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May 7, 2003

Columbia, S.C. – The 19th-ranked South Carolina Gamecocks (37-16, 18-10 SEC) finished second in the SEC East to earn a No. 4 seed at the SEC Tournament May 8-11. USC will face fifth seed Florida (38-21, 19-11 SEC) on Thursday at 6 p.m. at Plant City Stadium in Plant City, Fla. This will mark the fourth meeting between the two teams this season. Carolina swept the Gators 3-0 back in April in Columbia.

Carolina ended the regular season with a split doubleheader against Coastal Carolina last Wednesday. The Gamecocks closed out SEC play with a 2-1 series win over Ole Miss in Oxford. Florida is coming off of a 2-1 series win over No. 12 LSU.

This berth marks USC’s seventh straight appearance in the SEC Tournament and the second time Carolina has played Florida in the first round. In 1997, the Gamecocks defeated the Gators 6-1. For the SEC Tournament, Carolina has a 14-8 record and is 2-1 against Florida. For the entire series against the Gators, the Gamecocks lead 22-11.

Carolina will be led by senior third baseman Danielle Quinones who is hitting .349 for the Gamecocks. The Gators leader at the plate is Mylin Prieto who is hitting .386. In the circle for USC is Stacey Johnson (16-7) with a 1.30 ERA. Against SEC teams this season, she posted nine wins and a 1.53 ERA, the third best among SEC pitchers. Jenny Gladding (20-12) is Florida’s weapon with a 1.41 overall ERA and 13 SEC wins.

Carolina has two SEC tournament titles. The first came in 1997 and the second came in 2000, when this year’s senior class was freshmen.