Ring Ceremony as a part of the 2013 December Graduation celebration on Monday, Dec. 16 in the Dodie Anderson Academic Enrichment Center. Over 90 people attended the celebration as studentathletes and their families and friends were honored for their accomplishments as a part of the Gamecock family. Also in attendance were a number of members of the Athletics administration. Associate AD for Academics and Student Development Maria Hickman opened the program with congratulations to the student-athletes and introduced Athletics Director Ray Tanner to address the graduates. Tanner also began by offering congratulations to the assembled graduates and their guests. “We’ve had a lot of wins in the last few years and today is certainly a big win as well. It is a true celebration … it’s a wonderful day. Thank you for your commitment, your dedication, your sacrifice on the field and with the academic mission,” Tanner said to the group. Tanner then recognized the academic advisors who have assisted the student-athletes in their journeys at South Carolina and discussed the fact that the majority of the student-athletes will “go pro” in something other than the sport they play as the NCAA indicates in its commercials. He noted the group of graduates will be well-prepared to join the workforce after graduating from South Carolina. He also recognized the Gamecock Career Network which has over 100 companies and businesses that help student-athletes find careers and encouraged the graduates to use South Carolina’s resources. “We’re so thankful for what you have meant to the Gamecocks and the University of South Carolina and we encourage you as you go on a different journey … that you always return home. This is your school, this is where your groups are and you will always be welcome here,” Tanner concluded. Next to address the group and extend congratulations was Assistant Gamecock Club Director Jay Brown.

12 • Spurs & Feathers

Brown thanked the student-athletes and encouraged them to join the Gamecock Club to give back to South Carolina. Following Brown, each student-athlete was recognized by their academic advisor and coach as they received their class rings. The academic advisors spoke about each student-athlete’s accomplishments and their journey through South Carolina as they were honored. Hickman addressed the group again after all the graduates were recognized and thanked them for all that they have done for the program and the University. “I always say this every year; graduation is a bittersweet time for us as advisors. We’ve been with you since you sat down as a recruit and we told you what we were going to do and our plan for you for the next four to five years,” Hickman said. “We feel like we held up our end of the bargain and you did too for you to be here today. “This time goes by fast. We told you that as a recruit and this will begin the next part of your life. We’re proud of you … you’ve helped create history here. We’ve done well academically and you, as a graduating class, have helped set the standard for what we do academically and where we are,” Hickman continued. Tanner and Deputy Athletics Director Charles Waddell agreed with Hickman that it was a bittersweet day. They noted that it was bitter because they are leaving after having been so important to the success of the the program both academically and athletically, but it was sweet to see them go and take the next step. “We’re proud of all that they have done here and it just reminds us how fast that it all goes,” Tanner added. After the celebration breakfast, the graduates gathered for a senior class photo where some expressed their feelings about their time at South Carolina. Men’s basketball player Carlton Geathers, graduating with a degree in sociology, said he was delighted to have been a part of the Gamecocks and receive his degree. “It’s a great pleasure. Every year I spent here was a good year. It feels good. I’m happy for today, but I am more happy that I got the diploma. My mom is proud of me too,” Geathers said.

Ronald Patrick, a Gamecock football player who is graduating with a degree in criminology and criminal justice, agreed that his time at Carolina was special to him. “It’s a major accomplishment. It feels good just to finally have my degree and do it while playing football; to do it early. I feel great right now,” Patrick said. “My time here has meant everything. Carolina made me and helped mold me for the future. It made me a better man and a better person.” Softball player Julie Sarratt is graduating with a degree in accounting and will be pursuing a masters degree in accounting. She described the feelings of achievement and excitement of the day after having help from throughout the department. “It’s really exciting. I came in here with this as a dream honestly. I’m here now, so it’s crazy. They’ve helped me so much here, the advisors, the coaches and everyone. They really want you to be successful and they make this happen for you,” Sarratt said. “I knew this is where I wanted to be and they helped me get here. They’re helping me get into grad school and get through all that, so I’ll have my masters too when I leave here. It’s just a dream come true and they’ve helped me a lot.” Cross country runner Meredith Mill who is graduating with a political science degree and planning to attend law school looked back, treasuring her time at the University. Mill was also a McKissik Scholar and Capstone Scholar-Fellow. “It’s just a time of friends and a lot of accomplishments. It kind of sets us up for our futures and I learned a lot about myself here,” Mill said. Men’s soccer player Stephen Anderson, graduating Summa Cum Laude with a degree in experimental psychology and with honors from the South Carolina Honors College, said he truly appreciated his time as a Gamecock. “The college experience is time you grow as a person; it’s a time you really develop what you’re going to be in the future. Carolina really just is going to shape our future and that is one thing that I’m always going to remember. This is kind of where I found out who I am and what I can become,” Anderson said. “They really helped us along the way so I’m really grateful for that.”

ational Signing Day is Feb. 5 and the Gamecocks are poised to sign a class of between 20 and 22 prospects. As we went to print, the Gamecocks were sitting on 16 commitments. One of their remaining targets, DB DJ Smith of Marietta, GA announced his choice Jan. 13 for USC, Clemson or Tennessee. The Gamecocks have put themselves in excellent shape with several other prospects and it’s from this group they will fill out the class: • RB Derrell Scott, Havelock, NC…USC, Tennessee and NC State have been at the top. Clemson and FSU also have been working him. And he recently landed an offer from Florida. • DL Dexter Wideman, Saluda, SC…remains committed to FSU, but won’t make a final decision until after he takes his official visits to USC and FSU this month. • DL Arthur Williams, Fayetteville, NC…remains committed to FSU but will visit USC this month. Also will visit FSU and Ole Miss. • DL Darrius Caldwell, Pearl River JC, MS…USC is waiting on his spring grades to see if he can be offered. He would commit right away with a USC offer. Plans to visit Cincinnati and Memphis. • DL Poona Ford, Hilton Head, SC…remains committed to Louisville but that’s shaky after the coaching change. He still plans to visit there Jan. 17. After that visit he’ll decide if he’ll visit USC or stick with the Cardinals. • DE Andrew Williams, McDonough, GA…Plans to visit Clemson, Auburn and Ole Miss and USC is trying to get him in for a visit. • DE Kevin Bronson, Delray Beach, FL…Will visit USC, Virginia Tech and Florida this month. Has visited Rutgers. • DB Wesley Green, Lithonia, GA…Down to USC and Georgia and will visit each this month. Ole Miss is also a possible visit.

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Recruiting Roundup USC COMMITMENTS AS OF JAN 8 • DARIN SMALLS

DB 5-11 175

SUMMERVILLE, SC

• AL HARRIS JR.

DB 5-11 170

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL

• JHAUSTIN THOMAS

6-7

275

TRINITY VALLEY JC, TX

• TAYLOR STALLWORTH

6-3

280

MOBILE, AL

• DANTE SAWYER

6-3 250

SUWANEE, GA

• ABU LAMIN

6-5 310

FORT SCOTT JC, KS

• JOE BLUE

5-11 230

DILLON, SC

• BRYSON ALLEN-WILLIAMS LB

6-3

ELLENWOOD, GA

• MALIK YOUNG

6-4 295

PIEDMONT, SC

• DONELL STANLEY

6-5 330

LATTA, SC

• MICHAEL SCARNECCHIA

QB 6-4

192

FLEMING ISLAND, FL

• KALAN RITCHIE

6-6

226

GOOSE CREEK, SC

• KEVIN CROSBY JR.

6-2

240

BAMBERG-EHRHARDT, SC

• SHAQ DAVIDSON

WR 6-1

175

GAFFNEY, SC

• TERRY GOOGER

WR 6-4

210

ATLANTA, GA

• TYSHUN SAMUEL

WR 6-0

186

INMAN, SC

220

• DB Chris Lammons, Ft. Lauderdale, FL…committed to Florida but may visit USC and is also considering Wisconsin. • OL Damian Prince, Forestville, MD….will visit USC this month along with Florida and Miami. He has visited Maryland and Florida State. • OL Derrick Kelly Jr, Havana, FL…Formerly committed to Kentucky, he has visited Florida and will visit USC, LSU and Alabama. • WR Nate Brown, Suwanee, GA…committed to Missouri and USC is working him for a visit. • ATH Ra’Shaun Croney, Pahokee, FL…waiting on his test score and if he qualifies he plans to commit to USC. Indiana, Mississippi State and Florida Atlantic are also waiting on his score. • WR Isaiah Ford, Jacksonville, FL…former Louisville commit who is now considering USC and Virginia Tech. Has visited Tech and favors the Hokies. Plans to visit USC this month. Is also a basketball standout and will play both sports in college. Of course, recruiting boards are subject to change so there could be several additions and/or subtractions to this list before Signing Day (by Phil Kornblut)

Spurs & Feathers • 13

The AD

By Brian Hand bhand@spursandfeathers.com

thletics Director Ray Tanner is now in his second year at the helm of the University of South Carolina athletic department. Tanner talked with Spurs & Feathers Executive Editor Brian Hand in early December about the passion of Gamecock Nation, the fall athletic campaigns and much more. The 2013-14 athletic season started with the Gamecock Club surpassing 16,000 members. Can you discuss how much the Gamecock Club means to the athletic department and the University in general? Really I think you have to start talking about our fanbase and the passion, the enthusiasm, their commitment and dedication to our student-athletes. That’s tremendous. We have tried very hard to have a great staff to increase our service to our Gamecock Club members, our donors and season ticket holders, but to have that kind of excitement from our fanbase was tremendous. The success that coach Spurrier and the football team has had has been instrumental in creating this kind of atmosphere for us. I could not be happier than to be where we are with our membership in the Gamecock Club … seven home games, seven sellouts. It’s been wonderful. The support that we’ve had has been very special. It’s been a great fall athletic campaign. For example, football with another 11-win season and women’s soccer making it all the way to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Can you give your thoughts on the fall athletic campaign? I think we had a very good fall. You mentioned coach Shelley Smith and her women’s soccer team advancing to the second round of the NCAAs in a tremendous, tremendous match (with Stanford). It was their sixth year out of the last seven years making it to the postseason. That’s very special. Now we have 21 sports and I’m

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r e n n a T y Ra terview exclusive in

hoping that as we move forward that we can get into that category where we have 14, 15, 16 teams make the postseason. Last year we had 10, which is good, but I want to create an environment and support for our student-athletes with the resources to give us the opportunity to recruit at the highest level. I know we have great coaches and we have great support. Our attendance is up across the board in all sports. I think it was a very good fall. Our men’s and women’s tennis teams did well. Our men’s and women’s golf teams did well this fall and, of course, the football team we’ve won 32 games

the department on the students really truly being student-athletes? I was a guest speaker at the faculty senate and that was part of my presentation about 13 semesters in a row where our student-athletes have had at least a 3.0. In the last six years we’ve led the SEC in Honor Roll. Now we’re headed into exams and I hope we’re able to say it’s 14. That’s very special. Our men’s soccer team being the number one soccer team in the country GPA-wise … they had a pretty good year on the field, but their schedule was extremely difficult; five ties this fall. We’re extremely proud of what our student-athletes have been able to

Tanner, middle, is pictured with Gamecock football legend Ryan Brewer and his wife, Liz Price Brewer, who was a volleyball student-athlete at South Carolina. in the last three years with one to play (now 33 after Capital One Bowl win). We’re enjoying a very successful period and I hope we can continue to grow. Men’s soccer had the highest GPA in all of Division I soccer and still had a great year on the field. Can you discuss how this is really indicative of all of the athletic teams in general and how much emphasis is placed within

achieve and I think that’s where you give credit to the student-athletes that did the work. Maria Hickman and our Academic Enrichment staff are very special. The facilities that we have with the Dodie Anderson Academic Enrichment Center is very special so that’s what it’s all about, giving our studentathletes the great opportunities, both academically and athletically.

The first full week of December has served as a Week of Giving for Gamecock student-athletes where they give back to the community by participating in different community outreach efforts. You also had a special “Hoops for the Holidays” promotion going on where tickets can be bought and then given back to different community organizations so they can attend Gamecock basketball games. Is there a concerted effort daily to have Gamecock coaches, staff and student-athletes give back to the community? I believe strongly in that. I really do. I think at the University of South Carolina we’re in the city of Columbia, we’re in the state of South Carolina, but we’re very much a part of the community in a big way. We get that kind of support so I think we should give as well and I think we should be immersed into the community and do as many projects and community service as we can and be involved in a different charitable organization whenever possible. Our student-athletes have engaged in that. Erica Nelson (Coordinator, Life Skills and Community Outreach) she heads up the program on campus from an athletic standpoint. It’s certainly a concentrated effort, but it’s not difficult because our student-athletes enjoy that. They take the time to participate and give back in the community. Football is in the midst of an 18game home winning streak and every game including Coastal Carolina was sold out this season. Attendance is up in every sport across the board. South Carolina in almost every sport has one of the top home field advantages in the country. What do you think is the reason for this and what steps are you taking to make sure this remains the case in the future? Getting in this position is not easy. Sustaining this position will not be easy either. I think you got to give credit to a lot of people. Certainly it starts with coach Spurrier when he came he brought instant credibility to our football program and they’ve improved so much since he took over. He’s got a great coaching staff. We’ve recruited some

great football players that are not only talented, but display high character. They’ve also performed well in the classroom. I think like I said, our fanbase, they appreciate that and they’re committed and dedicated to our football program. It’s going to be a challenge to sustain it, but it’s great to be in a position to sustain it. We’re going to continue to move forward. Coach Spurrier we hope he coaches for several more years. On the radio for “Hoops Takeover” prior to the start of the basketball season, you mentioned when asked about how you support your coaches that you are firmly behind them win, lose or draw. That is a powerful statement. Obviously your background gives you a special understanding of what these coaches go through every single day, but still it is different being at the helm of the department. What lessons have you learned over the first almost year and a half of your tenure in this regard? Having been on the other side for so many years, I know there are exceptions here and there, but coaches don’t get worse. They don’t forget how to coach. They get better. They grow. They develop. They become wiser. Not every day you win more games, or you win more games this year than you did last year. Sometimes there are peaks and valleys. If there are too many valleys, of course you have to make a change, but I understand that there are bumps along the way. Making changes doesn’t necessarily

correct winning situations. Sometimes it takes longer when you make changes … I know that’s going to be part of what I have to do going forward. I’ll have to make some changes, but I understand the coaching aspect and I believe in that. I say this quite often and maybe people think it’s just a line from an Athletic Director, but for me, it’s not that. I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t feel it. We’ve got some great coaches … I’m excited about our future as far as the department of athletics and the teams that compete. I think it’s very

these facilities it’s going to help us in a lot of ways. What are some things the athletic department is working on that Gamecock Nation would be excited to know about? You’re pretty much aware of the facility upgrades that got approved last February in Aiken. You understand what’s on the board with the tennis locker room and the soccer locker room that we’re doing; the new track, indoors and outdoors, fieldhouse we’re doing for football, practice fields, the plaza around Williams-Brice.

“I could not be happier than to be where we are with our membership in the Gamecock Club: seven home games, seven sellouts. - Tanner realistic going forward that we can have those runs where we have as I said those 14,15,16 teams make it to the postseason. I understand competing in the SEC is difficult. There are so many great programs. So many schools have put the resources into athletics, but so are we. We’ve made a lot of progress and we’re going to continue to do that. I’m not one that has to be on top every day, but I want to have the opportunity to be on top and that’s what it’s all about and that’s where we need to get to with all our programs. By improving

We have two or three other things that we’d like to do. I want to enhance our men’s and women’s basketball programs with a practice facility. We just purchased a brand new court that will be installed next week that gives them more flexibility with practice times, but I want to continue to enhance their opportunities to get more convenient for practice times with kids in class and that kind of thing, but also help in recruiting. I got a lot of ideas, but it takes money to do these things. It’s an opportunity to invest in your student-

athletes. That’s what the department of athletics is all about. It’s about having teams. It’s about student wellbeing and creating an environment for your student-athletes to be successful academically and athletically. What are you looking forward to the most with the rest of the winter and the spring athletic campaigns? Watching our women’s team under coach Staley compete through the winter. They’re already out of the gates. Coach Martin and his team, they almost won the game at Baylor to get the season started … watching his team continue to make progress and develop as the season goes on and then before you know it baseball will be here on Valentine’s Day. Our swimming program has done very well. McGee Moody’s men beat LSU and we’re currently in the top-25 on the men’s side so there’s a lot to be excited about. We’re hosting the SEC Softball Tournament this spring … the equestrian team is currently ranked No. 1. Boo’s (Major) done a great job with that program, already won a National Championship and the inaugural SEC equestrian championship (last year). Coach Beverly Smith (softball) and her women, who made a great run at the end of the season (last year) to get into the postseason they won two games there at Texas. They’re getting better on a fast track. It’s exciting to see what she’s been able to inject into our program.

Spurs & Feathers • 15

a h t r Wo d n a s u tho s d r o wtop shots of n o s a e s e h t

2013-14

w e i v e R Fall

South

s c i t e l h t A a n i l o r a C

By Mike Kucharski mike@spursandfeathers.com

CROSS COUNTRY

The Gamecock cross country team finished strong in its first year under the guidance of Andrew Allden by finishing 14th in the NCAA Southeast Regionals and 12th in the SEC Championship. The Gamecocks posted a finish better than their pre-race ranking in both races. The finish at Regionals equaled the secondbest placing for the program in the past 12 years. Individually, the Gamecocks were led by team captain Meredith Mill and freshman Mary Reiser. Mill progressed throughout the season, including claiming four of the top-15 6K times in program history and setting the program record for 5K time while winning the Royal Cross Country Challenge. Mill finished just outside of All-SEC and All-Region times, but Allden said the graduating junior improved week-byweek throughout the season for an amazing campaign. Reiser claimed the program’s second-highest freshman finish ever in the NCAA Southeast Regional and was honored as a Freshman All-SEC performer. Allden noted that Reiser improved throughout the season as well and finished four spots shy of becoming an All-Region racer.

EQUESTRIAN

South Carolina’s equestrian team finished the fall season as the No. 1 team in the nation in the NCEA rankings. The last time the Gamecocks owned the nation’s top ranking was April 2013. South Carolina defeated current top-10 teams Kansas State (No. 5), SMU (No. 10) and Auburn (No. 2) this fall. The Gamecocks went to Auburn and won, 12-6, in a performance head coach Boo Major said was one of the best she has ever seen. The Gamecocks were 6-2 in the fall, setting program records from most victories in the fall and number of consecutive meets in which they have won nine or more points (14 of their last 15 meets). The squad also set the record for most points won in three, four, five, six,

seven and eight consecutive meets. Several Gamecocks have received national recognition for their performances thus far with Johnna Letchworth (reining) and Katherine Schmidt (equation over fences) being named NCEA Riders of the Month for September and October. Samantha Smith (equation on the flat) was also chosen as NCEA Rider of the Month in October meaning Gamecocks claimed three of four national awards in October. Schmidt, Letchworth (both October) and Layla Choate (reining, November) were all honored by the SEC as Riders of the Month as well. South Carolina’s squad led by Major will begin spring competition on Feb. 1, traveling to take on fourth-ranked New Mexico State. The Gamecocks will host the 2014 SEC Championship at One Wood Farm in Blythewood, S.C. on March 28-29.

FOOTBALL

The Gamecock football team posted 11 wins for the third consecutive year under head coach Steve Spurrier, including a fifth-straight victory over rival Clemson (see game-by-game breakdown and poll story). South Carolina currently holds the nation’s longest home winning streak at 18 games and finished the year a program-best fourth in the final polls. In all, the Gamecocks finished the season defeating six teams that won bowl games, including two BCS winners and three teams in the top-15. Spurrier proclaimed the Gamecocks national champions of the postseason for their great year. In the past three seasons, only Alabama (36), Oregon (35), LSU and Stanford (each 34) have won more games than the Gamecocks’ 33 victories.

MEN’S GOLF

The Gamecock men’s golf team finished the fall portion of their schedule by claiming team titles in their final two events, each by over 20 strokes. The finish was good enough to garner the 24th ranking in the Golfweek rankings. The

Gamecocks are tabbed 25th in the latest Golf World/Nike Golf Coaches’ Poll. The Gamecocks finished second or better in three of the four fall events in which they competed. South Carolina was able to win back-to-back tournaments for the first time since the 2003-04 season this fall. Head coach Bill McDonald credited solid play and contributions from the whole roster for the strong showing in the fall schedule. Individually, Caleb Sturgeon won individual medalist honors at the Badger Invitational, the second of his career, and claimed three top-20 finishes in the fall. Matt NeSmith carded three top-5 finishes in the fall including runner-up in each of the final two tournaments. Will Starke also finished in the top-20 three times, twice in the top-5. South Carolina will open its spring schedule on Feb. 21-23 in Houston, Texas in the Bayou City Collegiate Championships.

WOMEN’S GOLF

The South Carolina women’s golf team is ranked 14th in the nation by Golfweek and 16th by Golf World/NGCA following its fall competitions. The Gamecocks finished sixth or better as a team in all four tournaments this fall. The Gamecocks claimed second at the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate Championship and fourth at the Landfall Tradition behind No. 3 Duke, No. 10 Alabama and No. 13 Clemson. Head coach Kalen Harris said this was the best fall a team has had in her time leading the program because of being in contention against top-tier competition in every event. Harris was pleased with the level of competition and contributions from the whole team this fall as each golfer pushed one other to become better. A Gamecock finished in the top-10 individually in each event this fall led by Justine Dreher, Samantha Swinehart and Katelyn Dambaugh all claiming two top-10 finishes this fall. Swinehart (T2) and Dambaugh (T4) posted the best individual finishes of the fall by each claiming a top-5. The Gamecocks will resume play this spring on Feb. 14-16 in Tallahassee, Fla. in the Florida State Match-Up.

MEN’S SOCCER

The youthful Gamecock men’s soccer team made improvements throughout the season in what head coach Mark Berson said was a good year establishing a solid base to build upon for the future. Berson was proud of the way many young players stepped up, often having to start four or five freshmen. The Gamecocks finished 7-7-5 playing one of the toughest schedules in the nation while staying in every game. South Carolina posted five draws, played in eight overtime games and finished 5-4 in one-goal games this year. The Gamecocks had a streak from Sept. 15 to Nov. 9 without a loss and posted a 5-2-2 record at home. The Gamecocks recorded the highest Team GPA in the nation at 3.54, the second time in the past five years they have earned this honor (2009-10 season). They also received the Team Academic Award from the NSCAA for the fifth consecutive year for their performance in the classroom. Stephen Anderson and Braeden Troyer were chosen to the Conference USA All-Academic Team and Ryan Arambula and Troyer were chosen to the Capital One Academic All-District 4 Team as well. South Carolina had multiple individuals honored for their play as well with juniors Mahamoudou Kaba and Troyer selected as All-Conference USA performers; Kaba a first-team selection and Troyer on the second-team. Goalkeeper Marco Velez and midfielder Kurtis Turner were honored with All-Freshman plaudits from Conference USA as well. Velez was also chosen the Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 28. Kaba also garnered All-South honors.

WOMEN’S SOCCER

South Carolina’s women’s soccer team had a tremendous season being ranked as high as seventh during the season and advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Gamecocks hosted and won their first round NCAA Tournament game, 5-0, over Furman to advance to the second round before falling on the road to No. 17 Stanford, 1-0, in overtime. South Carolina finished the season ranked 15th by the NSCAA, marking the second top-15 finish in program history. The Gamecocks picked up victories over two top-10 opponents in the season for the first time in program history by defeating No. 7 Duke, 1-0, and winning at No. 8 Florida, 2-1, in double overtime. South Carolina went undefeated at home during the season (11-0) and finished with a 17-4-2 record

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overall. Head coach Shelley Smith also claimed her 150th victory at the helm of the Gamecocks on Oct. 11 against Alabama, 2-1. Multiple Gamecocks were recognized individually for their play led by goalkeeper Sabrina D’Angelo who was chosen a first-team All-American by the NSCAA and SEC Defensive Player of the Year. D’Angelo also earned All-South Region honors and was selected as a semifinalist for the MAC Hermann Trophy. She was selected to the Capital One Academic All-District 4 Team, an NSCAA Scholar All-American and to the TopDrawerSoccer.com Best XI as well. D’Angelo posted 12 shutouts, 17 victories and a 0.59 goals against average during her stellar season. Senior forward Danielle Au was named to the Capital One Academic All-America team and earned All-South Region honors. Au was second on the team in goals (7), assists (4) and points (18) which allowed her to finish her career fourth in program history in goals (23) and points (60). Au also ranks third in program history in game-winning goals with 11. She scored one to defeat No. 7 Duke helping her earn recognition as SEC Offensive Player of the Week on Aug. 26. Defender Taylor Leach helped anchor the top defense in the SEC, earning All-South Region honors and being selected to first-team All-SEC. Leach was chosen as SEC Defensive Player of the Week and to TopDrawerSoccer’s Team of the Week (both Oct. 7) during the season as well. Freshman Chelsea Drennan was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team and distributed 12 assists on the season. That total is most-ever for a freshman and second-most in program history. Sophomore Raina Johnson led the team with 10 goals and 21 points from the forward position. South Carolina was honored by the NSCAA by earning the Bronze Team Ethics and Sportsmanship Award for 2013. The Gamecocks lose six seniors from the squad and Smith will look to continue the Gamecocks’ success going forward into next season.

SWIMMING AND DIVING

The Gamecock swimming and diving teams finished up the fall strong with both the men and women’s teams placing second in the Virginia Tech Invitational. The men’s team is ranked 17th by Endless Pools and 25th by the CSCAA following the fall portion of the schedule. The men’s team went 3-1 in dual meets in the fall, falling only at nationally-ranked Tennessee while defeating SEC foe LSU. The women’s team finished the fall season 1-3. The men’s team had standout per-

formances from Kevin Leithold (100m breaststroke) and Michael Flach (500m freestyle) as each set top times nationally at the Virginia Tech Invitational. Leithold also tied the nation’s top time in 100m freestyle. Sophomore Marwan El Kamash set Egyptian national records in the 400m and 800m freestyle at the Egyptian Championships. The women’s team has been led by junior Victoria Mitchell and seniors Abby Galbreath and Amanda Rutqvist. In the diving pool, women’s divers Patricia Kranz and Lauren Lamedola turned in strong performances as did men’s divers Cole Miller and Jordan Gotro. Diving coach Todd Sherritt said the divers are steadily improving and are on track for a strong SEC finish. Head coach McGee Moody was pleased with the way the swimmers finished the season on a strong note with one of the best performances he has had leading the Gamecocks. The Gamecocks will be back in action in a dual meet as they host Duke on Jan. 11.

MEN’S TENNIS

South Carolina’s men’s tennis team finished the fall season ranked 18th in the nation and Gamecocks’ head coach Josh Goffi was pleased with the quality of the wins his players posted this fall. Goffi noted he is not worried about the quantity of wins because he scheduled top-tier competition to challenge his team and was pleased to see the team compete with maturity. In singles competition, All-American Tsvetan Mihov led the team with eight victories while freshman Andrew Schafer posted seven singles victories. Chip Cox and Thiago Pinheiro both claimed five singles victories during the fall. Mihov, the nationally 14th-ranked singles player, led the team with four victories against ranked opponents while Kyle Koch and Schafer each claimed a ranked win. The Gamecocks boast two nationallyranked doubles pairings in Cox and Koch and Mihov and Pinheiro. Each pairing claimed four victories and one against other ranked competition during the fall. Goffi is confident in the Gamecocks ability this spring and they will be bolstered by the return of Andrew Adams. The Gamecocks open a grueling spring schedule featuring 20 teams that finished the 2013 season nationally ranked on Jan. 19 by hosting Furman and The Citadel.

South Carolina’s singles competition was a strong point for the team as freshmen Caroline Dailey and Brigit Folland each picked up eight victories. Sophomore Ximena Siles Luna won seven singles matches and junior Elixane Lechemia won six as well. Epley moved around his doubles pairings during the fall to attempt to find the best combinations, which led to many different groupings. Meghan Blevins and Lachemia went 4-2 as a pairing and Blevins and Siles Luna were undefeated at 3-0. Dailey and Folland also posted a 3-0 record as a pair. The blending of the newcomers and veterans has been an asset thus far according to Epley, who said that he has seen the players buy in to the program. He noted the team has great potential and looks forward to the spring’s competitive schedule. The Gamecocks will get the spring campaign under way on Jan. 18 playing host to East Tennessee State and College of Charleston.

VOLLEYBALL

The Gamecock volleyball team took a young squad led by head coach Scott Swanson to a 12-19 record while gaining experience in the tough SEC. South Carolina started the season 9-4 before heading into conference play. South Carolina claimed the titles at the Gamecock Invitational and the

WOMEN’S TENNIS

Gamecock women’s tennis head coach Kevin Epley saw his team earn good results and improve during the fall season as they build for the spring. Epley said he was pleased with the consistency the Gamecocks showed this fall.

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Carolina Classic. Both tournaments were presented by Courtyard Marriott. Gamecocks’ senior outside hitter Juliette Thévenin was named to the All-Region and All-SEC teams for her performance. She was chosen as SEC Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 23. Thévenin ranked first in the SEC and 11th nationally in kills per set (4.57) and she was second in in the conference in points per set at 4.91. She finished the season with the second-most kills (466) and second-most kills per set (4.57) in program history in the rally-scoring era. Thévenin finished her career in the top10 in program history in six categories, including becoming only the second Gamecock of record to collect more than 1,000 kills (1,590) and 1,000 digs (1,012) in a career. Sophomore setter Kellie McNeil finished sixth in the SEC with 10.17 assists per set while junior libero Michaela Christaansen finished 10th in the conference with 3.57 digs per set. Sophomore Darian Dozier finished eighth in the SEC in blocks per set at 1.06 while posting a .276 hitting percentage averaging 1.98 kills per set. Swanson should see his team improve with the experience the young group gained this year as they go through offseason training, with some players crossing over to compete in sand volleyball, and return next fall prepared for a strong campaign.

IMG Learfield Ticket Solutions

providing personal touch By Brian Hand bhand@spursandfeathers.com

here is nothing like the experience of attending a South Carolina athletic event in person. Gamecock fans give the South Carolina athletic teams one of the best advantages in all of college athletics. One of the things that makes it so tough playing in Columbia is having the stadiums and arenas at or even in some cases above capacity. To make sure that this is almost always the case, IMG Learfield Ticket Solutions was brought into the fold with the South Carolina athletics department. The five current individuals involved as part of the IMG Learfield Ticket Solutions South Carolina property partner with the athletics department to reach a market that was largely untouched before their arrival in July of this past year. Despite getting a late start to the current athletic year, the partnership between IMG Learfield Ticket Solutions and the athletics department at the University of South Carolina has been a huge success. “We came in behind the eight ball as we started in July,” General Manager of the South Carolina property Dan Stahl noted. “So we had about a month and a half to sell football season tickets. In that month and a half we were able to sell over 1,000 new football season tickets, which I think is fantastic. Along with that we had a goal of hitting 1,500 combined men’s and women’s basketball season tickets and we just recently hit that goal. We’ve got over 1,000 new women’s season tickets through our office and over 500 new men’s season tickets through our office. “All those things together, I think we’ve done a real good job hitting the ground running. The reason we’ve been successful is because of the support we receive from the marketing, development and ticket offices. It’s just fantastic. Everybody here is around and they’ve given us everything we need to succeed and they’ve been a great partner with us in doing that,” Stahl continued. The South Carolina athletics department is very excited about what IMG Learfield Ticket Solutions has brought to Gamecock athletics. “Even with the way our world is today with the number of digital and social communications, the best communication is what it always has been and that is the one-to-one conversation with a human,” South Carolina Associate Athletics Director/CMO Eric Nichols noted. “Dan and his group not only have the work ethic to

20 • Spurs & Feathers

succeed, but more importantly they fit very well within our culture. We are very excited about their impact so far.” IMG Learfield Ticket Solutions Southeast Regional Manager AJ Arem is also pleased with the partnership with South Carolina. “Dan and his team have felt included as part of the athletic department since day one,” Arem remarked. “This has allowed our staff to focus on providing first-class customer service through best sales practices on each and every call to the great Gamecock fans in Columbia and across the region. We look forward to continuing to work together, supplementing the tremendous efforts that Gamecock athletics has in place.” The Gamecock football team finished the regular season a perfect 7-0 at home and in the midst of a program-best and current nation’s best 18-game home winning streak. IMG Learfield Ticket Solutions obviously has not been a part of all 18 wins, but this past year through their partnership with South Carolina they were able to help the athletics department sell out all seven home games for the first time since 1981. The capacity for Williams-Brice Stadium was only 54,000 in 1981 so this year marked the first time the current 80,000plus stadium had sold out every game. As of December, Stahl and his staff had also helped the athletics department to a 93 percent increase in season ticket sales for women’s basketball, which is an increase of over 1,800 season tickets. Men’s basketball season ticket sales have increased by over 1,000 tickets. There is currently a 12 percent increase in revenue even with a reduced ticket price

offering this year for men’s basketball season tickets. Stahl and his staff work hard daily to make sure that Gamecock fans know of all of the offerings that are out there. The group does not take away tickets from Gamecock Club members, but rather generates new members. “The main goal is to provide individual contacts to all of our Gamecock Club members and fans who aren’t currently in the Gamecock Club. What we do on a daily basis is reach out to those fans personally, giving that personal touch and let them know about different packages and ways that we can help them out to make sure they can take advantage of all the packages that we do have to offer,” Stahl commented. “That personal touch really makes a difference in getting fans to purchase season tickets or to get their groups out. “One of our main goals when we are talking to someone is to cross-sell them into all the other things that we do. So if we’re talking to a season ticket holder and they mention that they are into church, we’ll talk to them about our faith and family day, or if they mention they are into scouts, we talk to them about our girl or boy scout nights in basketball. Having that personal touch really makes sure you are maximizing all the things that someone might be interested in, but might not know about. All of these strategies together combine to make up our Most Valuable Practices (MVPs) that we actively train to each one of our Account Executives,” Stahl said. According to Stahl the new group has received a great response and the group is going to continue to work hard in the

coming year to continue fostering their relationships with all Gamecocks. “One of the main things we’d love to have eventually is to be able to have all our season ticket allotment sold … to have all that taken care of and to have that be a turnkey thing where we are just renewing those clients and continuing to build those relationships year after year,” Stahl pointed out. “I think that’s something we have a chance at this year. It’s a lofty goal, but I think we can get there because there are enough Gamecock fans out there that if they knew all the things out there available to them that they would be interested. That’s one of the things that we’d like to do for the upcoming season in football. “Along with that, something that we’re going to be doing is having group tickets available throughout the entire offseason, which will allow us to reach out to a lot more of the business communities that might plan their group events well in advance. Having stuff like that available should have us being a more active partner with the local businesses,” Stahl pointed out. Even if the group does reach their goal of selling out football in 2014 there will always be different ways for Gamecock fans to get inside of Williams-Brice Stadium. “There will always be some chances for groups, mini-plans, things like that,” Stahl said. “The thing to always remember is that the one or two games of the year where the visiting team takes up their entire allotment where the other games

they take up a good bit, but there are still 2,000 or so tickets we need to work with or sell. That’s where we utilize our group tickets and our mini-plans.”

Brittons of Columbia helps , community Tie Us Together

By Mike Kucharski mike@spursandfeathers.com “Tie Us Together” will be a special event sponsored by Brittons of Columbia, the Columbia Convention and Visitors Bureau, the City of Columbia and the University of South Carolina Dance Marathon on Sunday Feb. 9, 2014. “Tie Us Together” will attempt to set a world record in southern class. In the the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center on Feb. 9, the organizers of “Tie Us Together” will attempt to break a Guinness World Records achievement for the most bow ties tied simultaneously. The event will be free and open to the public beginning at 2 p.m. to prepare for the world record attempt at 4 p.m. The event will help to raise continued support and funds for the Palmetto Health Children’s Hospital and the Palmetto Health Foundation. “It gives me great pleasure to be a part of ‘Tie Us Together’ and help out the community,” Perry Lancaster of Brittons of Columbia said. “It gives us a great launching pad for what we are about to do in Columbia in 2014. We are going for the Guinness World Records for the most bow ties tied at the same time ... we’re going to fill this room, maximize this room and break the record.” Lancaster noted that the existing record is held by a company in England at 417 people and he challenged the community to come out in support for the event on Feb. 9. “It’s unique and fashion forward events like this that bolster excitement within the community, while embracing our regional brand of The New Southern Hot Spot,” said Ric Luber, President and CEO of the Midlands Authority for Conventions, Sports and Tourism. “We are glad to be a part of an event that benefits such a noteworthy cause.” The platinum sponsor for the event is Southern Tide which was founded in 2006 in Greenville, S.C. Another sponsor is R. Hanauer from Fort Mill, S.C. which designed and donated a limited-edition bow tie to be offered at Brittons. R. Hanauer also donates bow ties to the Boys & Girls Club of the Midlands and is a gold sponsor. Smathers & Branson has created a limited edition key fob in royal blue with a bow tie on one side and the Palmetto tree on the other that will be offered at Brittons. “All proceeds from the sales of these items will go directly to Children’s Hospital,” Lancaster commented. Other sponsors are Private Stock, Ameris Bank, Pennington and Bailes, Jim’s Formal Wear and Butterfly Bowties. Also included in sponsorship are Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center, Columbia Convention and Visitors Bureau, Palmetto Health Foundation, Palmetto Health Children’s Hospital and the City of Columbia. To participate, register at www.tieustogether.eventbrite.com. To donate, visit http://www.helpmakemiracles.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive. event&eventID=1685. To learn more, you can also like them on Facebook at Tie Us Together or follow on Twitter @TieUsTogether.

If you nee to learn how to tie your bow tie, watch an instructional video the Columbia CVB created featuring Brittons bow tie aficionado, Lucky Levinson at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJv4Qh7zR3E. “This is a great way to support Children’s Hospital and to spend a Sunday with your friends, family, church groups or other organizations. We hope our neighbors

and friends in Columbia will join us,” Lancaster said.

Spurs & Feathers • 21

e c a f c i l b u p s e i t Facili s c i t e l h t a k c o c e of Gam

By Bart Wright

f you had 500 athletics directors in a room, from schools large and small across the country from one end to the other, you could get all of them nodding heads in agreement if you suggested there’s something new on their plates every day. Few things bind athletic directors together like the multitude of issues that can arise on a daily basis to throw a schedule off the rails. You never know what might come across the desk next, with the exception of one subject close to the top of the list of priorities for any athletics director, anywhere. There is one subject that will never fade away or take a vacation; it’s there every day, 365 days a year.

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Facilities. “It’s really our public face, but it’s more than that,” said Carolina Athletics Director Ray Tanner. “When you talk about facilities, you are talking about an image you project, but you’re also talking about recruiting – how you match up with other schools – about attendance at games, really, facilities touches everything in the athletic department.” And at South Carolina, the list at the present includes topics that will transform individual sports, those coaches and players and the physical manifestations will be left for everyone to see. The list includes: • Sand volleyball facility • Tennis locker rooms for men and women • Outdoor track facility

• Indoor track facility • Football practice facility (indoor) • Football practice fields (outdoor) The list could be extended, in terms of a wider facilities view, to include the plaza area across from WilliamsBrice Stadium that will alter the look and flow of the game day experience for years to come and the work being done at the softball fields to fully prepare for the 2014 SEC Championships the Gamecocks will host. “There’s a lot more than just those things that we’re doing,” Tanner said, looking out his office window at the Athletics Village, contemplating what a finished scene will look like. “The Dodie (academic center) and the Coaches Support Building are significant for us and there’s the indoor tennis practice facility, we have to decide what to do with football coaches’ offices – do we

renovate or build something new – and then you get into things like suites in the football stadium, premium seats or loge seating, the issues never end, but that’s good; it’s what we do.” Tanner knows, as well as anyone, that it’s fine to have a list of all these projects, you can’t move ahead without one, but the list is only temporary, because about the time every project on the list has been completed, it will be time to upgrade whatever the oldest project on the list may be. They call it an arms race, mimicking the cold war strategies of an earlier age, and there are some justifiable comparisons to be made. In competition for the best athletes and students, when your school is a notch or two below what your competition is doing, you lose an edge, take a half-step back. For the Gamecocks, the wide gulf that once existed between Carolina’s facilities and the best in the Southeast-

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said for football and basketball facilities. The work Tanner is involved with in other sports from tennis to sand volleyball is lifting the entire department. “Every school always wants more suites for football,” Bloom said, “but while I don’t have a list in front of me, I think it’s fair to say we are in the bottom quadrant in that respect, but the emphasis these days I think is more on club seats, executive level seats, that kind of things, and that’s where our attention is focused. “On balance, it’s fair to say Carolina is now in the upper half of the conference in facilities across the board and that’s a huge step forward,” he said. “If you want to call it the top 4 sports – football, baseball, men’s and women’s basketball – I’d say we’re in the Top 4 of the SEC in those sports.” Top 4 in the SEC is a place of strength, a position of power. It is a place, candidly, the Gamecocks haven’t been a part of until just recently. With the work that has been done and with what’s being planned over the next year, it’s fair to say Carolina is taking up permanent residence in an exclusive neighborhood of the nation’s premier athletic conference. Funny thing, after all the work and effort, the new neighborhood doesn’t feel out of sorts or uncomfortable in any way. It feels just the way it’s supposed to feel when you’re at the top of the game.

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ern Conference has been narrowed, considerably. “I’ll be honest, it was a little rough when we first got here (in 2005),” said Jamie Speronis, Associate AD/Football Operations, “it was kind of surprising in not a good way. We had a football locker room with zero ventilation; we had a little virus that first month or so that we thought might wipe out the whole team. “The progress,” he said, “has been amazing. We have a great locker room, the training room, the weight room, I mean, we don’t take a back seat to anybody and it hasn’t always been like that.” More than anyone, Tanner, the former coach, understands the pressing need to maintain top-level facilities. “I realize you can’t do everything overnight,” Tanner said, “you can’t just snap your finger and make everything appear, but you have to be working on everything all the time, you have to have a vision and the plans to implement that vision and you can’t just take a week, a day or a month off, you have to work on it every day.” The money, of course, comes from enhanced television contracts and from the Gamecock Club and other support groups. The way it works in the real world is that the more successful teams are, the more people tend to be willing to financially support those teams. More and more, that support is being generated, as noted by former Southeastern Conference Associate Commissioner Charles Bloom, hired almost 18 months ago by Tanner as the school’s new Senior Athletics Director, External Affairs. In 17 years at the conference office, Bloom observed South Carolina move from a place of competitive and financial disadvantage as the new kid on the block, to one of the more accomplished entities in the SEC. “I would say 10, 15 years ago, Carolina was probably in the lower half of our conference in terms of facilities,” Bloom said, “and that might have been a little deceiving for Gamecock fans because when you take a look at the shell of our football stadium from the outside, just driving by on the street, it looked on par with other facilities in the SEC. “But when you took a closer look, when you got inside and saw the video board, some of the executive level seating, the lack of suites, the things athletes needed in the structure, we were probably behind the upper half, but that’s changed.” The baseball stadium, built through the help of Coach Ray Tanner’s back-toback National Championship teams, is second to none, and the same can be

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South

s c i t e l h t Carolina A

By Mike Kucharski mike@spursandfeathers.com

BASEBALL

The South Carolina baseball team is coming off a 43-20 season that saw a run to the NCAA Super Regionals in the first year under head coach Chad Holbrook. South Carolina returns a strong core of experienced position players which will need to help lead a young pitching staff for a successful season. Joey Pankake and Grayson Greiner are the biggest names returning to wear Garnet and Black this spring and they will be positioned in the middle of the lineup in most games. Holbrook said that Greiner has the potential to be an All-American and may be the best catcher in the nation. He added that Pankake is a constant threat in the lineup and therefore he most likely will not risk pitching this spring. Both were named preseaon All-Americans by Collegiate Baseball in December. Centerfielder Tanner English will be a staple at the top of the lineup with his speed and improved plate discipline that he displayed this fall. Experience in the infield will also come from Max Schrock, Connor Bright and DC Arendas along with some talented newcomers as Holbrook has said he has multiple options at the middle infield spots. Brison Celek and Kyle Martin both return with the ability to play first base or a corner outfield spot. Holbrook said that Martin proved himself capable on the mound and as a middle-of-thelineup presence in the fall. The pitching staff will be led by experienced starters Jordan Montgomery and Jack Wynkoop. Both worked hard during the fall with the strength and conditioning staff to prepare for the season. Holbrook said Wynkoop has improved his velocity and performed well against middle-of-the-lineup competition in the fall. The third weekend starter’s role is still yet to be determined as is the closer. Holbrook liked the way the young pitching staff competed in the fall and will keep the competitions going until the season opener. Holbrook has hinted that he may use a bullpen-by-

committee strategy and matchup with the opposition, but Cody Mincey was impressive late in games during fall sessions. He noted Mincey has improved his velocity and boasts a swing-andmiss slider, not to mention being an older player as well. The Gamecocks will look to experienced players that came in as one of the top recruiting classes in the country to maximize their potential to lead a charge back to Omaha this spring. With their leadership and contributions from some younger players, South Carolina should be in good position to compete for a College World Series berth this season. South Carolina will begin its quest in Carolina Stadium against Bucknell on Feb. 14 at 3 p.m. In SEC play, the Gamecocks will host Ole Miss, Tennessee, Florida, Alabama and Missouri for threegame sets while traveling for series at Kentucky, Arkansas, Auburn, Georgia and Vanderbilt. The Gamecocks will match up with in-state rival Clemson on Feb. 28 in Columbia (7 p.m.), March 1 in Greenville (2 p.m.) and March 2 in Clemson (4 p.m.).

EQUESTRIAN

The nation’s top-ranked equestrian squad will look to bring back-to-back SEC Championships to South Carolina as they host the competition this spring. The Gamecocks will begin their quest at fourth-ranked New Mexico State on Feb. 1. The Gamecocks will also travel to sixth-ranked Georgia and TennesseeMartin in the spring while hosting No. 9 Texas A&M and No. 2 Auburn. South Carolina will look to continue one of its hottest streaks in program history this spring in preparation for hosting the SEC Championship on March 28-29. South Carolina will look to senior captain Alison Ceresani to guide the team and hope for more contributions from senior Johnna Letchworth and junior Katherine Schmidt, both of whom earned multiple Rider of the Month laurels from the NCEA in the fall. Head coach Boo Major was pleased with the fall performance, but recognized that the ultimate goal is to have the team performing well at the SEC and National Championships. The

Gamecocks will look to continue this momentum to get the best seeding possible for these competitions to give them the best shot at bringing home SEC and National Titles.

MEN’S GOLF

South Carolina’s nationally-ranked men’s golf team will hope to continue the hot play it had to close out the fall in five tournaments this spring leading into the SEC Championships. The Gamecocks will open the spring schedule at the Bayou City Collegiate Championships in Texas before playing its next five, including the SEC Championship, in South Carolina, North Carolina or Georgia. South Carolina will look to capitalize on that talent and make another appearance in the NCAA Championship. That path leads through the SEC Championship at St. Simon’s Island, Ga. on April 25-27 as they look to repeat or improve upon last spring’s second place finishes at both the SEC Championship and Columbus Regional.

WOMEN’S GOLF

The Gamecock women’s golf team comes into the spring ranked in the top-20, as high as 14th, looking to repeat last spring’s run to the NCAA Championship. That quest will begin on Feb. 14-16 in Tallahassee, Fla. in the first of four tournaments leading into the SEC Championship on April 18-20. South Carolina will host the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate along with participating in the Florida State Match-Up, the Bryan National Collegiate and the PING ASU Invitational this spring. The final spring tournament for the Gamecocks before the SEC Championship will be in Tempe, Ariz. before heading to Birmingham, Ala. to compete for an SEC title. With equal parts youth and experience contributing, the Gamecocks will look to improve upon last seasons finishes of third at the SEC Championship and fourth in the NCAA West Regional to make another run the the NCAA Championship. Harris has scheduled the Gamecocks against some of the best teams in the nation and that experience could pay dividends in the postseason this year.

SAND VOLLEYBALL

South Carolina’s sand volleyball team will undertake it’s inaugural season this spring under the watch of head coach Moritz Moritz. The Gamecocks will enjoy their own brand-new facility for practice and hosting opponents. The Gamecocks currently have nine members on the team, but that number is expected to increase to as many as 15-20 as some indoor volleyball student-athletes cross over to join the team. Moritz is excited to bring in the new additions and said there is already chemistry between the players because of the “Gamecock volleyball family atmosphere” that has been created throughout the program. The Gamecock sand volleyball team was tested in the fall against some of the best competition in the nation in Florida State and Georgia State and Moritz was pleased with the results. He is confident the Gamecocks can matchup with opponents this spring as they build toward a future of competing for championships. South Carolina opens its first-ever season in a tournament (North Florida, Florida International, Florida State and Jacksonville) in Jacksonville, Fla. on March 8 and March 9.

SOFTBALL

South Carolina returns a nucleus of a team that went to the NCAA Regionals last season but will have to replace AllAmerican shortstop Samie Garcia. Last season’s squad won 34 games and this year head coach Beverly Smith said they hope to improve that number. The Gamecocks will host the SEC Championship at Carolina Softball Stadium at Beckham Field from May 7-10 displaying the beautiful facility to the nation. Smith added the team has been talking about aspirations to win an SEC Championship and how special it would be to do so in front of Gamecock fans. Five of the Gamecocks’ top six hitters by average return from last season and Smith said the offense should be in good shape, but she is still experimenting with the lineup. The Gamecocks were able to put up big numbers during fall competition and hit in the clutch, picking up multiple walk-off victories. Smith hopes to see this continue in the spring and is confident the offense

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will be able to score to compete in the SEC. The pitching staff will be anchored by returner Julie Sarratt who Smith said has worked hard on developing a rise-ball in the offseason. She will lead a mostly inexperienced but talented pitching staff made up of freshman Nikcie Blue and junior Lakyn Shull. The Gamecocks have a young roster with eight freshmen and a transfer, but Smith feels they were tested in the fall and should be ready for the season. South Carolina will compete in four early-season tournaments, hosting the Carolina Classic and the Gamecock Invitational (Feb. 21-23). The Carolina Classic will open the season Feb. 7-9 as the Gamecocks will face Iowa, Ohio, Presbyterian and UNC Greensboro.In SEC play, the Gamecocks will host Texas A&M, Ole Miss, LSU and Auburn for three-game series and travel to Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia and Arkansas for conference series. The Gamecocks will look to continue their recent success and make a run in the always-competitive SEC to try and hoist a conference championship trophy on their home field.

SWIMMING AND DIVING

The Gamecocks’ swimming and diving teams will look to build on a strong fall finish at the Virginia Tech Invitational for a successful season. South Carolina will compete in four dual meets, one SEC matchup at Auburn, in the spring before heading to the SEC Championships on Feb. 18-22. South Carolina opens the spring schedule hosting Duke on Jan. 11 and Queens and Wingate on Jan. 24 and 25 before traveling to Auburn on Feb. 1. The SEC Championships will be held in Athens, Ga. in mid-February. The nationally-ranked men’s swimming team will look to continue getting strong performances from the likes of Michael Flach, Kevin Leithold, Gerard Rodriguez and Marwan El Kamash. Men’s divers Cole Miller and Jordan Gotro will hope to continue to lead the Gamecocks in the diving pool as they head forward through the season. The women’s swimming team has been led by Victoria Mitchell, Amanda Rutqvist and Abby Galbreath and they will try to continue to perform well. Divers Patricia Kranz and Lauren Lamedola have led the from the platforms and boards and should continue their excellent showings. The Gamecocks look to be continuing to improve and head coach McGee Moody is confident that they will be ready for the SEC Championships (Feb. 18-22). Diving coach Todd Sherritt has been pleased with the divers thus far and feels they will continue to progress into championship season. The Gamecocks should be a force come SEC Championships and contend both as a

team and individually.

MEN’S TENNIS

The Gamecocks will enter the spring carrying a national ranking of 18th and increased expectations, but head coach Josh Goffi wouldn’t have it any other way. Goffi has seen the program progress in his four years at the helm to have the challenges this season change from breaking into the top-tier of teams to now proving that they belong among the nation’s elite. The roster should be bolstered by the return of nationally-ranked singles player Andrew Adams from injury and Goffi expects contributions from every player on the team. All-American Tsvetan Mihov will be called upon to lead the way again, but the depth of the team will be a strength with both experienced players and talented freshmen. Doubles play should be another strength for the Gamecocks who boast two nationally-ranked doubles pairs. Mihov and Thiago Pinheiro and Chip Cox and Kyle Koch will lead the Gamecocks and Goffi said that the third pairing will be tough as well no matter which two players play out of that position. Goffi added that he is confident in the team’s ability to consistently win doubles points. The Gamecocks’ schedule will be grueling this spring as they face 20 teams that finished the 2013 season ranked nationally in their 24 matches. The schedule not only features the usual SEC gauntlet, but also 17 teams that participated in last year’s NCAA Tournament. The schedule begins on Jan. 19 as the Gamecocks host Furman and The Citadel. The Gamecocks will host SEC foes Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, Auburn, Ole Miss and Mississippi State. They will travel to face Texas A&M, Florida, LSU, Arkansas, Kentucky and Vanderbilt and visit rival Clemson on March 5. The SEC Tournament will be held in Nashville, Tenn. from April 16-20.

2-1. Epley said he is still working on finding the best pairings, but the early results have been encouraging for the Gamecocks to claim doubles points in the spring. The Gamecocks saw a number of young players step up in singles in the fall and they will look for that to continue this spring. Freshmen Dailey and Folland and sophomore Siles Luna led the way in the fall with strong contributions from Lechemia as well. Epley will hope to see this progression continue and ranked singles players Katerina Popova and Blevins lead the way. The Gamecocks will face off against eight teams currently ranked in the top-25 in their 24-match spring schedule. This schedule includes SEC play which features a three-match streak against current top-10 opponents in Texas A&M, Florida and Georgia. South Carolina will open the season hosting East Tennessee State and College of Charleston on Jan. 18. The Gamecocks will host SEC opponents Missouri, Texas A&M, Florida, LSU, Arkansas, Kentucky and Vanderbilt while traveling to play Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, Auburn, Ole Miss and Mississippi State. The Gamecocks will host rival Clemson (currently No. 13) on Feb. 16 at noon.

TRACK AND FIELD

USTFCCCA Hall of Fame inductee Curtis Frye is in his 18th year leading the program. Frye will have nine returners that received All-America recognition in 2013. The Gamecock women’s team returns

strength at sprints, hurdles and relay with the return of 2013 All-Americans Erika Rucker (400m), Tyler Brockington (400m hurdles, 4x400m relay) Tamera Harris (400m hurdles, 4x400m relay), Vashti Bandy (4x400m relay) and Ahtyana Johnson (4x400m relay). Other 2013 All-Americans returning on the women’s team are Jeannelle Scheper (high jump), Kayla Lampe (10,000m), and Petra Olsen (pole vault). The men’s team boasts returning three-time All-American sprinters Chris Royster (100m) and Clayton Gravesande and two-time All-American Eric Winfrey. The Gamecock hurdlers boast 2013 SEC All-Freshman performer Jermaine Collier (110m hurdles) who along with Dondre Echols were NCAA East Preliminary qualifiers in the 110m hurdles and 4x100m relay. Collier also was an NCAA Preliminary Qualifier in the 400m hurdles. 2012 All-American javelin thrower Joshua Suttmeier returns as well. The Gamecocks will host six meets this spring, three indoors (Jan. 11, Jan. 22, Feb. 22) and three outdoors starting with the Weems Baskin Invitational (March 28-29) and the Gamecock Outdoor Opens on April 9 and 19. The SEC Indoor Championships (Feb. 27-March 1) and NCAA Indoor Championships (March 14-15) will be held in College Station, Texas and Albuquerque, N.M. respectively. The SEC Outdoor Championships will be held May 15-18 in Lexington, Ky. with the Outdoor NCAA Championship Preliminaries (May 29-31 in Jacksonville, Fla.) and the Outdoor NCAA Championship Finals (June 11-14 in Eugene, Ore.) to follow.

WOMEN’S TENNIS

The Gamecock women’s tennis boasts a 33rd national ranking and the team looks to build on a strong fall that saw blending from the team’s youth and experience and some excellent showings. Second-year head coach Kevin Epley will try to continue the progression seen this season as they take on the always difficult SEC schedule plus non-conference ranked foes Virginia and Clemson. The doubles pairings have not been set for the upcoming season, but Epley has seen some good play from a few groupings. Meghan Blevins paired with Brigit Folland, Elixane Lechemia and Ximena Siles Luna in the fall to compile and 8-3 combined record, going 1-1, 4-2 and 3-0 respectively. Caroline Dailey and Folland also combined to post a 3-0 record in the fall and four pairings went

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Gamecocks help Columbia By Mike Kucharski mike@spursandfeathers.com

he student-athletes at the University of South Carolina assisted many places around the community during the “Week of Giving” from Dec. 2 through Dec. 6 to help better the community. “Our student-athletes have shown a tremendous commitment to the community, so this effort was something that would allow them to work together,” Erica Nelson, Coordinator for Life Skills and Community Outreach, said. “It started as a one-day initiative that we have done in the past and I thought it would be easier to open it up to a whole week. This would allow teams to take an activity that works with their schedule and fits their interest. “Basically it’s just an opportunity for them to work together to build camaraderie amongst the student-athletes while supporting our community,” Nelson continued. Nelson said that the “Week of Giving” creates an opportunity for the studentathletes to feel good about giving back and puts things in perspective for them by helping out the less fortunate in their community. She added that she likes to give the student-athletes the option of choosing their activities so they enjoy them and continue to be involved in their communities on their own. There were a number of activities around Columbia the Gamecocks were able to choose from during the “Week of Giving.” Some were able to design holiday cards for military service men and women who cannot be with their families during the holiday, others assisted at the Ronald McDonald House and the Harvest Hope Food Bank, while others had speaking engagements throughout the community and visited the Palmetto Health Children’s Hospital. Starting on Monday, Dec. 2, studentathletes went out to Heathwood Hall Middle School for a panel discussion featuring Michael Flach (men’s swimming), Taylor Leach (women’s soccer) and Damiere Byrd (football). The men’s tennis team spent time doing volunteer support at the Harvest Hope Food Bank and the volleyball team assisted at Ronald McDonald House with holiday decorations and baked cookies. The next day, Tuesday, members of the baseball and women’s soccer team made a trip to the Palmetto Health Children’s Hospital to visit patients. On Wednesday, student-athletes

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from the women’s soccer team, the softball team, the swimming and diving team and the indoor volleyball team all came to make holiday cards for men and women in the armed forces at the American Red Cross. “We love giving back to the community because we get a lot of support at our games so we like to reach out and show the community how much we appreciate them. We love them and love to be able to help the community,” freshman women’s soccer player Vanessa Kovar said. Volunteer Service Manager Katharine Stafford for the American Red Cross said she was very appreciative of the efforts of the Gamecock student-athletes. “South Carolina sends us athletes every year and we just love that they come and help out with this,” Stafford said. “We are able to distribute these at the VA Hospital and give them out in the community, so it is a great thing. “We have them come in and they always seem like they have some fun. They make these great cards; handmade cards mean so much to the people that receive them. We’ve had some great efforts by these student-athletes and it means a lot that they come and give their time here,” Stafford continued.

Also on Wednesday, members of the men’s tennis and men’s basketball teams went to help at the Ronald McDonald House in Columbia. The student-athletes were put to work around the house, helping to wrap presents for the children, decorate for the holidays and doing any other jobs that needed to be done. Members of the women’s basketball team made an appearance at Hand Middle School to speak with some of the students as well. “We have worked around the community every year, but this is our first year here. I think that this is a great place to help out because it is such a good cause. We are really glad to be able to do anything we can,” junior men’s tennis player Kyle Koch said. On Thursday, the women’s tennis and men’s golf teams came to work at the Hope Harvest Food Bank on Shop Road to help feed the local community. Both teams helped to get food broken down from bulk size that it comes to the food bank into useable quantities for the clients. The women’s tennis team worked with produce, rice and beans while the men’s golf team broke down flour from 50-pound bags into gallon bags. Women’s tennis sophomore Katie Fosnacht expressed her excitement to

be able to assist in the community. “It’s great to get out and help in Columbia. We want to be a part of this community and it’s great for us to be involved,” Fosnacht said. “I love being able to come out and do something for people in need.” Back over at the Ronald McDonald House, members of the sand volleyball and men’s and women’s track and field teams all came out to assist with many jobs around the house on Thursday. Gamecock cornerback Victor Hampton went out into the community for multiple speaking engagements, one at the Department of Juvenile Justice and one at Hand Middle School. Hampton spoke to the children about finding a way to learn from mistakes, decision making and how it is easy to get in trouble, but hard to get out of it. At Hand Middle School, Hampton spoke to the boys’ basketball team and the Beau Tie Club. The Beau Tie Club is a group of seventh and eighth grade African-American boys who are high achieving which meets twice a month. Hampton has visited this group as a guest before and has personal relationships with many of the children. The

during Week of Giving

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this, recognition, acknowledgment or anything like that. I always come and I actually do build one-on-one relationships with these boys, so when they see me they can come talk to me. It feels good when you’ve got young males looking up to you,” Hampton continued. To read more about Hampton’s involvement in the community, read the recent “Inside the Chart” by Andy Demetra in Spurs & Feathers chronicling some of his speaking engagements at http://www.spursandfeathers.com/ news/2013-12-04/Columns/Inside_the_ Chart.html. On Friday, multiple student-athletes came to assist at the Ronald McDonald House, including members from the men’s and women’s track and field and cross country, women’s golf, women’s tennis, women’s soccer and women’s basketball teams. Others on the women’s basketball team and volleyball team members went to PETS, Inc. to assist the organization. Overall, student-athletes from all over South Carolina athletics pitched in to assist the community through many organizations making the “Week of Giving” a tremendous success around Columbia.

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club is run by teacher Charlie Seamans. “The goal for this is to take these high-achieving young men and give them experience in life, academics and anything that will help them down the road. We want them to be leaders and role models for the other students in the school,” Seamans explained. Hampton addressed this group about things like avoiding peer pressure, saying “peer pressure should come from you where other kids want to be like you when they see you doing the right things.” He also challenged them to find what motivates each of them to be great and always striving for better to take on challenges and take care of your family. “I just want to show them that someone of my stature does care about them. I just try to use my position in a positive way. Put in light what I’ve been through, the mistakes I’ve made, so they know that I’m not a perfect person and that I have been through some things and made some bad decisions, but I have learned from them,” Hampton commented. “I want to come back and tell them that kind of story. “It’s important for me (to be involved in the community). I never did it for

Gamecock basketball in good position entering league play By Mike Kucharski mike@spursandfeathers.com Women’s Basketball The South Carolina women’s basketball team finished its non-conference schedule at 12-1 which ties for the best start under head coach Dawn Staley and the best since the program joined the SEC in the 1983-84 season. The Gamecocks have also been ranked in the top-25 all season, reaching as high as No. 10. The Gamecocks were dominant for the majority of the non-conference slate, winning their games with a +28.7 point scoring margin on the season. South Carolina’s only loss in non-conference action came on Dec. 18 in Myrtle Beach, S.C. against then 15thranked North Carolina, 74-66. The Tar Heels have since moved into the top-10 nationally. South Carolina only had one other nonconference game decided by fewer than 10 points, a 69-61 victory over Winthrop two days later on Dec. 20. The Gamecocks won games by 70 (vs. Charleston Southern), 52 (North Carolina Central), 44 (South Carolina State) and 42 (Savannah State) points during non-conference action. Staley’s teams have been known for defense, but the team lit up the scoreboard during non-conference play. South Carolina surrendered only 48.5 points per game, which was good for second in the SEC, but Staley says there is still some work to be done defensively. She noted the opponents this season have not forced the team to guard at the level that will be needed in conference play, but they have still stymied most opponents’ offenses. Staley has said multiple times this year already that offensively the Gamecocks have players that can score at every position. Four Gamecocks ended non-league play boasting double-digit scoring averages led by Tiffany Mitchell. Mitchell averaged 15.1 points per game prior to league play (ninth in SEC), while shooting 53.4 percent from the floor, including 48.5 percent from 3-point range. Mitchell also chipped in 4.5 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.5 steals per game. Aleighsa Welch continued her strong play during the non-conference portion of the season after being chosen as a preseason All-SEC selection. Welch was in the top-15 in the conference in scoring (14.2 ppg) and rebounding (7.3 rpg) during non-league action. She led the SEC in field goal percentage at .687. In the post, freshman Alaina Coates and junior Elem Ibiam have provided a strong presence. Coates averaged 11.6 points and 7.2 rebounds per game during the nonconference season, while Ibiam chipped in with 10.6 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game. South Carolina did an excellent job of sharing the ball during non-conference action by assisting on nearly two-thirds of its made field goals (215 of 350). The

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Gamecocks also boasted the conference’s second-best assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.3 prior to conference play. The Gamecocks were able to gain experience through the non-conference portion of the schedule from many of the large victories, but also by compensating for an injury. Starting point guard Khadijah Sessions injured her ankle in the loss to North Carolina. Sessions was averaging 8.2 points, 3.8 assists and 1.4 steals per game at the time of her injury. Tiffany Davis filled in as starting point guard and did a passable job according to Staley. She improved with the experience which will only benefit the Gamecocks in the long run. Guards Olivia Gaines and Tina Roy have also seen increased playing time helping guide the Gamecocks to three consecutive victories folioing the loss to the Tar Heels.

learning how to win games against Division I competition. South Carolina posted a 5-2 record at home during non-conference play and they won their last four games of non-conference play. The Gamecocks had won five of six games dating back to their trip to Hawaii for the Diamond Head Classic. The Gamecocks opened the season with a resounding victory, 82-44, over Longwood and pushed nationally-ranked Baylor to the limit in a 66-64 loss in Waco, Texas during ESPN’s 24-hour Hoops Marathon. The Gamecocks fell to rival Clemson on the road, but responded with a victory at home over Florida International. South Carolina fell in its next three games to national top-10 program Oklahoma State, then to Manhattan and USC Upstate at home before heading for its holiday tournament in Hawaii.

The SEC is having a strong year so the Gamecocks will not expect any easy games in conference play, but they have the talent and experience to compete with the conference’s finest if everyone can get and stay healthy. Staley and the Gamecocks will hope to improve upon back-to-back 25 win seasons and have expressed the goal of winning an SEC Championship this year. If they can maneuver through the difficult SEC, the Gamecocks should be in good position for the NCAA Tournament come March.

Martin said that the trip to Hawaii was good for the team to just be together and block out distractions for a few days and it showed up on the court in the tournament. The Gamecocks downed previouslyunbeaten Saint Mary’s in the opener, 78-71, by getting ahead early and making plays to seal the victory. The next night South Carolina fell to Boise State, a team that returns five starters from a squad that made the NCAA Tournament, but responded with a victory over Akron, 69-59, on Christmas day. Martin said the team practiced well after the loss and came out to play against Akron with the desire needed to win. Freshman Duane Notice had an excellent tournament by setting career-high scoring marks in each successive game. The Gamecocks had a rematch with Akron when they returned to Columbia and responded with a big win, 78-45, before

Men’s Basketball The Gamecock men’s basketball team was able to overcome a rough start and a nationally top-20 tough schedule in non-conference play to finish above .500 at 7-6. Head coach Frank Martin has said that the team is growing with eight newcomers - seven freshmen and a transfer - and

tallying another decisive victory, 92-65, over Marshall. South Carolina closed out nonconference play with a victory over in-state foe South Carolina State, 82-75, to finish the non-conference portion of the schedule on a high note heading into SEC play. South Carolina has seen the reemergence of senior scorer Brenton Williams during non-conference play as he totaled 11.2 points per game, second on the team, while shooting .417 form long range this year. Williams’ shooting prowess extends to the charity stripe where he was a perfect 30-of30 on the season through non-conference play. Williams also set the program record for consecutive free throws made, breaking a record previously set by Gamecock legend John Roche over 40 years ago. Newcomers have been making big contributions, starting with transfer Tyrone Johnson leading the team in scoring through non-conference play at 11.7 points per game. Johnson was also fourth in the SEC in assists at 3.7 per game and assist to turnover ratio at 2.1 as league play began for the Gamecocks. Freshman Sindarius Thronwell was posting a double-digit scoring average at 10.8 points per game as well. Another freshman, Demetrius Henry started every game in the post and averaged 7.2 points and 5.2 boards a game during the non-conference campaign. Notice has continued to come on strong since the Hawaii trip and he was taking advantage of greater playing time with 6.7 points and 2.9 assists per game as league play commenced. Martin credits Bruce Ellington practicing with the team for a few weeks with raising Notice’s play. He said Notice learned from Ellington what it takes to be successful at the Division I level and fans are now seeing the results on the court. Returners Michael Carerra and Midaugas Kacinas contributed as well during the nonconference portion of the season. Carerra was posting 7.2 points, 4.2 boards and one block per game and was coming off the bench as a spark plug. Kacinas chipped in with 6.0 points and 5.8 rebounds - 20th in the conference - per game. During the non-conference part of their schedule, the Gamecocks were able to post a positive scoring margin at +3.2 points per game and shoot well from downtown as a team with a .365 percentage from 3-point range - good for third in the conference. If the Gamecocks can shoot the three well and play some defense - a speciality of Martin’s teams - then they may be able to surprise

some of the pundits who picked them to finish 13th in the SEC. This young team will have some growing up to do in the tough SEC, but with a fairly balanced league South Carolina has a chance to make some noise. The Gamecocks have talent and are still learning to play together at a high level, but when that happens the rest of the conference will take notice.

k o o r b l o H Chad iew v r e t n i e v i s exclu

By Mike Kucharski mike@spursandfeathers.com

purs & Feathers reporter Mike Kucharski talked with Chad Holbrook just before the holiday break about the upcoming Gamecock baseball season and much more. It’s your second season as head coach and making the transition from assistant to the head coach, are there any new things that you’re still learning or getting used to and how have some of the players who have been with you seen both roles? Do they have to adapt or is it pretty seamless now? “You’re always are learning and finding out new things about yourself, your program, the team and the sport. That’s the beautiful thing about baseball; you learn something new every day. So there’s always a learning curve when it comes to coaching a program like South Carolina and that’s the case if you’re 35 or if you’re 75. It doesn’t matter and that’s the beauty of this game. A lot of these guys, I think they now know and understand that there has been a year removed from Coach Tanner being the head coach. I think they’re understanding now that I’m in charge and the transition has been as seamless as it possibly could be. One of the reasons why is that I’ve got a great coaching staff and I recruited all the kids. So all the kids got familiar with me a lot during the recruiting process. I think that made it easier for them when Coach Tanner decided to become Athletics Director.” Last year you went to the Super Regionals and finished in the top-15 and this preseason you’re ranked there again. Do you think that is where your program belongs or do you really pay attention to rankings? “You know it’s always neat to see where the media and your peers think your program is before the season starts. Does it really mean anything; does it have any influence on the type of season you’re going to have? No, but it is fun for the players, it’s fun for our fans, it’s fun for the recruits to see where we stack up, but it’s not going to help us win the first game of the year either. So we’ve got to prepare, work hard and try to have a great year. We do have some talented players;

30 • Spurs & Feathers

we’ve got some guys that have played in Omaha and had a great deal of success. I think that’s one of the reasons why we’re ranked where we are right now, but we also have to go play. Championships and games are won between the white lines and I think our players understand that and we’re excited about getting started.” How has the work been this offseason through fall practice and beyond? “We’ve had a good offseason. We stayed relatively healthy which is always a concern in the offseason. You have to make sure your pitchers stay in shape and their arms are feeling good. We’ve got some really key position players and we want to make sure that they stay healthy getting into the first game of the year. We’ve come out of the fall scott free when it comes to injuries, but we also had a very productive fall in the weight room. Coach Anderson said that it was one of the best groups that we’ve had as far as their hard work, their dedication and their attention to detail in the weight room, so hopefully that will help us in the spring. As far as the baseball side of it, it was a productive fall. We got the freshmen pitchers out there to throw some and get their feet wet. Luckily some of our position players are returning guys, veterans. We’ll have some new faces

out there in a few spots, but we return a veteran group of position players. The big thing for us this fall from a baseball perspective was getting to see the young pitchers throw, the newcomers throw and kind of try to get the ball rolling on where we’re going to place guys in what roles. We don’t know who our closer is going to be, we don’t know who our Sunday starter is going to be, we don’t know how we’re going to do middle relief and setup situation in the bullpen. So as we sit here right now we still as coaches have a lot of questions that we need to answer. As we get closer to Opening Day, hopefully we’ll answer some of those questions, but some of those questions might not be answered until April 1, about 25 percent of the way through our season. We’ve got to see how these young guys react when there are people in the stands and there is a different color uniform over there in the other dugout. Sometimes some guys can separate themselves from others by how they handle particular competitive situations.”

our team are those guys. You start with Jordan Montgomery, Grayson Greiner, Joey Pankake and Tanner English. Those four have had a great deal of success on the field, but I don’t think they want to leave the University of South Carolina not having played in Omaha in the College World Series again. Have they met my expectations? I don’t know what I expected of them, but I expected them to be good and they have been very good. They don’t have to prove anything to me. I know that they’re good baseball players, but I know individually they want to accomplish some things. They want to accomplish some things both as individuals and they want the team to be one of the eight teams playing at the end of the year in the College World Series. With that being said, they’ve been a terrific group, they work extremely hard, they love to play the game, they love the program here and the University and they’ve been terrific since they have stepped on campus. Hopefully they will finish their careers on a great positive note.”

You’ve got some of these guys that were in the top recruiting class coming in a few years ago and now they’re the upperclassmen. Have they lived up to your expectations of being leaders and showing the younger guys what to do? “Well I think that the backbone of

A lot of people will say that being strong up the middle will help you win a lot of games. You have Grayson Greiner behind the plate and Tanner English in center along with a lot of options that you talked about after fall practice at those middle infield spots.

gamecock baseball Do you think that will be one of your strengths? “Well I think so. Those two guys are as good defensively as any kids that I’ve coached in the way they play their respective positions. You know Max (Shrock) is certainly a very, very good second baseman and he’s certainly going to be in there quite a bit. At shortstop, we don’t know who our starting shortstop is going to be yet, but there are three really good players that are fighting it out. We love the way they play defense and we love the way that they play. Right now Joey (Pankake) is factoring in to play third, so we could move one of those middle guys over to third if we move Joey to the outfield some or that kind of thing. So we do have some versatility with this group, but I do like the way our team shakes out from a defensive standpoint up the middle of the field. For that matter I think that we will be solid on the corner as well. If we want to accomplish most of the goals that we want to accomplish, we have to be a very, very good defensive team and I think that we have the capability of doing that.”

You mentioned some of the versatility of the corners, whether playing third, first or in the outfield, you’ve got players that can do a little bit of each. Is that just going to be another strength that you have? “I think we’re pretty deep in the infield. We’ve got three guys that are fighting it out to be our starting shortstop and to be honest with you all three of them deserve to play. Jordan Gore had a terrific end of the fall, Marcus Mooney was probably the MVP of the Fall World Series and DC (Arendas) led our team in hitting pretty much all fall. So all three of them deserve some cracks at it and that is going to be up to me to give them a fair shot at that. One of those guys could move over to third from time to time if we put Joey in left field to rest his arm or what not. So we do have some versatility there and that is good for our team. That is also good for those guys because I think that this is going to be one of those years in which you can only put nine guys out there, but there is going to be more than nine of them that deserve to play. We’ll give them some cracks at it as we get cranked up into our season before we get into league play.” You have top-of-the-rotation pitch-

ers in Jordan Montgomery and Jack Wynkoop, so how much confidence do you have knowing that you have two experienced pitchers there? “It is nice, but they’ve both got to continue to improve. They will be the first to tell you that. They both work extremely hard and they’re both very, very passionate about being the best that they can be. They’re incredible in the weight room, they’re incredible on the days out here that they’re not throwing. Obviously they take their bullpen work very, very seriously and they’re coached by a great pitching coach. So those guys give us some comfort, but they’ll be the first to tell you that they’ve got some guys pushing them too and those guys that are pushing them are young, they’re freshman, but they’re talented. So I feel good about those two guys pitching on the weekend. They’re left-handed, they hold runners on well, they’ve got decent pickoff moves, they field their position, they’ve got great composure and mound presence. They have everything that you want for them to be successful. At the same point in time, there are areas in which they can improve, but it is comforting to know that we’re going to put two guys out there on the weekend that have some experience, have pitched on the big stage and have had a great deal of success. Hopefully that bodes well for us.”

You kind of touched on it with the young guys in the bullpen and in some of the other roles and you mentioned after the fall that you may be able to match up with other teams’ lineups from the bullpen. Is that something that is going to be a benefit, even if they’re young, to have so many options in the bullpen? “Right now we don’t have a guy that we say ‘hey, here’s our shoe-in closer, go get the last three outs.’ We might have that come March 1, but right now I don’t know who that person is going to be or if we’re going to have that person. So what we’ll do, we have a number of guys in the bullpen that we’ve got a lot of confidence in that throw from different arm angles, different slots and different sides of the rubber, both righties and lefties. So I think that we can give teams a different look and I think that we can matchup with some teams where if they pinch-hit a left-handed hitter or have a few lefties coming up, we can put a lefty in there. If they have a few righties coming up, we can put a righty

in there that can change arm angles and drop down. So I think that we can give some teams some different looks and I think that is one of the strengths of our pitching staff. We have some depth in the bullpen, it’s a little bit unproven, but we have some depth and they all bring something unique to the table. They might be a submariner, they might be a hard-thrower, a lefty might be able to drop down and change arm angles. We’ve got a number of guys that can do those things and hopefully that will keep our opponents off balance.”

We’ve talked about the youth throughout the roster, is there anybody that Gamecock fans maybe should write down the name and start to remember? “I think that they’ll enjoy watching Marcus Mooney play because he’s a new guy, he plays a lot like his brother and our fans have been familiar with his brother. Elliott Caldwell had a very productive fall for us; he’s a newcomer. Cody Mincey looked like he was taking the closer’s role by the horns so to speak at the end of the fall. He threw the ball very well toward the end. Wil Crowe is a newcomer that was recruited very highly and turned down a lot of money to come to school at South Carolina. He’s going to play a prominent role in our pitching staff. Josh Reagan probably had the most productive fall of any of our freshman in the way that he pitched. He wasn’t necessarily the most highlyrecruited kid, but he’s very polished, very poised, can really pitch, can change speeds and hit his spots. Those are a few of the guys that have popped out. DC (Arendas) didn’t play much but he had a great fall offensively and he’s factoring in there and Jordan Gore, like I mentioned earlier, will be a fun player to watch here too. We’ve got to find a way to get him on the field because he brings some passion, enthusiasm and he plays awfully hard. So we like our crop of newcomers, but they’re not all going to play prominent roles, but a lot of them will.” The schedule features many ranked teams and the always-tough SEC, including trips to Arkansas and Vanderbilt. Is that just the norm now? Do you guys look at the schedule or just focus more on your team? “Well you look at it. You know it’s a very daunting task any time that you play in this league, but at this point in

time you know you’re in the league. You know you’re going to have tough road series, you know you’re going to have tough series at home; every weekend is very difficult. There are a lot of teams that people will look at that haven’t been ranked in the past several years that this year have a chance to be in the top-15 or top-20. So I think the league might be as strong as ever when it comes to the depth and how good the teams are one through 14. It’s going to be a challenge and it’s going to be a difficult schedule. Clemson is going to have a good team as well and they’re on the schedule obviously. Our mid-week games with the schools from within the state are very, very good. College of Charleston, The Citadel, they’re poised to have big years. So we’re going to have our hands full with our schedule, but that’s one of the reasons that our kids love to come to South Carolina. They love to play against the best and that’s one of the reasons we put the schedule together that we did put together. With that being said, even if we loaded up our non-conference schedule with some teams we should beat on a regular basis, it would still be very difficult because of the league that we play in is so challenging.” What is your excitement level around the team to get the players back leading into Opening Day against Bucknell? “We know it’s a short time away. We will send them reminders all over the holidays saying ‘we hope you’re getting your work done because it’s imperative that you do.’ They can’t just come back here and try to get themselves in shape and ready to play because they don’t have much time between the first day of class and Opening Day. So this is an exciting time and we know that the season is right around the corner. Some big things are expected of this group and they think that they’re pretty good and hopefully they’re excited to get out there on the field and show people that they are. They’ve worked extremely hard to this point, they had another great semester in the classroom, did some really neat things in the community, worked really hard in the weight room and very hard on the field. So I couldn’t ask any more of the group and I think they’re ready to crank this thing up and play some other

people and it will be here before you know it.”

Spurs & Feathers • 31

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