Jan. 15, 2016

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The South Carolina women’s soccer team kicked off its first set of spring training sessions this week, participating in a variety of events following the start of the new semester.

The Gamecocks began their spring with a team meeting on Tuesday morning before taking part in fitness testing with trainer Alex Buchman on Wednesday and Thursday. They wrapped up their first week with conditioning exercises on Friday.

All of South Carolina’s training in the spring will take place in the soccer field house or on the practice fields, and the team will begin weight lifting next week. The Gamecocks’ spring season, which features matches against six teams, will be announced at the end of January.

South Carolina posted a 12-5-3 overall record in 2015 on its way to its eighth trip to the NCAA Tournament in the last nine years under head coach Shelley Smith. A school record 17 players netted goals this past fall, including All-SEC honorees Savannah McCaskill and Raina Johnson.

McCaskill, who led the team in points (29) and goals (10), became the fourth Gamecock to earn All-America honors after being named to the NSCAA All-America Third Team in December. South Carolina finished in the top 10 in average home attendance for the third-straight year and ranked No. 16 in the final NSCAA poll of the regular season.