January 11, 2002
COLUMBIA, S.C. – The 2002 schedule features 10 NCAA Tournament teams from a year ago, including in-state foe Coastal Carolina and SEC powers Alabama, Florida and Louisiana State. The Gamecocks start the season in Tallahassee, Fla., at the Florida State Tournament that features 2001 NCAA Tournament teams Florida State, Florida Atlantic and Washington. The Gamecocks open the home schedule Feb. 13 when they host Georgia Southern. Additionally, the Gamecocks will host their first tournament in several years with the Gamecock Invitational scheduled for Feb. 16-17 at Beckham Field.
“Our schedule has a different look this year,” stated Compton. “We are not going to Arizona, but we go to a tournament in Plant City, Fla. which will be a solid tournament. This year we are going to host our own tournament for the first time in quite awhile. A few teams that we play in all of those early tournaments were NCAA Tournament teams from the last two years, and some were Women’s College World Series teams from a couple of years ago. It will be good for us in the fact that we will play some regional-caliber teams in a tournament setting.”
Three days after the Gamecock Invitational, the Gamecocks take on non-conference foe Charlotte for a double header, and then hit the road to Chapel Hill, N.C., for a battle of the Carolinas with the Tar Heels.
The Garnet and Black open the month of March the same way they opened February, in Florida for a tournament with traditional national powers. The Gamecocks play in the Plant City, Fla., Tournament from March 1-3, where two of Carolina’s four opponents were NCAA Tournament teams last season, Michigan and Central Michigan. Along with the two Michigan schools, the Gamecocks play Ohio, Michigan State, and Missouri, where Compton was the head coach from 1983-86. After those early season tests, the Gamecocks host UNC-Greensboro, before jumping into the SEC portion of the schedule. As one of the top softball conferences in America, there are no off days in SEC play.
Beginning the SEC schedule at home against Arkansas March 9th and 10th, Compton will face her former assistant coach, Carrie Dever-Boaz. The Lady Razorbacks are always in the hunt in the SEC West. One week after taking on Arkansas, the Gamecocks hit the road for three straight weekends, taking on Mississippi State, 2001 SEC regular season and tournament champion LSU and Tennessee.
“Conference wise, I see bigger improvement throughout the league,” commented Compton. “There are no days off. You have to go out there and play to win in this league.”
After traveling like a professional team for three weeks, Carolina begins early April with a three-week, nine-game homestand that features Auburn, Georgia and Kentucky. A home date with Furman is sandwiched around road trips to NCAA Tournament teams Florida and Alabama, and then South Carolina ends the regular season schedule at home with games against Coastal Carolina and Mississippi.
