Jan. 19, 2006

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Baseball
The USC Baseball team is ranked 14th in the pre-season poll by Baseball America and 17th by Collegiate Baseball. They are one of seven SEC schools to be ranked in the top 25 by Baseball America. They begin practice this week.

Men’s Basketball
The men’s basketball team dropped a pair of SEC contests last week, falling at Ole Miss and at home to Georgia in overtime. They defeated Vanderbilt Wednesday night in overtime and are at Kentucky on Saturday, part of a stretch in which they play five of six games on the road.

Women’s Basketball
The women’s basketball team dropped a pair of SEC contests to nationally-ranked teams last week, falling at No. 3 LSU, then dropping a decision to No. 23 Vanderbilt at home. They return to the hardcourt Sunday at Alabama.

Equestrian
The Equestrian team will host the 2006 Saddles and Spurs Exhibition on Wednesday, January 25, prior to the USC-Florida men’s basketball game. The event will be held outside the Colonial Center beginning at 6:15 p.m.

Softball
The softball team is pegged for fourth in the East Division of the SEC in a pre-season poll of the league’s coaches. The Gamecocks began practice this week.

Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving
The men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams were swept at Kentucky last Saturday. Christy Williams won two events and Allison Brennan claimed the one-meter board. Diver David Ovelson won both the three- and one-meter boards. Their next action will be Saturday, January 28 when they host Alabama and Georgia at 12:30 p.m. It will be their final tuneup before the SEC Championships.

Track and Field
The indoor track & field season turned in an excellent meet at the Virginia Tech Invitational. Chelsea Hammond logged an NCAA automatic qualifying mark in the long jump, while Amberly Nesbitt set a school record in the 60-meter dash. Other NCAA provisional marks were turned in by Shalonda Solomon (60 and 200 meters), Stephanie Smith (400 meters), Greig Cryer (long and triple jump) and Brook Antonio (weight throw). They return to the track Saturday at the Florida Invitational in Gainesville. The USC women are ranked third in the country in the first Trackwire.com poll, while the men are ranked 18th in the nation.

Women’s Tennis
Women’s tennis opened its season in Las Vegas in a tournament that featured some of the nation’s top teams, including Stanford, Southern California, Florida, Tennessee, Duke and UCLA, They begin dual play January 25 when they host College of Charleston.