May 15, 2002

South Carolina Quotes:

Joyce Compton, Head Coach – “We’re obviously very excited about hosting. Any time you can play at home in front of your home crowd is a little extra bonus, both for the players and for the fans. The fans here have been very supprtive of us all year and playing in front of this hometown crowd is great.

“We expect a good game. We play pitch-by-pitch no matter who we are playing. Every team makes the NCAA Regional is here for a reason. Every one of them is capable of winning. We’re more concerned about what we do and playing well for us. We can beat ourselves just as easily as anyone else can beat us.”

Adrianna Baggetta, Sr. Outfielder – “It’s exciting as a player to be able to host. We get to stay home and don’t have to pack in a rush. The Gamecock fans are great, they’ve supported us us all year and are really fun to play in front of.”

UMBC Quotes:

Joe French, Head Coach – “We’re very pleased to be here to represent our region in the NCAA Regional. It’s very exciting for us also to play close enough to home, where our fanbase can drive down and support us. And our kids are very excited and looking forward to it. We’re just happy to get the chance to play against some of the best teams in the country.”

Eastern Kentucky Quotes:

Jane Worthington, Head Coach – “We are excited to be here. We have had a pretty darn good year. We started off a little slow with a couple of losses and then we picked things up, and then went through a slump, and then right before our conference tournament, we hit a notch and have played really well, so we’re happy to be here. We’ll play hard and whatever happens, happens.”

Jonelle Csora, Jr. Pitcher – “I’m really excited to pitch against these kind of girls here. They are the top in the country, and the competition is great. It’s exciting to see how you match up and be able to evaluate where you are as a player.”

UCLA Quotes:

Sue Enquist, Head Coach – “I want to congratulate the teams that have made the regional. UCLA is excited to be here. We look forward to coming in and playing some good softball. Hopefully we’ll stay healthy the entire time.”

Stacey Nuveman, Sr. Catcher – “It’s good to be here, at South Carolina. We have to focus ourselves to play good softball.”

Georgia Quotes:

Lu Harris-Champer, Head Coach – “We’re very happy to be here in the post season. The girls are excited to play here because they are comfortable, we’ve played here before. They are excited to play some of the best teams in the country.”

Nicole Barber, So. Outfielder – “Speed plays a very important role for us, cause it always keeps people on their toes. We have two options for scoring runs. We don’t just have to hit the long ball, we can do it playing the short game as well. Its a really good way to turn singles into doubles.”

Liberty Quotes:

Paul Wetmore, Head Coach – “We appreciate the oppurtunity to be here. It’s a great oppurtunity to be here and play against schools like UCLA and Georgia. It’s a great expirience and we always tell the girls, you can’t replace experience.”

Amanda Goc, Jr. 1B, Utility – “This has been our goal that we have been working towards since my freshman year.. It’s the experience of a lifetime.