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A battle lost, the war for the SEC East remains within reach

September 11, 2013 • Volume 35 • Issue 24

Ready toTackle vandy!

It’s always out there, waiting patiently for the team that looks ahead too much, listens to the radio too much, maybe they took a vow not to watch the college football shows during the week, but after a big win, they couldn’t help it. What could it hurt to watch a few minutes? Everybody else does it.

Before they know it, they are distracted, that tight focus loosened up just a bit, not enough to even notice until gameday and then there it is, a meal of humble pie.

There is no possible way to determine if that’s what happened to the Gamecocks against Georgia and it really doesn’t matter what the players and coaches might say about it. Maybe they think they were distracted and that’s what cost them in the unrepresentative 41-30 loss, maybe they feel it was just a bad bounce of the ball.

The result speaks for itself and has a sour core of humility.

Who was that team and why did so many

debilitating things happen, both conse-quential and otherwise? Jadeveon Clowney experiences what it’s like for the second consecutive game to be a non-factor? A missed ex-tra point? The kick return team takes a little nap on the host team and gives up an onside kick?

You and I don’t research such things as the his-tory of onside kicks for an opponent, but coaches do and if they haven’t been, they surely should, at least in this situation where the Bulldogs come in desperate for a chance to win a game and give their season fresh inspira-tion.

But sometimes, you also just have to give

the opposition credit for doing some things right. From my perspective, despite a slow start, the Gamecocks gathered themselves and got in position to win the game in the second half, but those little details that weren’t tied up cost them a game.

Give Georgia credit for punching the ball out of Connor Shaw’s grasp a fraction of a second before his knee touched down, give them credit for a goal line stand, ask why the Carolina secondary was so confused it gave up and 85-yard scoring play in the second half.

The point of all this is that these are things that happen to teams playing at less than their best and when it’s over, you find you are just another 1-1 team with a season that could go either way, wondering how to make it right.

Because it’s Steve Spurrier, we’ve seen him pull teams out of these predicaments in the past.

The season is now in the balance and here comes a Vanderbilt team that has provided well-known distress for Spurrier over the years. Every time that has happened the Head Ball Coach talked about a little lack of attention to detail here and there, about the frustration of a team that seemed not fully attentive.

He has their attention now and there will be no excuses for showing up and planning to win against Vandy.

After this, there is no slack, no reason left to do anything but generate a sharp focus and regain the edge we have seen them display in recent years. Georgia has done it, two years ago, after Carolina helped the Bulldogs to an 0-2 start, it wasn’t enough to derail the sea-son, Georgia went to the SEC championship game.

Maybe it’s time to turn the tables and the way to do it is to run the table, starting this week.

2 • Spurs & Feathers September 11, 2013

Maybe it’s time to turn the tables

Bart WrightContributing

Writer

photo by jenny dilworth

September 11, 2013 Spurs & Feathers • 3


Spurs & FeathersPublished by Aiken Communications, Inc.

Contact Us:218 Richland Ave. W. Aiken, SC 29801(803) 335-1399

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Scott B. HunterPublisher & PresidentAiken Communications, Inc.

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Postal Information:Postage paid at 2001 Dixiana Rd., West Columbia, SC 29172.Periodical application pending.Spurs & Feathers is published 22 times a year, coming out weekly from Aug. 21 through Dec. 4 and bi-monthly from Jan. 29 through June 25.

Postmaster:Send address changes to: Spurs & Feathers, P.O. Box 456, Aiken, SC 29801(ISSN 07454368)

What’s Inside? - Table of Contents

Walking in Ray Tanner’s shoes ...................................5

Hand Writing ....................................................................9

SEC Standings & Football Schedule ...................................................10

“Inside the Chart” with Andy Demetra ................11

2013-14 men’s basketball schedule ......................12

Men’s tennis looking for a good grip on the season .......................................13

Season on deck withsoftball head coach Beverly Smith ........................14

Former baseball player honoredas “Legendary Fan” at UNC game ...........................16

Inside the football training room ..........................17

Petra Ujhelyi profile ....................................................18

Women’s tennis working to serve up successful season .................................19

Depth Charts:South Carolina - Vanderbilt .....................................20

A new dimension for Gamecock memorabilia ............................................21

Georgia game recap ...................................................22

Compliance Corner .....................................................23

Rival fans mingle at Border Bash ...........................24

Upcoming events: Gamecock Club ......................25

All of the information in the Spurs & Feathers’ newspaper will be mailed out to Gamecock Club members and subscribers early each week, but if you want the information before the hard copy arrives in your hand you can visit www.spursandfeathers.com. Each edition will be made available the Monday after each foot-ball game. Check www.spursandfeathers.com regularly for daily information on all things going on in the Gamecock nation.

You can also like us on Facebook at Spurs & Feathers and fol-low us on Twitter @SpursFeathers.

Get Spurs & Feathers before the mailman puts it in the mailbox

Serving up a top assistant coach ...........................27

Upcoming events: Hall of Fame Ceremony,Association of Lettermen Golf Tourney ...............29

Always Remember 9/11 ............................................30

Our goals are still obtainable - by Ed Girardeau .........................................................31


by brian [email protected]

Ray Tanner has been building solid foun-dations his entire working life.

As a college baseball head coach, Tanner worked tirelessly and meticulously every single day to turn South Carolina into one of the top programs in college baseball his-tory.

Tanner accomplished just that with the Gamecocks winning back-to-back National Championships in 2010 and 2011.

After 25 seasons as a head baseball coach at both South Carolina and NC State, Tan-ner was afforded the opportunity to take over the reins of the Athletics Department at the University of South Carolina in the summer of 2012.

Having spent years as the CEO of the best program in college baseball, the ascension to Athletics Director was a natural step.

Since taking charge as Athletics Director of the University of South Carolina on Aug. 2, 2012, Tanner has been continuing to help build a solid foundation for Gamecock ath-letics that will last well into the future.

In his first year at the helm of the Game-cock athletic department alone, South Carolina picked up its highest final football ranking in school history and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s tennis, women’s indoor and outdoor track & field, men’s outdoor track & field, equestrian, men’s and women’s swimming and diving, softball and base-ball all reached the NCAA postseason.

Building the foundation of South Caro-lina athletics brick-by-brick is what drives Tanner daily and one of the ways that he accomplishes many of his goals is by being involved in a variety of activities on South Carolina football gamedays.

Tanner is a true grinder and his efforts on gamedays are not for the faint of heart.

ArrivAl - 2:45 p.m.“You don’t want to wear that coat. It is

too hot,” Special Assistant to Development Clyde Wrenn tells Tanner from the back of a golf cart as Tanner steps out of his SUV.

Flanked by relatives from out of town, Tanner, Wrenn and South Carolina Coor-dinator of Stewardship and Development Communications Kendall Belk talk back and forth on the merits of whether or not the jacket should be brought with them on the sweltering day.

It is decreed that it has to be done, but Tanner, donning a Gamecock garnet polo, decides that it is his best interest at the time not to put the sport coat on; he bids his rel-atives goodbye and jumps into the golf cart with Belk and Wrenn to begin what will be a whirlwind for the next almost 10 hours.

The clock says it is now 2:45 p.m. and Belk speeds away to the first stop, which is to visit vaunted Gamecock tailgating spot, Cocks Corner.

2:45 p.m. - 3:15 p.m.Tanner may be the Athletics Director at

the University of South Carolina, but make no mistake, Belk from her spot as his golf cart driver runs the show on South Caro-lina home gamedays. Belk scrupulously has every minute of Tanner’s day planned out before it even starts.

A two-time graduate of the University of South Carolina, Belk returned to the athlet-ics department at South Carolina last foot-ball season after serving as the Develop-ment Coordinator for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Since her return back to South Carolina, she has formed a unique bond with Tanner that is evident from the moment Tanner jumps into the golf cart, particularly as the two banter back-and-forth about what is the right way to get into Cocks Corner from George Rogers Boulevard.

What a Day!Walking in Ray Tanner’s shoes on gameday

Please see Tanner, Page 6

PHOTOS BY BRIAN HANDBelk and Tanner before Gamecock Walk.


The “right way” is not possible though from the outset as the main gate on the boulevard is not open, leaving the golf cart to have to go around the back side to arrive in Cocks Corner.

Cocks Corner was started by former South Carolina football letterman and 1969 ACC championship team member Ken Wheat, but when the golf cart arrives he is not there just yet.

Wheat may not be there, but once Tanner gets out of the golf cart he is quickly joined by former Gamecock Punky Holler, who also enjoyed a two-year stint in the National Foot-ball League.

Tanner is also joined shortly thereafter by former South Carolina kicker Courtney Leavitt, who engages Tanner in talk about Gamecock kicking centered around the fact that freshman Elliot Fry would be handling kicking duties that evening.

Tanner holds his own in the conversation with Leavitt and evens knows enough about kicking to relay what he has learned over the years.

Still without his coat at this point in time, Tanner talks with a couple other former Gamecock letterman in Ken Ross and Don Bailey before Belk informs him that it is time to move on to the next spot.

3:20 p.m. - 4 p.m.The golf cart departs Cocks Corner to head

down George Rogers Boulevard towards Gamecock Park where as part of Gamecock Club Appreciation Day all of the student-athletes from each of South Carolina’s varsity athletics would be participating in the Game-cock Walk.

The golf cart at this point in time still con-sists of Belk, Tanner and Wrenn and on the way down the boulevard well-wishers yell out “Ray!” as he drives by towards his next stop.

Tanner gives instructions to Belk to be careful as they near the massive horde of

Gamecocks on the Williams-Brice Stadium grounds, but she seems to have the situation more than under control.

Once they arrive at the gates of Gamecock Park, the golf cart runs into – or rather pre-tends to run into – the golf cart of 1980 Heis-man Winner George Rogers, who once notic-ing it was Tanner’s cart flashes his trademark smile that could brighten anyone’s day.

Tanner and Rogers exchange hugs and quick quips as the golf cart then manages its way into Gamecock Park, where the next people they run into are Gamecock football legend Ryan Brewer and his wife, Liz Price Brewer, who was a volleyball student-athlete at South Carolina.

While reaching out to Ryan and Liz Brewer, Tanner is stopped by a grouping of Game-cock female students who want their picture taken with the Athletics Director. The picture is a sign of things to come as even the Brew-ers make sure to take their picture with the two-time National Championship baseball coach.

After the picture with the Brewers, Tanner heads over to join the fans at the Gamecock Walk where he takes numerous pictures be-fore settling in to watch the walk.

With Nashville singer-songwriter and Gamecock alum Patrick Davis playing in the background, Tanner gets lots of well wishes and even one 30-35-year-old-man tells him point blank, “I love you, man.”

Standing right behind Tanner, Henry Thomas from Spartanburg, S.C. shortly thereafter even asks if that really is Ray Tan-ner in front of him. He cannot believe that he would be right there with everyone watching the Gamecock Walk.

“I am a true fan of the man,” Thomas points out.

With all of his tremendous support staff do-ing all that they can to make the walk and ev-erything else on gameday successful, Tanner points out while waiting for the Gamecock Walk to begin that “it doesn’t get any better than this.”

Tanner continues to express his just overall love for South Carolina gameday by remark-

ing that “I love the pageantry. I love the game. I love Williams-Brice Stadium.”

After making these remarks, Tanner checks his phone to see why the Gamecock Walk is behind. He then makes calls to check in on the progress. He is assured everything is co-pacetic and he goes about working with Belk to figure out what the next stops are, but not before he sends out a tweet.

Proudly he then denotes he does his own tweets and points out that if anyone “is keep-ing count, I am at 19,000 followers.”

The Gamecock student-athletes still a cou-ple minutes away, a fan jokingly asks Tanner that if on the hottest day of the year it was his idea to have a 6 p.m. kickoff

Tanner shakes his head no, but in his own fashion yells across, “unless you like it!”

The Gamecock Walk begins almost imme-diately after the comment and after watching the numerous Gamecock student-athletes walk down The Garnet Way, Tanner and Belk head back to the golf cart where Wrenn is sitting and talking to Gamecock fans. It is at this point, Wrenn departs and South Caro-lina Senior Associate Athletics Director for Development and the Gamecock Club Jeff Crane joins the group for the next stretch.

4 p.m. - 4:25 p.m.As the new trio heads to the next spot, Tan-

ner makes it a point to stop by the concert stage and talk quickly with Davis.

The quick meeting between the Athletics Director and the singer-songwriter leads to the next spot where Tanner is talking with people in the Premium North tailgating area.

At a perfect spot underneath the trees, one of the first people at the area Tanner comes in contact with is former Gamecock great and NFL player Corey Miller.

At the tailgate spot of Ethan and Shannon Nord, Tanner talks with numerous people in-cluding individuals tailgating with and from the Mungo Company.

Before leaving he notices South Carolina graduate and Hootie & the Blowfish lead guitarist Mark Bryan. The two talk about the

southern music scene before Belk lets Tanner know it is time to move on to the next spot, which is in the same general area, but on the other side of Premium North.

4:25 p.m. - 4:40 p.m.Tanner begins his next stop by talking with

Bill and Lou Kennedy.He then makes his way through the tailgat-

ing area where he is challenged to a game of cornhole, but with so much on the docket it is not the right time.

Before heading over to his next stop, Tan-ner has a great interaction with a baby that he notices.

Mentioning how beautiful the baby is, Tan-ner asks if he can hold her? The baby does not seem to want it to happen though.

Tanner keeps trying, but after the fourth time of the baby turning away, he realizes it is a lost cause.

There is more to the story at the end of the day, as the mother of the baby, Jessica Dud-ley, concedes it may be genetics since the baby, Harper Dudley, is the daughter of two Georgia alums.

4:40 p.m. - 5:10 p.m.Tanner knows it is about time to get into the

stadium, but before departing for Williams-Brice Stadium, he makes it a point to stop by and talk with many of the Board of Trustees’ members in the Premium North tailgating area.

While in the area he runs into an 18-year-old that relays to him that she chose to come to South Carolina because of football. He ac-knowledges the statement, remarking happily once again, “there is nothing like it.”

It is now time to head towards the stadium and Tanner once again reminds Belk to be careful navigating the treacherous stretch that includes crossing the street to the stadium an hour before kickoff.

The trek is actually not that bad with Belk musing once they get across the street, “that

tanner, continued from page 5

PHOTO BY BRIAN HANDtanner and the Dudleys having fun.

PHOTO BY BRIAN HANDtanner talks with Patrick Davis on stage.

PHOTO BY BRIAN HANDthe golf cart outside of the Cockabooses.

PHOTO BY BRIAN HANDtanner talking with Punky Holler.


is the easiest it has ever been.”Tanner wants to make a couple more stops

before heading in the stadium with the first stop being to talk with Ted and Charles Conrad, who are the financial consultants and CPAs to the Dodie Anderson Academic Enrichment Center namesake.

At the spot where they are congregated they are joined by USC Upstate head men’s basketball coach and former Gamecock men’s basketball assistant coach Eddie Payne.

Tanner’s final stop before heading into the stadium has him entering the Cockaboose of Nat Hardwick.

Tanner talks with everyone in the Cocka-boose before Hardwick hands him a planned gift check and simply says, “thanks for all that you are doing.”

5:10 p.m.- 6 p.m.Tanner finally walks into Williams-Brice

Stadium at 5:10 p.m. His arrival into the stadium begins a gauntlet of talking with Gamecock coaches, players and fans.

It also means taking more pictures with people than most people take in an entire year. It does not bother him. He gladly ac-cepts every picture request. It is part of the job and he excels in the area.

With the Gamecock football team warming up in the background and the clock inch-

ing closer and closer to gametime, Tanner takes every moment with each individual or grouping of people to listen to what they have to say. His patience is uncanny.

It is almost gametime.Tanner takes part in all his normal pregame

responsibilities on the field before taking in “2001.”

Shortly after kickoff he then rushes with Belk and a security officer through the bow-els of the stadium before getting on an eleva-tor to head to his Athletics Director’s Suite.

KicKoff - 6 p.m.Tanner arrives in his suite a couple minutes

after kickoff and then quickly realizes that due to the transit from the field to the suite he missed the 65-yard touchdown pass from Connor Shaw to Shaq Roland for an early 7-0 Gamecock advantage.

Tanner cannot really stop to think about it though as pretty much upon the second of his arrival, he starts making his way around the room to talk with everyone in the suite.

The suite holds 24 people according to As-sistant to the Athletics Director Kristi Davis. There are different people in the suite for every home game, but Tanner is not thinking about that as he goes around the room hand-picked by the development office.

It is a great view in the suite, but Tanner for the most part is entertaining and other than taking quick glances at the field and at the television screen he is unable to take in the game for extended periods of time.

Tanner is joined in the suite by his wife, Karen, who is a proud University of South Carolina graduate. The two make an im-pressive team as both mix in perfectly with everyone in the suite.

In fact, watching Tanner is an exercise in watching someone who knows how to make every minute matter. Tanner takes every sec-ond to politick and get in good words about the Gamecocks to whoever he may be talk-

ing to at that point in time.The ever humble Gamecock Athletics Di-

rector even goes out of his way to thank the waiter in the suite for all his efforts as early as the first quarter.

10 minutes left in the first half

Right after what would prove to be North

Please see Tanner, Page 8PHOTO BY BRIAN HAND

Tanner escorted to his suite after kickoff.

PHOTO BY BRIAN HANDTanner wishing Kelcy Quarles good luck.


Carolina’s only touchdown of the day, Tanner escorted by Belk and security makes his way back down to field level to get ready for the halftime festivities, which included Game-cock Club Appreciation Day.

Just after leaving the suite, Tanner notes that “his puppies are barking” in reference to what would end up being miles of walking he had to endure over the course of the day. Still, Tanner points out in reference to loving his job, “this is a walk in the park, isn’t it?”

“Most people think I sit up there (AD Suite) with umbrella drinks. There are no umbrella drinks in this job,” Tanner said.

Upon his arrival on the field, Tanner does pretty much what he did prior to the game, which is mingle with Gamecock supporters lucky enough to be field level. He also takes cues from his game managers and Belk on where he needs to be at any given time.

Holding his coat in anticipation of finally having to put it on, Tanner holds court with Joe and Lisa Rice and Ann E. Ervin and Tucker Ervin right before they head out on to the field for recognition during halftime.

Tanner shortly thereafter looks up from talking with one of his gameday managers to see former Gamecock football head coach Lou Holtz standing to his left.

The two former colleagues share quick thoughts before they are both asked repeat-edly if they could have their picture taken with them.

Holtz leaves a short time later to get ready for his halftime appearance on ESPN. It is at this point in time that Tanner finally puts on his sports coat with 30 seconds left in the second quarter.

It is the first time that Tanner has not worn a coat and tie at a football game since taking over as Athletics Director. He says that he is going to let the weather dictate whether or not he wears that type of attire.

Tanner then turned to Belk and asked if he looked “dapper?”

HalftimeAlways looking to make everything work

as well as possible, Tanner heads into the halftime festivities asking if “everybody was good?”

Noticing that Joe Rice is about to head out on to the field barefooted, Tanner muses, “you all know ‘Shoeless Joe Jackson,’ well, this is ‘Shoeless Joe Rice.’”

After the remark, Tanner goes about his as-signment during the Gamecock Club Appre-ciation Day halftime ceremony. He purpose-fully and gladly walks up to everyone on the field and genuinely thanks them for every-thing that they do for Gamecock athletics.

After the ceremony is over, Tanner, Belk and a security officer once again set about making the trek back up through the stadium to the Athletics Director’s Suite.

But before he makes his way to the suite he notices that an ESPN staffer needs help mov-ing a chair from the halftime setup that they utilized. Tanner helps move the chair away and then continues his walk back to the suite.

tHird QuarterJust prior to making it into the suite, Karen

stops Tanner and says she is leaving to put their three children into bed. Everybody else goes into the suite, leaving the two with what

tanner, continued from page 7

PHOTO BY BRIAN HANDtanner poses for a picture with Lou Holtz and Beth Bouknight just before halftime.

PHOTO BY ALLEN SHARPEtanner on field for the halftime festivities in the Gamecock win over north Carolina.


will really be the only two private minutes of the day for Tanner.

Tanner makes his way into the box shortly thereafter and the first thing he does is check how everyone is doing when he arrives in the suite. He then takes his jacket off and places it in a closet in the suite.

With seemingly endless vigor, Tanner contin-ues to utilize what can only be described as a gift in the third quarter with those in the box.

Tanner spends a great deal of his time upon his return talking with president of ESPN, Inc. John Skipper., who is joined on the evening in the box by 1999 University of South Carolina graduate and current Vice President of College Sports Programming at ESPN, Rosalyn Durant.

In a world in which the role of the Athlet-ics Director has changed in numerous ways, Tanner understands that every little bit counts. Whether he knew it or not prior to the job open-ing up last year, he was born for the role of Ath-letics Director at South Carolina.

Despite being perfectly suited for the gig, Tanner understands completely that it is not just him that has to put in a bevy of hours and hard work to make everything happen. As any good coach knows, it is all about the team and Tanner has one of the best in the country in the South Carolina athletic department.

Fourth Quarter/Delay

Things were going along swimmingly in the fourth quarter and in the Athletics Director’s suite until with 8:20 left in the game a lightning delay suspended things.

Already completely abreast of the situation, Tanner quickly explained to everyone in the room exactly what was going on before spring-ing into action to figure out when – and if – the final minutes of the contest would be played.

Tanner constantly was taking calls in the suite on what he called the “batphone” to keep him aware of what was going on at the time. His cell phone was also an extension of his hand before the deluge of rain came at Williams-Brice Sta-dium.

Never one to rest on his laurels, once the heavy downpour came, Tanner took the op-portunity to join Elaine Arnold, South Carolina Assistant Director of Athletics Development – Major Gifts, in Champions Club South to talk with Gamecock donors and former lettermen.

After about 15 minutes in Champions Club South, Tanner returned to the suite with the heavy downpour still in full swing. He then even helped close the windows to the suite with the staff.

The rain/lightning delay gave Tanner the unique opportunity to talk with his relatives and make the calls needed during the break. He even asked on one call, “is Spurrier hanging in?”

Shortly thereafter, Tanner’s final call on the “batphone” revealed that things would get back going at 10:30 p.m.

After resumption of play and after once again thanking the waiter, Tanner then headed back down with about five minutes left on the game clock to be able to visit with the football team in the locker room after their victory over the Tar Heels.

PostgameWhile walking down to the locker room with

Deputy Athletics Director Charles Waddell, Tanner once again puts back on his sport coat.

South Carolina’s season opener being on a Thursday was different in many ways as Tanner still put in a long day at the office before head-ing to Williams-Brice Stadium to start his odys-sey at 2:45 p.m.

In fact, Tanner’s day commenced at 8 a.m. on Thursday, Aug. 29 with a meeting with Yolanda and Vernon Smith, the parents of former Game-cock great and current San Francisco 49er Mar-cus Lattimore.

By the conclusion of the day, that early morn-ing meeting surely seemed like a long time ago.

After taking in the locker room celebration, Tanner then made his way to the press room to hear the postgame comments.

It was now almost midnight. What a day.

PHOTO BY BRIAN HAND

Tanner on the “batphone” during delay.

PHOTO BY BRIAN HANDThe view from the Athletics Director’s Suite during South Carolina’s season opener.

HandWriting

As we were walking through the bowels of Williams-Brice Stadium shortly after the halftime festivities of the Gamecock season-opening victory over North Caro-lina, second-year Athletics Director Ray Tanner turned to me and told me that I needed a disclaimer in the story about his efforts on gameday.

The disclaimer would be that following him around that day was the hardest I have ever had to work.

I told him that I would be lying, but, in fact, it is pretty close.

Over the course of my working life whether it be my time in professional soc-cer, professional baseball, the newspaper, college athletics or even Internet/television production I have done a little bit of every-thing for my livelihood.

In fact, one of my “favorite” things that I have done has to be doing a football/bas-ketball doubleheader that led to 30 straight hours of work at one of my previous jobs.

Tanner’s assertion and the point from my background above give just a small glimpse into what it is like to work in the field of college athletics. It really for the most part has become a 24/7 job.

Every little thing matters when you are working to place whatever organization you are working for in the best light plau-sible.

Tanner understands this thought process wholeheartedly and everything he does is for the greater good of the University of South Carolina.

I had the absolute honor of following him around for almost 10 hours and I can as-

sure you that he goes above and beyond. In fact, as Gamecock Club Executive Di-

rector Patrick McFarland eloquently notes, “he (Tanner) is the same person to Game-cock fans whether you give thousands or you are a Century Club member.”

That to me speaks volumes to the type of man that we have leading Gamecock athletics.

Seeing me frantically scribbling what became 32 pages of notes from following him during the season opener on Thurs-day, Aug. 29, Tanner prior to the halftime festivities noted to me, “you have to be getting lots of great stuff. You probably could write a book.”

The story featured in this week’s Spurs & Feathers ended up being smore than 3,500 words, but he is right. There is so much more that I could have written about.

The man is plain and simple a flat out worker.

I talked about it in the story, but Tanner takes every opportunity as if it is a golden one.

His yeoman-like efforts from the top are something that should be cherished by all Gamecocks.

South Carolina is lucky to have Coach Tanner.

The story on his grind on football game-days is exhaustive, but I can assure you it is worth your time.

Hope you enjoy the exclusive look into what may not have been my hardest day as a worker, but most definitely was my hard-est day in trying to obtain one particular story.


08/29/13..... vs. North Carolina ...........Columbia, S.C. ...........W, 27-10

09/07/13 .... at #11 Georgia .................Athens, Ga. .................L, 41-30

09/14/13 .... vs. Vanderbilt ...................Columbia, S.C. ............... 7 p.m.

09/28/13 .... at UCF .............................Orlando, Fla. ...................... TBA

10/05/13 .... vs. Kentucky ....................Columbia, S.C. .................. TBA

10/12/13 .... at Arkansas ......................Fayetteville, Ark. ................ TBA

10/19/13 .... at Tennessee ...................Knoxville, Tenn. ................. TBA

10/26/13 .... at Missouri .......................Columbia, Mo. ................... TBA

11/02/13 .... vs. Mississippi State ........Columbia, S.C. .................. TBA

11/16/13 .... vs. Florida ........................Columbia, S.C. .................. TBA

11/23/13 .... vs. Coastal Carolina .........Columbia, S.C. .................. TBA

11/30/13 .... vs. Clemson .....................Columbia, S.C. .................. TBA

South Carolina Gamecocks2013

football SCheduleTeam SEC Pct. Overall Pct. Home Away Neutral StreakEastErnGeorgia 1 - 0 1.000 1 - 1 .500 1-0 0-1 0-0 W1

Tennessee 0 - 0 .000 2 - 0 1.000 2-0 0-0 0-0 W2

Missouri 0 - 0 .000 2 - 0 1.000 2-0 0-0 0-0 W2

Florida 0 - 0 .000 1 - 1 .500 1-0 0-1 0-0 L1

Kentucky 0 - 0 .000 1 - 1 .500 1-0 0-0 0-1 W1

South Carolina 0 - 1 .000 1 - 1 .500 1-0 0-1 0-0 L1Vanderbilt 0 - 1 .000 1 - 1 .500 1-1 0-0 0-0 W1

WEstErnOle Miss 1 - 0 1.000 2 - 0 1.000 1-0 1-0 0-0 W2

Alabama 0 - 0 .000 1 - 0 1.000 0-0 0-0 1-0 W1

Arkansas 0 - 0 .000 2 - 0 1.000 2-0 0-0 0-0 W2

Auburn 0 - 0 .000 2 - 0 1.000 2-0 0-0 0-0 W2

LSU 0 - 0 .000 2 - 0 1.000 1-0 0-0 1-0 W2

Texas A&M 0 - 0 .000 2 - 0 1.000 2-0 0-0 0-0 W2

Mississippi St. 0 - 0 .000 1 - 1 .500 1-0 0-1 0-0 W1

standings


by andy demetraContributing Writer

Three NCAA Tournament teams. The de-fending NIT champions. Two other squads that reached their conference title games, and return most of their scoring.

Frank Martin does not believe in sched-uling soft. Even with a team that consists of seven freshmen and three sophomores, Martin wanted an ambitious non-conference schedule to prepare his team for SEC play.

“I want guys that want to play in big-time games,” the Gamecocks’ second-year coach said.

Martin’s schedule, unveiled on Twitter Wednesday, Sept. 4, also offers an array of standout players, historical footnotes and sta-tistical novelties. For a curious broadcaster, it’s practically heaven.

To prepare you, I’ve written a primer con-taining my 25 favorite tidbits about South Carolina’s non-conference schedule. Keep it in your wallet and consult it whenever you want to dazzle your friends with esoteric facts about the Gamecocks.

The season tips off Nov. 9 with a home date against Longwood, a team Carolina last faced in 2010. The Lancers fielded one of the youngest teams in Division I last year, a man-tle the Gamecocks should inherit this year. Carolina’s projected (1) 0.72 years of experi-ence per player would’ve ranked 343rd out of 347 teams last year.

Carolina makes its first of two trips to Big 12 country the following week, when it faces Baylor (and its highlighter-colored uniforms) Nov. 12. The Bears dropped from NCAA

Elite Eight to NIT champion a year ago, but return for-ward Cory Jefferson and (2) guard brady Heslip, one of the nation’s most feared three-point threats. Martin knows Heslip well, and not just from their days in the Big 12: Heslip scored a team-high 20 points to lead Team Canada to a victory over Jefferson and Team USA at the 2013 World University Games. Martin (3) served as an assistant coach for team USa.

Martin’s K-State teams also played several knock-down drag-outs against the Bears at the Ferrell Center. Their three games were separated (4) by a combined 9 points, with the Wildcats winning twice.

Carolina’s annual tussle with Clemson moves up two weeks to Nov. 17, making it the (5) earliest the Gamecocks and tigers have ever met. It’s also the (6) earliest that Carolina has faced Clemson on the sched-ule - Game #3 - since 1988. I like that the matchup serves as an enhancer to football, rather than an afterthought to it.

For the first time ever, Martin (7) faces his alma mater when Florida International visits Colonial Life Arena Nov. 24. Martin gradu-ated with a degree in Physical Education from FIU in 1993, but he received his basket-ball education at Miami Senior High School, where he (8) moonlighted as junior varsity head coach while finishing his studies.

“I’d take classes early in the morning, then I’d go to work. I’d have a full-time job. I’d leave that job, and go to the gym, and be engaged in basketball practice,” Mar-tin said.

He also has another at-tachment to FIU: he helped recommend Norfolk State’s Anthony Evans for the job. evans (9) thanked martin at his introductory press conference last Spring.

Carolina then heads to Stillwater, Okla., Dec. 6 for its (10) first game against Oklahoma State since 1975. The Cowboys, 24-9

a year ago, feature überguard (11) marcus Smart, a surefire NBA lottery pick who opted to return for his sophomore season. Smart averaged 15.4 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 3.0 steals per game last year en route to earning (12) Sporting News na-tional Freshman of the year honors.

Martin said his K-State staff was the first high-major program to seriously recruit Smart out of Flower Mound, Tex. “He is the ultimate competitor. He plays the game with a tenacity, with a toughness, every single day,” Martin said of the 6-foot-4, 225-pound Smart.

The Gamecocks will need to overcome more than Smart, though: OSU has only lost (13) three regular-season non-conference games at Gallagher-Iba Arena since 1987.

After an 11-day exam break, a tricky op-

ponent awaits the Gamecocks Dec. 17 when they play Manhattan in Columbia. Don’t let Manhattan’s 14-18 record fool you – the Jaspers return four starters from a team that reached the MAAC championship game, and they also welcome back combo guard (14) George beamon, a 19 point-per-game scorer as a sophomore who missed most of last year with an ankle injury. Fun fact: Manhat-tan College is actually (15) located in the bronx.

After a tip with USC Upstate Dec. 19 – featuring First Team All-Namer (16) ba-batunde Olumuyiwa -- the Gamecocks then head to the Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu, marking their (17) first trip to Hawaii since 2001. (The tournament also acts as a lovely counterpoint to the road trip to Starkville).

Opening opponent St. Mary’s (Calif.) went 28-7 last year, and the Gaels have finished in the (18) top-30 in offensive efficiency each of the last four seasons. Randy Ben-nett’s team will be re-tooled, having lost all-time leading scorer Matthew Dellavedova to graduation, but the team that perpetually threatens Gonzaga in the West Coast Confer-ence should give Carolina a tough test.

After two more games in Hawaii – includ-ing its (19) first-ever Christmas Day game – Carolina returns home for a Dec. 28 tilt against reigning MAC Champion Akron. The Zips’ 19-game winning streak was the (20) longest in college basketball last year, and paced them to a 26-7 record. Zips head coach Keith Dambrot has another claim to

andy demetraContributing Writer

Please see Chart, Page 18


11/03/13 .......USC Aiken (exhibition) ... Columbia, S.C. .................... TBA11/09/13 .......vs. Longwood ................... Columbia, S.C. .................... TBA

ESPN 24-Hour Hoops Marathon11/12/13 ........ at Baylor ............................... Waco, Texas ...........................3 p.m.

11/17/13 ........ at Clemson ........................... Clemson, S.C. ..........................TBA11/24/13 .......vs. Florida International . Columbia, S.C. .................... TBA

Big 12/SEC Challenge12/06/13 ........ at Oklahoma State ............... Stillwater, Okla. .......................TBA

12/17/13 .......vs. Manhattan .................. Columbia, S.C. .................... TBA12/19/13 .......vs. USC Upstate ............... Columbia, S.C. .................... TBA

Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic12/22/13 ........ vs. Saint Mary’s .................... Honolulu, HI ......................12 a.m.12/23/13 ........ TBA ...................................... Honolulu, HI ...........................TBA12/25/13 ........ TBA ...................................... Honolulu, HI ...........................TBA

12/28/13 .......vs. Akron .......................... Columbia, S.C. ..................4 p.m.12/30/13 .......vs. Marshall ...................... Columbia, S.C. .................... TBA01/03/14 .......vs. South Carolina State .. Columbia, S.C. .................... TBA01/08/14 ........ at Florida* ............................. Gainesville, Fla. ....................7 p.m.01/11/14 .......vs. LSU*............................. Columbia, S.C. .............1:30 p.m.01/15/14 ........ at Texas A&M* ..................... College Station, Texas ..........8 p.m.01/18/14 .......vs. Ole Miss* ..................... Columbia, S.C. .............4:30 p.m.01/22/14 ........ at Georgia* ............................ Athens, Ga. ............................8 p.m.01/25/14 ........ at Missouri* .......................... Columbia, Mo. ......................4 p.m.01/29/14 .......vs. Texas A&M* ................ Columbia, S.C. ..................7 p.m.02/01/14 ........ at Ole Miss* .......................... Oxford, Miss. ...................1:30 p.m.02/05/14 .......vs. Auburn* ....................... Columbia, S.C. ..................7 p.m.02/08/14 ........ at Tennessee* ........................ Knoxville, Tenn. ...................3 p.m.02/12/14 .......vs. Vanderbilt* .................. Columbia, S.C. ..................8 p.m.02/15/14 .......vs. Alabama* ..................... Columbia, S.C. ..................4 p.m.02/19/14 ........ at Arkansas* ......................... Fayetteville, Ark. ..................9 p.m.02/22/14 .......vs. Georgia* ...................... Columbia, S.C. .............1:30 p.m.02/26/14 ........ at Auburn* ............................ Auburn, Ala. .........................9 p.m.03/01/14 .......vs. Kentucky* ................... Columbia, S.C. ..................6 p.m.03/04/14 .......vs. Florida* ....................... Columbia, S.C. ..................7 p.m.03/08/14 ........ at Mississippi State* ............. Starkville, Miss. ....................4 p.m.

* denotes SEC games .................................................. Home games listed in bold

South Carolina Gamecocks2013 - 2014

Men’S BaSketBall SChedule


by mike [email protected]

South Carolina men’s tennis head coach Josh Goffi has talked about the process of changing the culture in the program, and heading into his fourth year the successes have led to the team committing more than ever.

Goffi has seen the commitment throughout the summer with players competing in many tournaments, including Chip Cox and Kyle Koch winning the doubles title at the ITA National Collegiate Summer Championships. The physical condition in which the players returned to campus is also a testament to how hard they worked over the summer, some-thing that became evident in the two weeks of “Morning Madness.” These are intense strength and conditioning sessions begin-ning at 6 a.m. each day, and the team has ap-proached them with enthusiasm.

“Getting the guys to commit to playing a lot over the summer has been a goal of ours, and this last summer they did,” Goffi said. “The culture has been set. We worked through a lot of it last year. I think it’s almost where we need to be, it’s about where we want it … they showed some serious character out there this

year.“The morning sessions

have not been easy. They’ve actually been more in-tense than they were last year, and these guys are just crushing them. So that’s something for us as coaches; we see these guys are ready,” Goffi expanded. “They took the challenge, and they conquered it for sure.”

Goffi said that the team knows that the success from last year, finishing ranked in the top-20 nation-ally and participating in the NCAA Tournament, will lead to a target on their backs from other teams.

“For the first time we’re not young … now it’s kind of that time; we have to show up. It’s a much different pressure this year than we’ve ever felt before,” Goffi said. “We have guys that have reached their levels, and they have proved that they raised their level over the summer.

“The team is there, and now we just need to

form … we’ve had a dif-ferent pressure every year, and it’s nothing new for our team to rise to the occasion. I expect them to do that, and there is no doubt in my mind that they will,” Goffi added.

The freshmen coming in-to the program have blend-ed well with the returning roster, and they are an accomplished class that has come in with great physical condition. He noted they came in with no baggage and have jumped into the program with vigor.

Goffi said that he uses the fall period to develop play-

ers, even having to take some players back-ward before they can move forward. They work on a lot of technical and physical work in order to have those facets ready for the spring, and the fall competitions are really just tests to give benchmarks on the development level.

The student-athletes will go on a team-building retreat to come up with goals for the season, but Goffi said the focus is more on

how and who they play rather than on rank-ings.

“As far as having another year like we did last year, it’s realistic for sure. It will be a much different year though,” Goffi said. “There will be a lot of close wins that we think we should get, and we will be satisfied with them rather than elated. That’s my job as a coach to prepare them that way.”

Goffi noted that playing in the SEC matches the team against the best competition in the country, pointing to the fact that the Game-cocks finished ninth in the SEC but 18th in the country last year.

That harsh schedule for competition will make the team improve throughout the year, and Goffi said that is why the players came to play at South Carolina. He said there is never an easy weekend, and you always have to prove yourself throughout the season.

Goffi also discussed the importance of the Carolina Tennis Center facilities and the at-mosphere that this can provide.

“Having people up in the stands makes a huge difference. It feeds them energy non-stop,” Goffi said. “Some of our biggest wins last year we had packed stands, so the cor-relation is there. It’s not a coincidence what-soever.”

Men’s tennis looking for a good grip on the season

Photo by travis bell/siDeliNe CaroliNa

Tsvetan Mihov was an All-Ameri-can last year for the Gamecocks.


by Mike [email protected]

Coming off a 30-plus win season and a trip to the championship round of the Aus-tin Regional in the NCAA Tournament, the Gamecocks will look to keep the pro-gram on the upswing this season.

South Carolina is looking to continue raising the program’s level to pack the Carolina Softball Stadium at Beckham Field this season.

Head coach Beverly Smith is excited to have the student-athletes back on campus because the fall season is probably the most important time of year for the team.

“It’s really the time that we have the opportunity to work with the players a lot more individually, so right now we’re getting in individual workouts,” Smith explained. “Right now we’re getting a lot of fundamental work in with the kids and getting to know them … we’ve got a lot of hard work to do and our work really takes place in the fall.”

The roster includes eight freshmen and a transfer to go along with the returners, and those returners bring back the great expe-rience from last season.

“The most exciting thing for me is where we’re starting from,” Smith said. “That

jump we made at the end of the season, to fight our way into the SEC Tournament and make it to NCAA Regional Finals, is a huge jump.

“So for me, all of our returners set the bar. We raised the standard … now all these returners coming back and the fresh-men coming in are coming with the bar at a different level. That’s the part that I’m really excited about,” Smith continued.

The Gamecocks will need to replace All-American Samie Garcia who gradu-ated, but the fact the team learned how to fight and win should ease the transition according to Smith. A little over a week into workouts, the players are still getting to know each other in some cases. There is a sense of excitement about the talent and pedigree of the players on the roster, including the freshmen class. Smith said the players are looking forward to spend-ing time together on the field, and that is the way that they will get to know one another.

The offense should be a strength of the team, as five of the top six hitters from last season’s squad return. Smith said that there should be power for the offense, in-cluding some that has been added to the roster, and the hitters should be tough outs at the plate.

“I think there is no question that we’re going to rely on our offense. We’re going to have to outscore our opponents,” Smith said. “In this league we simply have to outscore people, but I think we have the offense to do it.

“I’ve really been impressed with the strides that our hitters have made every year, and I am happy with the kids that are returning,” Smith added.

The pitching does not have much experi-ence outside of Julie Sarratt, but Smith is confident that Sarratt will have a comple-mentary pitcher with an opposite style. Sarratt will keep the hitters off balance, and the pitchers understand that they will have to carry the load. Smith said she is confident that they will do a better job on the mound this year of keeping the scores down.

The Gamecocks will need to be clicking offensively on the mound to get through the grind that is playing in the SEC. Smith noted that the defending national champi-on from the previous year finished eighth in the SEC last season, and the ninth team in the conference was the number 16 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

“It is just war. You don’t get to take an inning off, you don’t get to take a pitch off because that could be the difference in the

ballgame,” Smith explained. “We’ve got 24 SEC games and every one of them you roll into, chances are you’re playing a top-10 opponent, just about everybody is in the top-25.”

As hard as it is to compete in this confer-ence, Smith said the exciting part is com-peting on the biggest stage in the country. The players want to play at the highest level, and the competition prepares the team for the NCAA Tournament.

Smith is excited to host the SEC Tourna-ment as a showcase for the new facility, and she is happy to have everything that the student-athletes need to be successful on site. She also said that the experience should be great for the fans with an excel-lent gameday atmosphere, and the team hopes to have fan support in the new sta-dium. The season ticket total tripled last year, but Smith said she would like to see it continue to grow until they can sell out the stadium for every game.

“The goal for the team is to continue to raise the bar going forward. I think the team we’re putting on the field is one the fans can be excited about,” Smith said. “We received top-25 votes at the end of the year last season, and we want to do that and be there competing at the top of the SEC.”

Season on deck with softball head coach Beverly Smithphoto by allen sharpe

Carolina softball is heading in the right direction and coming off a 30-plus win season and a regional final appearance much is expected of the Gamecocks in the upcoming year.


by Mike [email protected]

Pete Stokes is a long-time Gamecock who has served South Carolina Athletics both on and off the field, and he was hon-ored for his years of commitment and ser-vice by being named the “Legendary Fan” at the North Carolina football game.

Stokes was a three-year letterwinner for the Gamecocks on the baseball diamond in the late 1950s. He earned letters in 1956, ‘57 and ‘58 playing for Ted Petos-key and Joe Grugan. His playing time was highlighted by some great memories, in-cluding the camaraderie among the play-ers and times on the field.

“One of the biggest memories was when we were playing in Clemson and Ted Petoskey was my coach. I’m a little fel-low, and he had me bat fourth. During that ball game I hit one out of the park, so that was one of the highlights of my ca-reer,” Stokes recalled.

His contributions on the diamond are only minor when adding up all his service to South Carolina Athletics. Stokes is a former South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) agent, and he has used his role in the law enforcement field to benefit the Gamecocks in multiple ways.

Starting when Paul Dietzel was the Ath-letics Director in the 1960s, Stokes began getting other law enforcement officers to come serve as security for the Gamecock basketball games. He noted that this be-gan surrounding the Mike Grosso case. His recruitment led to the NCAA ruling

that he was unable to play for the Game-cocks. Frank McGuire helped get Grosso a scholarship to play at Louisville, but he never played a minute for South Carolina.

“Duke claimed that they had violated some recruiting rule and the ACC would not let him play at South Carolina … because Duke had blown the whistle on McGuire and Duke had to come to town, there was really bad blood between the two schools,” Stokes said.

“They asked if we would bring some SLED agents down and help with the security for that particular ballgame. I did, and we went down there and kept order for them,” Stokes continued. “After that, we began to bring agents down to sit behind the visiting team to provide them with security. That was one of the first involvements there.”

Following an incident before a Clemson football game involving students dressed in orange uniforms pretending to milk cows that caused an uproar, Stokes was asked if he could provide SLED agents at football games as well.

“I told them sure, and they bought us 80 red sport coats. That’s how we policed the football games from then on, and that’s how it developed and expanded from there,” Stokes explained.

Stokes was on hand to help with crowd control and break up some of the fights that happened on the basketball court. He and the SLED agents helped to calm things down after fights with Maryland and Marquette in the Coliseum. Stokes said there were no police working games

at that time, and they were the only ones who were able to diffuse and handle the situation.

“We had 10 agents that were working the game with the red coats on, and when-ever the fight started our SLED agents went out there to help calm it down,” Stokes said of the Maryland brawl. “Some of the national media thought it was spec-tators, but it wasn’t. It was plainclothes police officers.”

Stokes was a problem-solver and in-termediary between Athletics and law enforcement on many occasions. During the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s, he was called on to help the football team get around a city-wide curfew on a trip to WInston-Salem to take on Wake Forest.

“On Friday night, I got a call from Ralph Floyd asking if I could help them get the team around because they couldn’t touch base with anybody about getting to go somewhere. So I went up to the airport, got on the university’s plane and went up there,” Stokes said. “I met with the local authorities and we were able to work out where the football team got to a movie and they escorted us to where we went to go eat.”

Stokes assisted South Carolina Athlet-ics a number of times, but he has not slowed down since retiring in 1998. When Lou Holtz came to South Carolina, he worked with then-AD Mike McGee to set up a group that was able to help put on a “Lunch with Lou.”

This work led to the beginning of the University Ambassadors, and they did

much more than just put on “Lunch with Lou.” They also assist with the crowds at regional baseball games, track meets and conference golf tournaments, even working as caddies. The Ambassadors also help with the ticket office for football bowl games, and they still serve this pur-pose now.

Stokes has enjoyed many of his duties serving the Gamecocks, but one of his favorite harkens him back to the baseball diamond.

“One of the things that I’ve enjoyed most is at Carolina Stadium, working in the area behind home plate reserved for the big donors … down in that area there are usually two or three Ambassadors working every game,” Stokes said. “I en-joy that because it puts us down there near the dugout, and you can see the coaches and what’s going on.”

Stokes still loves to be around the pro-gram, saying that his favorite sport is whatever is in season. He is also excited about being involved with the Game-cocks, saying that it is a great time for the program with where Athletics is now.

Because of all of Stokes work and as-sistance with Athletics, he truly is deserv-ing of the “Legendary Fan” distinction. Stokes said that he and his family truly enjoyed being honored at the game.

“Before I wondered what it was going to be like, and everyone made it such a good occasion, so being the ‘Legendary Fan’ was bigger than I thought it was going to be. I really enjoyed it, and my family did too,” Stokes said.

Former baseball player honored as ‘Legendary Fan’photo by allen sharpe

Pictured with Pete Stokes (right) is his wife, Ellen (center) and South Carolina Athletics Director Ray Tanner. Stokes has been a member of the Gamecock Club for 45 years.



The athletic training staff for South Caro-lina football is busy on gamedays, especial-ly when working to battle the early-season heat, but the job calls for work and planning every day. Head football athletic trainer Clint Haggard said a typical day starts at 5:30 a.m. and they are constantly working to keep the student-athletes healthy and able to play.

“Between doing treatments and every-thing that goes on throughout the week, we’re busy,” Haggard said. “In the morn-ings we’re doing treatment and rehab on guys, then we have little slower time dur-ing the lunch hour … then once 1:30 rolls around were hitting hard again doing treat-ments.

“Next thing is setting up for practice, get-ting it running and going through practice, keeping the guys hydrated and managing injuries … working with guys who can’t practice that day, then treatments again af-ter practice,” Haggard commented.

If the typical day isn’t intimidating enough with hours from about 5:30 a.m. until 8 p.m., there is also the need to have short- and long-term plans for the health of the student-athletes. The staff includes five certified athletic trainers, 11 students going through the athletic training program at the University, orthopedic physicians, internal medicine physicians, a chiropractor, a mas-sage therapist and a psychiatrist.

“Everyone has a role, and then I’m kind of managing those people’s roles as well,” Haggard said. “It’s definitely a lot more than people see on a given day with all the moving parts to the program … we work hand-in-hand with the strength and condi-tioning staff, the equipment room and com-municate with our coaches.

“I’m kind of the liaison to the medical world in talking to our team physicians and working with the players, trying to get them better and then communicating with the coaches … it’s kind of intertwined in working with all the different areas of our program.”

Haggard said that he also works with the video staff, who are very good about get-ting them footage on any injuries. He said that seeing how an injury happens can be helpful, especially when it comes to head injuries. This footage can also give the staff insight into how an injury really took place

during a game.Another important aspect of the job for

the training staff is keeping the players hydrated and cool during the heat that can come from playing in August and Septem-ber. Battling these conditions is important to help the student-athletes perform their best under the strenuous circumstances.

Haggard said that for a Saturday game, they typically try to pre-hydrate the players starting on Tuesday and supplement them with extra sodium as well. Monitoring each players’ weight to make sure they don’t lose too much from all the work during the season is another job that is done daily, and keeping that in mind will help keep the players in the best shape possible to play through heat.

“The guys have done well with the educa-tion component of what we’ve done,” Hag-gard said. “They understand you can’t just start hydrating yourself on Friday for the Saturday game because you’re already be-hind the eight ball for the Saturday game by the time Friday rolls around.

“We try to keep them hydrated throughout

the week, and that way we keep them ahead of the curve … that plays a big part of it in preparing for that heat,” Haggard explained.

The other important part of dealing with the heat is keeping the players cool on game day, and Haggard said there is a great amount of research stating keeping the core body temperature down allows the players to perform at a high level.

To fight the heat on gameday, the train-ing staff will use ice towels and a cooling system that plugs into the players’ shoul-der pads. The cooling system is called the TMS, or Temperature Management System, and it runs cool air to the players bodies to help keep them from becoming overheated.

“We use a big air compressor … it’s the same one the use on a lot of construction sites where they use the pneumatic air sys-tems for nail guns,” Haggard said. “So what it does is generates this air, it blows it thor-ough a hose and we blow it through a big cooler full of ice water.

“The air comes out of the generator at 100 degrees, then when it comes out of this cooler, we’ve cooled it to about 40-45 de-

grees. By the time it gets to the “tree” that we’ve hooked up to the shoulder pads, it’s about 45-50 degrees,” Haggard explained.

The TMS is not widely utilized through-out the country, but Florida does use it for their players as well. The system was seen by many fans on the broadcast of the games, and it is one of the keys to keeping the player cool and able to maximize their energy.

The football training staff is constantly busy and working, especially during the season and when they are battling the heat, but the job also goes year round for Hag-gard.

“The funniest thing to me is when I see people out … they say ‘what do you do once the season’s over?’” Haggard said. “I would love it to be that I have absolutely noth-ing to do because that means everybody is healthy, but there is never a time throughout the year that we don’t have somebody hurt, whether they’re coming off surgery or just have a sprain of some sort. There’s always something going on even in the offseason as well.”

Inside the football training room with the head football athletic trainer

photo by travis bell/sideline carolina

Clint Haggard (left) and the athletic training staff work all year to support the Gamecocks.

“the guys have done well with the education component of what we’ve done. they understand you can’t just start hydrating yourself on Friday for the saturday game because you’re already behind the eight ball for the saturday game by the time Friday rolls around. We try to keep them hydrated throughout the week, and that way we keep them ahead of the curve … that plays a big part of it in preparing for that heat.” - Clint Haggard



Petra Ujhelyi played for the Gamecock women’s basketball team from 1999-2003 and brings the experience of playing in the Elite Eight in 2002 back to the on-the-rise program under head coach Dawn Staley.

Ujhelyi is also pursuing an advanced de-gree in South Carolina’s sports and entertain-ment management program while serving as a graduate assistant.

Ujhelyi said being on the Elite Eight team was a great experience when the team clicked and everyone bought into the pro-gram. From her collegiate experience, she was able to get opportunities to play profes-sionally all over the world. She played in the WNBA, Isarel, Spain twice, Turkey, Italy, Poland and for the Hungarian national team. Her favorite place to play was in Madrid for the atmosphere, but her favorite team was her national team.

“It’s such a different environment because you’re not only representing your country … it’s like playing with your childhood friends, so it’s really hard to top that. That has been really special for me over the summers, that’s why I picked that over the WNBA,” Ujhelyi said.

The opportunity to get back involved with the program came because Ujhelyi and Staley share an agent, and Ujhelyi was able to come practice with the team last year. Her agent, Mike Cound, told her there were still pictures of her up all over, and it seemed like a great time to come back to the program.

“I knew I was done playing basketball … just a lot of traveling and playing in differ-ent countries, which was awesome and I am thankful that I had the opportunity, but I knew that I was ready for something more stable. I felt like going back to school is never a bad idea,” Ujhelyi said.

She said that she would like to continue to stay around basketball once she finishes her second degree from South Carolina, but was unsure whether that would be through coach-ing on on the business side of basketball. Ujhelyi noted that there is more stability with the business aspects of sports because coach-ing can be unpredictable.

“I was a player, I know coaches can only do so much. They prepare you and everything, but players make the decisions on the court,” Ujhelyi explained. “The business side is a little more stable; you can foresee things a little better and maybe they are a little more

under your control.”Ujhelyi is able to function as a medium be-

tween the coaches and players to help bridge understanding because of all her experience playing in college, professionally and in international competition. Her role is not as in-depth as those on the coaching staff, but she remains involved with the program and the student-athletes.

“I’m more like in between; I can still kind of see both sides. I still remember how I felt as a player … but I can relate to the coaches also and see things from their perspective. How they make kids do things that will be beneficial for them later, but the kids may not see that yet because they’re young,” Ujhelyi said.

Ujhelyi was ecstatic about the opportunity to work with Staley and the coaching staff at South Carolina, and it was one of the fac-tors that made her sure the decision to return would be beneficial.

“It’s a new coaching staff here from when I played, but they welcomed me with open arms, and I’m very grateful for the opportu-nity to be around and be the GA. To work for a Hall of Famer, is there anything more you can ask for?,” Ujhelyi said. “I have so much respect for them, and just being around the program to see the dedication and the hours they put it, it’s really amazing. I’m just so happy to be here and ready to help the pro-gram any way possible.”

Ujhelyi is confident in the team, knowing that they will be one of the hardest-working teams in the SEC and the country. She is sure they will play their hearts out because “Coach Staley would not let anything else happen.”

She also expressed excitement about being back behind the bench for games to witness the great environment of SEC basketball. The environment at South Carolina was one of the biggest draws for her to return to the program in her new role.

“It’s South Carolina; the fans love the Gamecocks. It is such a great opportunity. People will come and support the team if we start winning,” Ujhelyi said. “I’m so glad she is turning the program around and trying to do everything to get the community involved and put people in the stands.

“You know I’m an alumni, so South Caro-lina is my second home. I want to see the University succeed and make some history.”

The Gamecocks hope for the same this up-coming season, and are glad to have a former standout back involved with the program.

Where are they now? - Petra Ujhelyi

South Carolina athletiCS Media relationS

Ujhelyi is happy to be back at her “second home” working with the women’s basket-ball team for head coach Dawn Staley.

Chart, continued from page 11

fame: he (21) coached Lebron James as a freshman and sophomore at St. Vincent-St. Mary’s High School before taking the job at his alma mater.

Marshall University, led by former (22) college of charleston head coach Tom herrion, pays a visit to Colonial Life Arena Dec. 30. The teams will meet for the first time since 1980 and Gamecock fans will have a chance to dust off a decades-old grudge. In that last matchup in Hunting-ton, W. Va., Marshall drubbed Carolina 116-85, still the (23) second-most points the Gamecocks have ever allowed. Bonus fact: Marshall’s leading scorer that year was named (24) George Washington. Current Herd forward Elijah Pittman is Conference USA’s leading returning scorer at 16.1 points per game.

Rounding out the non-conference slate is a matchup with South Carolina State Jan. 3, 2014 in Columbia. 6-foot-11 forward (25) matthew hezekiah had one of the more impressive performances against the Game-cocks last year, posting 24 points and grab-bing 14 rebounds in an 80-69 loss.

Will the Gamecocks be ready when non-conference play kicks off Nov. 9? We’ll find out soon.

Will you be ready for non-conference play when it arrives Nov. 9? After reading this article, I can only hope.

2013-14 south carolina Non-conference schedule:

NovemberNov. 3, vs. usc aiken (exhibition), TbaNov. 9, vs. Longwood, TbaNov. 12, at Baylor, 3 p.m. ESPNNov. 17, at Clemson, TBANov. 24, Florida international, Tba

DecemberDec. 6, at Oklahoma State, 9:30 p.m. ESPNUDec. 17, manhattan college, TbaDec. 19, usc upstate, 12 p.m. Dec. 22-25, at Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic (1st round vs. St. Mary’s, 12 a.m. ESPNU; 2nd/3rd rounds, TBA)Dec. 28, vs. Akron (non-bracketed game of the Diamond Head Classic), 4 p.m. ESPNUDec. 30, vs. marshall, Tba

JanuaryJan. 3, vs. sc state, Tba

All times listed in Eastern and subject to change

Home games listed in bold



Gamecock women’s tennis head coach Kev-in Epley is preparing his team for his second season leading the program.

Last season he had to be reactive with com-ing in late in the summer, but this year he has taken a more proactive approach and has the team working at another level.

“I think the student-athletes came in know-ing that they were going to be working a lot harder this year, with last year being my first year,” Epley said. “There wasn’t a lot of time to implement a program the way that I have done in the past … I was sort of telling them at the end of last year that this year we are going to be working a lot harder.

“We finished up two weeks of morning workouts, 6 a.m. workouts, and they’ve been responding very well and working really hard,” Epley said of the team.

The strength and conditioning focus in the fall this season has been bolstered by a three-day mentorship period that Epley and some other members of South Carolina Athletics attended at one of the premier strength and conditioning facilities in the country out in Arizona.

“We’ve been implementing a lot of the ele-ments that we took from that program into our own programs, and we’re really hoping to see a big impact for it by just staying committed and consistent,” Epley said.

Epley noted that the team is much further along this year than last year, partially because he has been able to focus on the program rather than running around trying to recruit players and settle in the new city. He feels the team has been able to step up and has really committed to the program.

The biggest impact for the team last year was made in the doubles portions of the matches

by winning almost all the doubles points after losing most of them the year before. Epley feels that this has given those players returning in the system confidence, and they are at the advantage of not having to start from scratch. He also said they will be further along this year which should help them to bring the new players who are starting from scratch along quicker.

Epley also said that the players in singles have gained some good experiences, and they will all be challenged this season. His hope is that they can make the same kind of impact on the singles side this year as they did playing doubles last season.

Epley has been working on blending the returners with the newcomers, and he said that this is one of the biggest challenges facing a program. There are different personalities coming into the program, including more Americans, but he feels that will allow them to come together. There is a team-building retreat that the group will take to get to know each other in a non-tennis setting and lay out the goals for the upcoming season.

“The best teams in tennis, even though it’s an individual sport, are those teams that do come together and play for something greater than themselves. Hopefully we will take a step in that direction,” Epley explained.

The goals for the fall are not only to improve the team’s conditioning and team building, but also to work on an individual level with the student-athletes.

“The fall is basically playing a ton and devel-oping a ton. It’s all individual based. The meat of our schedule isn’t until the spring, and then not really until the subset of the SEC season in March. That’s when everything starts really counting, and everything we do is in preparing for that point, the SEC Tournament and the NCAA Tournament,” Epley explained.

During the fall period the focus is on individ-

ual improvement, even if that means giving up a few losses if the players can learn from them. The transitions and improvements are meant to prepare for that spring season so in the fall nobody will think about what happened in the fall.

Epley said all this extra work will hopefully come to pay off as the Gamecocks go through the season competing in the brutal SEC. He

said each team is so good that there is really nothing else like playing in this conference and getting top competition week after week.

“Resiliency and toughness are the things that this conference teaches you. If you can keep the ship together, keep the people focused and not break down through that test then you will be far more prepared for the fire come NCAA time,” Epley said.

Women’s tennis working to serve up a successful season

Photo by travis bell/siDeliNe CaroliNaEpley is in his second year in charge of the South Carolina women’s tennis program.


Depth Charts for Sept. 14, 7 p.m.

OFFENSEWR: 1 Damiere Byrd 5-9 166 Jr. Sicklerville, N.J. 4 Shaq Roland 6-1 190 So. Lexington, S.C. 8 Shamier Jeffery 6-1 207 So. St. Matthews, S.C.WR: 23 Bruce Ellington 5-9 196 Jr. Moncks Corner, S.C. 80 K.J. Brent 6-4 188 So. Waxhaw, N.C. 85 Kane Whitehurst 5-11 179 So. Duluth, Ga.WR: 3 Nick Jones 5-7 174 Jr. Moore, S.C. 11 Pharoh Cooper 5-11 184 Fr. Havelock, N.C. 82 Kwinton Smith 6-4 212 Fr.-RS Hamer, S.C.LT: 53 Corey Robinson 6-8 341 Jr. Havelock, N.C. 74 Mason Zandi 6-9 293 Fr.-RS Irmo, S.C.LG: 50 A.J. Cann 6-4 314 Jr. Bamberg, S.C. 65 Brock Stadnik 6-5 286 Fr.-RS Greensboro, N.C.C: 51 Cody Waldrop 6-2 319 Fr.-RS Seffner, Fla. 54 Clayton Stadnik 6-3 281 Fr.-RS Greensboro, N.C. 70 Alan Knott 6-4 272 Fr. Tyrone, Ga.RG: 67 Ronald Patrick 6-2 315 Sr. Cocoa, Fla. 75 Will Sport 6-5 294 So. Milton, Fla.RT: 71 Brandon Shell 6-6 323 So. Goose Creek, S.C. 78 Cody Gibson 6-7 286 Jr. Tallahassee, Fla.TE: 81 Rory Anderson 6-5 242 Jr. Powder Springs, Ga. 89 Jerell Adams 6-6 237 So. Pinewood, S.C. 88 Drew Owens 6-6 244 So. Charlotte, N.C.QB: 14 Connor Shaw 6-1 209 Sr. Flowery Branch, Ga. 17 Dylan Thompson 6-3 218 Jr. Boiling Springs, S.C. 5 Brendan Nosovitch 6-1 220 Fr.-RS Allentown, Pa.FB: 41 Connor McLaurin 6-0 237 Jr. Raleigh, N.C. 31 Jordan Diaz 6-1 233 Jr. Hamilton, N.J.TB: 28 Mike Davis 5-9 215 So. Lithonia, Ga. 22 Brandon Wilds 6-2 223 So. Blythewood, S.C. 7 Shon Carson 5-8 219 So. Scranton, S.C.DEFENSEDE: 90 Chaz Sutton 6-5 263 Sr. Savannah, Ga. 34 Mason Harris 6-3 218 So. Fort Oglethorpe, Ga. 44 Gerald Dixon 6-2 268 So. Rock Hill, S.C.DT: 97 J.T. Surratt 6-2 307 Jr. Winston-Salem, N.C. 92 Gerald Dixon, Jr. 6-3 318 So. Rock Hill, S.C.DT: 99 Kelcy Quarles 6-4 298 Jr. Hodges, S.C. 52 Phillip Dukes 6-3 315 So. Manning, S.C. 94 KelseyGriffin 6-2 292 Fr. Buford,Ga.DE: 7 Jadeveon Clowney 6-6 274 Jr. Rock Hill, S.C. 5 Darius English 6-6 226 Fr.-RS Powder Springs, Ga.MLB: 8 Kaiwan Lewis 6-0 221 So. Mays Landing, N.J. 11 T.J. Holloman 6-2 228 Fr.-RS Stone Mountain, Ga. 28 Jonathan Walton 6-0 234 Fr. Daphne, Ala.WLB: 21 Marcquis Roberts 6-1 225 So. Powder Springs, Ga. 10 Skai Moore 6-2 205 Fr. Cooper City, Fla. 18 Cedrick Cooper 6-2 213 So. Lithonia, Ga.SPUR: 9 Sharrod Golightly 5-10 195 Jr. Decatur, Ga. 42 Jordan Diggs 6-0 214 Fr.-RS Fort Myers, Fla.CB: 27 Victor Hampton 5-10 202 Jr. Darlington, S.C. 4 Ahmad Christian 5-10 189 So. Jacksonville, Fla.SS: 20 T.J. Gurley 5-10 196 So. Cairo, Ga. 6 Chris Moody 6-1 212 Fr.-RS McDonough, Ga.FS: 12 Brison Williams 5-11 218 Jr. Warner Robins, Ga. 17 Chaz Elder 6-2 199 Fr.-RS Union City, Ga.CB: 15 Jimmy Legree 6-0 187 Sr. Beaufort, S.C. 3 Jamari Smith 5-10 183 Fr. Jacksonville, Fla. 1 Rico McWilliams 5-11 187 Fr.-RS Hampton, Ga.

South Carolina VanderbiltOFFENSEWR: 17 Jonathan Krause 5-11 192 Sr. Snellville, Ga. 84 Jordan Cunningham 6-1 175 Fr. Fort Lauderdale, Fla. 9 Trent Pruitt 5-9 180 Jr. Fitzgerald, Ga.WR: 87 Jordan Matthews 6-3 206 Sr. Madison, Ala. 85 Trey Wilkins 5-11 205 Jr. Cordova, Tenn.QB: 6 Austyn Carta-Samuels 6-1 215 Sr. San Jose, Calif. 7 Josh Grady 5-11 202 So. Tampa, Fla. -or- 4 Patton Robinette 6-4 212 Fr.-RS Maryville, Tenn.RB: 24 Wesley Tate 6-1 224 Sr. Madison, Tenn.-or- 25 Brian Kimbrow 5-8 185 So. Memphis, Tenn.-or- 3 Jerron Seymour 5-7 200 So. Hialeah, Fla.FB: 38 Fitz Lassing 6-3 245 Sr. Nashville, Tenn. 47 Blake Gowder 6-2 230 Sr. Blairsville, Ga.TE: 81 Steven Scheu 6-5 255 So. Evansville, Ind. 89 Dillon van der Wal 6-6 260 Jr. Woodland Hills, CalifHB: 82 Kris Kentera 6-4 235 So. Colorado Springs, Colo. 8 Fitz Lassing 6-3 245 Sr. Nashville, Tenn.OT: 67 Wesley Johnson 6-5 295 Sr. Nashville, Tenn. 66 Blake Fromang 6-7 295 Fr.-RS Orlando, FlaOG: 73 Chase White 6-4 292 Jr. Plano, Texas-or- 53 Jake Bernstein 6-3 305 So. Lake in the Hills, Ill.C: 57 Joe Townsend 6-3 305 Jr. Hendersonville, Tenn. 77 Spencer Pulley 6-4 300 Jr. Germantown, Tenn.OG: 77 Spencer Pulley 6-4 300 Jr. Germantown, Tenn. 56 Barrett Gouger 6-4 307 Fr.-RS Soddy Daisy, Tenn.OT: 52 Andrew Bridges 6-6 285 Jr. Atlanta, Ga. 50 Andrew Jelks 6-6 295 Fr.-RS Paris, Tenn.DEFENSEDE: 92 Kyle Woestmann 6-3 252 Jr. Marietta, Ga. 55 Caleb Azibuke 6-4 265 So. Nashville, Tenn.DT: 97 Jared Morse 6-2 304 Sr. Oxford, Ala.-or- 69 Adam Butler 6-4 305 Fr.-RS Duncanville, TexasNT: 53 Vince Taylor 6-2 312 Jr. Hattiesburg, Miss. 44 Barron Dixon 6-4 308 Jr. Dallas, Ga. 93 Ladarius Banks 6-2 295 Fr.-RS Dallas, GaDE: 90 Walker May 6-5 250 Sr. Birmingham, Ala. 45 Stephen Weatherly 6-5 252 Fr.-RS Snellville, Ga. -or- 54 Jimmy Stewart 6-4 250 So. Cape Coral, Fla.OLB: 35 Darreon Herring 6-2 228 So. Stone Mountain, Ga. 42 Kellen Williams 6-1 225 Jr. Winter Garden, Fla. 40 Ja’karri Thomas 6-1 225 Fr.-RS Tallahassee, Fla.MLB: 36 Chase Garnham 6-3 235 Sr. Fairhope, Ala. 13 Jake Sealand 6-2 230 So. Tucker, Ga. 11 Harding Harper 6-2 240 Fr.-RS Montgomery, Ala.OLB: 28 Karl Butler 6-1 218 Sr. New Orleans, La. 30 Larry Franklin 6-0 214 So. Vero Beach, Fla. 22 Casey Hughes 6-1 218 Jr. Reading, Pa.CB: 23 Andre Hal 6-0 185 Sr. Port Allen, La. 21 Paris Head 6-0 182 Fr.-RS Lawrenceville, Ga.SS: 31 Javon Marshall 5-10 202 Sr. Huber Heights, Ohio 27 Jahmel McIntosh 6-1 205 So. Cleveland, Miss.FS: 1 Kenny Ladler 6-1 205 Sr. Stone Mountain, Ga. 32 Andrew Williamson 6-1 210 So. San Antonio, TexasCB: 12 Steven Clarke 5-10 195 Sr. Lauderdale Lakes, Fla. 5 Torren McGaster 6-0 190 Fr.-RS Daphne, Ala.

*These depth charts are taken from the listings from each team’s previous game. Spurs & Feathers goes to print shortly after each football game. Please visit www.spursandfeathers.com over the course of the week for updated depth charts.



Everyone has their favorite Gamecock picture or logo, but what if you could have that come to life in three dimensions? That is the idea that sparked ZVerse, Inc., a 3-D printing company located in downtown Co-lumbia, to create Gamecock-inspired art.

After 15 years working in e-commerce, co-founder/CEO John Carrington’s fasci-nation and experience with 3-D printing technology led him to start a new business. He was looking for different opportunities to create a new kind of art with this tech-nology when he drew inspiration watching South Carolina in the Outback Bowl.

“I was watching the Outback Bowl and saw “the Hit,” and thought it would be incredible if I could create a 3-D model of that play and make a 3-D version of that image using an advanced 3-D printer,” Carrington said. “It wasn’t just particularly with Jadeveon’s picture at the time, but the concept in general.”

He began to experiment with taking pic-

tures and building the 3-D models, then printing those models. After having some success and getting more serious about it, he left his job in February to create this start-up business. Early on, all his work was done overseas, but after getting an investor he was able to hire a staff and get the equipment needed to do the work in Columbia.

ZVerse’s groundbreaking technology quickly caught the attention from one of the largest sports marketing firms in the world. The agency helped ZVerse secure licensing rights of Marcus Lattimore and other pro-fessional athletes. Marcus became the first professional athlete to license his image to be used with this new 3D print technol-ogy. In addition, they secured the licensing rights for USC trademarks.

“We felt that Marcus was a great athlete to partner with because he transcends foot-ball which allows us to create content with him on or off the field. He has great char-acter and we are happy to have him associ-ated with our brand,” Carrington explained.

ZVerse began to use their technology to take iconic images from Lattimore’s career at South Carolina, starting with his last touchdown, to produce one of a kind work of art. There is a piece offered by ZVerse entitled “Touchdown #41” commemorating his final touchdown as a Gamecock against Tennessee.

“Really this is just the beginning of some-thing we hope to be much bigger, but you have to start with just the one licensing agreement to demonstrate what you can do. We hope to be the ‘Fathead’ of 3D print-

ing,” Carrington said.Carrington said they excel with products

in limited-run manufacturing that is cen-tered around marketable content.

“We go straight from concept to design then production and selling online in a matter of days,” Carrington said. “We can be highly customized and do short runs, which you can’t do with traditional manu-facturing that you see in China and else-where. We can introduce 10 new products on store shelves in the time it takes a tra-ditional manufacturer to get one prototype developed. ZVerse products will be sold in 15 retail stores by the end of September. Most of the products were just concepts in August. We are breaking a lot of rules right now with how manufacturing and product development has been done.”

All of the pieces available from ZVerse can be found on their website at: http://zverse.com. The pieces will also be avail-able from Garnet and Black Traditions, and possibly through more distributors soon if you are looking for a unique piece of Gamecock memorabilia.

Bringing Gamecock memorabilia to a new dimensionPhotos courtesy of ZVerse, Inc.

Everyone has their favorite Gamecock picture or logo, but what if you could have that come to life in three dimensions? That is the idea that sparked ZVerse, Inc., a 3-D printing company located in downtown Columbia, to create Gamecock-inspired art. All the pieces are available on ZVerse’s website and at Garnet and Black Traditions.

“I was watching the outback Bowl and saw “the hit,” and thought it would be incredible if I could create a 3D model of that play.”

~ John Carrington, ZVerse, Inc.


photo by allen sharpe

Mike Davis rushed 16 times for a career-best 149 yards. He had a 75-yard run for the second consecutive week. Davis finished the day with 198 all-purpose yards (49 yards receiving).


The 11th-ranked Georgia Bulldogs claimed a 41-30 vic-tory over the sixth-ranked South Carolina Gamecocks in an of-fensive shootout.

Georgia’s defense was able to come up with a few more stops than South Carolina’s and that turned out to be the difference in the game.

The Gamecock offense put up 454 total yards, but it could not score enough to keep up with Georgia’s offense and its 536 yards. The Bulldogs were able to score 17 points in the second half, and then held the Gamecocks to six points in the half which eventually led to the

Georgia win.Georgia scored on an 85-yard

touchdown pass with 13 min-utes remaining in the game, and South Carolina’s final drive ended on a 4th-and-goal option pitch that was stopped for a loss. The Bulldogs were able to run out the final 8:28 of the game to secure the victory.

“We couldn’t stop them, and they made a bunch of third down conversions … we’re struggling on defense,” South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier said. “Offensively Mike Davis had about as good a game as any running back that I’ve ever seen. He played his heart out, as did Connor Shaw, who also had an excellent game.

“We didn’t score every pos-

session, and we got beat. Some-times you’ve got to score every possession, but we weren’t good enough to do that today,” Spur-rier said.

Davis led the way for South Carolina’s offense with 198 total yards (149 yards rushing) and a touchdown. Shaw went 16-for-25 passing for 228 yards and two touchdowns. He rushed for 75 yards.

Nick Jones caught six passes for 97 yards and the two touch-downs.

The first half of the matchup between the Gamecocks and the Bulldogs certainly lived up to its billing. Georgia scored 17 straight points after South Carolina opened with a field goal to race out to a two touchdown

lead.The Gamecocks answered

back with 14 straight points on a Brandon Wilds touchdown run, then a one-play scoring drive that saw Shaw hook up with Jones for an 18-yard touchdown that tied the game at 17-all. The touchdown pass immediately followed a botched punt attempt by Georgia that let the Game-cocks start inside the red zone.

The teams would trade touch-downs late in the half to leave the game knotted at 24-24 at intermission. Shaw and Jones hooked up for their second touchdown of the game with 13 seconds remaining in the half to even the score, but Georgia would take over the game in the second half.

Gamecocks come up short in SEC East showdown


Nick Jones had a career day against Geor-gia. He claimed a career-best six catches for 97 yards and two touchdown receptions.



The 20th Annual Border Bash Celebration was held in the Augusta Commons on Friday, Sept. 6.

The annual event featuring Gamecock and Bulldog supporters gave the rival fans the unique opportunity to come together and gra-ciously represent their teams. The celebration remained respectful despite the huge rivalry that took place the following day on the foot-ball field because the proceeds from the night were given to local charitable organizations.

“It is a really unique opportunity for these rival fans to come together and celebrate. Georgia and Georgia Tech don’t do anything like this, and neither do South Carolina and Clemson,” said Joel Simmons, board member of the Border Bash Foundation. “Everyone seems to stay considerate no matter their alle-giance because they know that this whole thing is for a good cause.”

Simmons said that he has been helping with the event since its inception 20 years ago, and has seen it grow in the downtown Augusta area for the past 17 years. He and Augusta Gamecock Club President Tom Rogers echoed one another in saying the best thing about the event is giving the money to the charities in December every year.

“We give the money to local charities in Aik-en, Edgefield, Richmond, Columbia and Burke counties that benefit children, battered moms or children from problem areas,” Simmion ex-

plained. “We like to give to some of the smaller charities that get a huge benefit from a $2,500 check that can keep them going for 12 months, and we are able to give a lot of those out.”

The night was packed with fun, as the South Carolina and Georgia cheerleaders each per-formed on the main stage twice, and they spent the rest of the event meeting fans and posing for pictures. Cocky and Hairy Dawg were also in attendance to lead the cheer squads and both drew large crowds everywhere they went dur-ing the event.

South Carolina’s cheerleading coach Erika Goodwin said that the squad makes Border Bash an all-day event, visiting the children’s hospital and making an appearance at a golf tournament before heading to the celebration.

“It’s a great event, and the team always has fun doing this. We’ve been coming since back when I cheered here at South Carolina, and it has always been something that we have en-joyed,” Goodwin said.

The fans enjoyed the night as well, packing into the Augusta Commons to see the cheer squads, mascots and the bands providing live music for the event. The Joe Stevenson Band opened the event around performances by the cheer squads, before headliner Blackberry Smoke took the stage following the final cheer performances.

“It’s a great night, and the people all come together to have a good time and represent their team,” Rogers said. “It’s something that we love to do and plan to keep going on as long as we can.”

Border Bash brings rival fans together

photo by mike kucharski

The 20th annual Border Bash was held in the Augusta Commons on Sept. 6 in Augusta, Ga.

“it’s a great night, and the people all come together to have a good time and represent their team. it’s something that we love to do and plan to keep going on as long as we can.”

- Tom Rogers


The sand volleyball program at South Caroli-na has gone through a variety of team meetings and strength and conditioning training to make their way out to the courts.

Head coach Moritz Moritz and the student-athletes all felt good to finally get their feet in the sand.

“It’s that sense of - not relief - but its that step beyond excitement … the conceptual side of beach volleyball is really starting to fire up with the girls, but obviously not until you really start doing volleyball does it kick in,” Moritz explained.

The team has been able to practice this week and is coming into the period with the goals of learning what to expect from each other as a team. Moritz said that evaluating the team is the most important thing for him during this period, so he had them start with a lot of play to see

them in a game-like environment.“You can’t just jump in and tell them do this,

this and this without really seeing what their starting point is, almost on an individual basis. Right now it’s more of an evaluation period. Let’s see what they do, how they do it and tweak little things here and there,” Moritz said. “Then from that knowledge base … we’ll be able to move forward and give specific feedback to each individual and see how they play together and how they interact.

“We have plenty of work to do, but we’re al-ways going to have plenty of work to do. I think any of the top coaches, even coming off a na-tional championship, they’re always going to get back at it. Once you’ve hit one goal, you have to establish the next one,” Moritz continued.

As has been a theme with the team thus far, Moritz talked about the student-athletes’ adapt-ability to change. The team has practiced on the courts at the Blatt Physical Education Center thus far, but will also use the courts at the Strom

Thurmond Wellness and Fitness Center until the facility in the Athletics Village is completed before the season.

“Our group of student-athletes, and everyone that is coming into this program, has that under-standing that we need to be adaptable,” Moritz said. “They’re more excited to just be on the sand and really start playing, training and doing stuff organized as the beach volleyball team representing South Carolina than caring about where at this point.”

Moritz echoed the importance of adaptability not only in starting the program from scratch, but also in dealing with conditions of playing on different courts in anything from heat and humidity to rain, sleet and wind during that may come up during the season. He said that the weather has varied greatly in practice ses-sion, which is a good experience for the team to begin to get a feel for what may happen during the season.

According to Moritz, things such as weather

worry and getting ready for spring competition are not in play right now as the focus now must be on taking each practice one at a time. He will design each practice to help the student-athletes improve while evaluating the process constantly.

“You always want to keep it as simple as you can, so sometimes I get ahead of myself because I am so eager for March, but that’s a long way away, so what are we doing now to prepare for that,” Moritz said. “Last week it was March, and yesterday it became about that practice, and to-day is just about today. Getting each individual focused on their growth and improvement is the biggest part.

“I’m just excited for them … I’m not looking for anything specific yet, just trying to develop that overall picture of ‘where are we now?’ so we can really isolate where we need to be at different stages during this semester, the next semester and moving forward toward our com-petition phase,” Moritz concluded.

Sand volleyball makes it to the courts for evaluation


Spartanburg County Gamecock Club

“Leave the driving to us!” First come, first serve so don’t wait; seats will fill up fast! 2013 AwAy FootbAll GAme bus trips

Oct. 19 - Tennessee (Knoxville, Tenn.) COST: Early Bird (Before Sept. 15th) $50/seat After Sept. 15th $55/seat) Departure Time & Place: Jason Deli’s Parking Lot ( W.O. Ezell Blvd. Spartanburg) Departure Time: TBA (once gametime is confirmed)

Please make Check payable to : Spartanburg County Gamecock Club Mail to: P.O. Box 5146, Spartanburg, SC 29304

Please remember reserved bus seats DO NOT include game tickets. Please contact Glenn Cox, (864) 597-8380, with questions.

South Carolina Hall of Fame Induction

Thursday, Sept. 12 in The Zone at Williams-Brice Stadi-um. The reception will begin at 5:30 p.m. with the dinner and inductions starting at 6:30 p.m.

The event is open to the public.

Tickets are $50 per person and may be ordered from the Association of Lettermen (803-760-0534) or the USC Athletic Department (803-777-4274).

Tickets are also available in the Gamecock Club Lobby at the Rice Athletics Center (1304 Heyward Street).

Florence County Gamecock Club Fall Rally

Wednesday, September 186-8 p.m.at the Floyd Conference Center at Carolina’s Hos-pital System; 805 Pamplico Hwy., Florence, SC 29505.Dinner begins at 6 p.m. with Roger’s BBQ House fur-nishing your meal, and the program starts at 7 p.m.

AD Ray Tanner along with head baseball coach Chad Holbrook and head men’s basketball coach Frank Martin

will be attending along with other special guests.

Contact Club President Scat Scaturro at (843) 621-8008, or Rocky Rietkovich, Florence County Gamecock Club Board of Directors, Public Relations Officer (843) 495-0288.

Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door. Tickets can be purchased at Roger’s BBQ House, Jernigan Law Firm, Mickey Finn’s, Crawford Law Firm or from a mem-ber of the Board of Directors.

Spartanburg County Gamecock Club – September Meeting Thursday, September 19th 7 p.m. at Spartanburg Downtown Marriott Convention Center

Admission is FREE and the meeting is open to all Gamecock fans. Guest Speaker will be Phil Kornblut, host of the syndicated radio show SportsTalk. Phil will give us his insights and thoughts on summer practices and the 2013 football season.

Come early & listen to Phil as he broadcasts his statewide radio program LIVE from Spartanburg, 6-7pm!

Darlington County Gamecock Club - Board meeting

Monday, October 7, 2013, at 6:00 p.m. Heritage Community Bank206 South Fifth Street in Hartsville, S.C.Light hors d’oeuvres will be served.All Gamecock fans are invited to attend!

Darlington County Gamecock Club - Election

Monday, November 4, 2013, at 6:00 p.m. Heritage Community Bank206 South Fifth Street in Hartsville, S.C.Light hors d’oeuvres will be served.All Gamecock fans are invited to attend!

Upcoming South Carolina Athletics Events z September 12

Women’s Soccer vs. South Florida ............................. 7 p.m.

z September 13

Volleyball vs. Utah State ..............................................................10 a..m.

Volleyball vs. Liberty ........................................................................5 p.m.

Men’s Soccer at St. John’s ..............................................................8 p.m.

z September 14

Cross Country Mountain Dew Invitational ......................8:30 a.m.

Volleyball at Duke .......................................................................1:30 p.m.

Football vs. Vanderbilt ................................................7 p.m.

z September 15

Women’s Soccer vs. East Carolina ..............................1 p.m.

Men’s Soccer at Rutgers .................................................................2 p.m.

Home events are bold

Don’t forget to check the calendar on spursand-feathers.com for all upcoming Gamecock Club and South Carolina Athletics events.



South Carolina boasts one of the top up-and-coming volleyball coaches in the nation on its staff in associate head coach and recruiting coordinator Julie Darty. Darty was honored as a “Thirty Under 30” coach by the American Volleyball Coaches Association in March of 2013.

“That was always a goal in my mind be-cause a lot of young coaches that I look up to have been put on that list before. That’s some-thing that I want to strive for and will help me in my professional growth,” Darty said. “It was a huge honor, it was awesome and a great surprise.”

Darty said she came to South Carolina be-cause working in the SEC has always been a dream location for her. Also, many calls were made to head coach Scott Swanson on her behalf leading to her addition to the pro-gram. Darty said that she didn’t expect the placement in the SEC to come so fast, but is thankful for the opportunity to work in the program.

“The resources here are out of this world. In the recruiting aspect, which is my world, you don’t have to sell a lot,” Darty said. “When they see this facility or come to a football game, they pretty much say ‘how do I get my-self in a position to get an offer?’”

Darty does have a main focus on recruiting, and her youth and energy are an asset in play-ing a role that had her traveling 42 weekends out of the year last year.

“It is a lot of travel, but it is a lot of fun. It’s rewarding when you get that kid who I saw in Vegas and now she’s coming here,” Darty said. “It’s really cool to see how that relation-ship starts, and if it’s the right fit you just know and they will know it too. Then when they say yes, and it’s the best day ever.”

Darty said it is an extensive process in look-

ing at the prospects, but it is necessary to bring in the type of players that will excel in the program. She noted that off the court she looks at how they get along with the team on visits, look at the family and parents, check on their coachability and she listens to input from the team.

“We do a lot through club, so in the spring-time there are a lot of big tournaments with thousands of kids playing at one time. We do a lot of the evaluations … we make good notes, talk to their high school coaches, their club coaches and learn as much about the kid as we can,” Darty explained. “That way when we’re on the phone with them we can tell if she would be a good fit, what kind of kid they are or if there will be a lot of drama surround-ing them.”

Darty notes that she will never make an offer without having a prospect visit campus, and that she doesn’t go for the “hard-sell.” She said that in the end the player has to want to come play at South Carolina as much as they want that player, otherwise it may lead to problems down the road. However, if the prospect doesn’t buy in to wanting to come play for the Gamecocks, they will not be in the program to cause issues later.

Darty does not just focus on bringing play-ers into the program, she also works with de-veloping the talent that is already here. Darty works with Swanson in planning practices, and she does individual training with the out-side hitters, right sides and passers.

“I was an outside and a right side myself, so it might be that I can relate those kids. I’ve been in their shoes on the court,” Darty said. “I’m fully involved with practice and training … it’s not like I’m just in the office recruiting and building those relationships. I’m actually training those kids too.”

Darty played her college volleyball as a standout at Mercer, and that helps her under-stand the daily grind and everything that goes

into playing in college. This can help her re-lationships with the player as she understands where they are coming from.

“I think that if a kid is mentally or emotion-ally exhausted, then it is easy for me to relate

to them. I’m closer in age with them, I’m a female and I’ve been through it,” Darty said. “I think it does help being that I was a student-athlete before, and I can help them any way that I possibly can.”

Serving up a top assistant coach

south carolina athletics media relations


by jay brownGamecock Club

Hall of Fame Induction: Thursday, September 12th in The Zone at Williams-Brice Stadium. The reception will begin at 5:30 p.m., with the dinner and inductions starting at 6:30 p.m.. The event is open to the public; tickets are $50 per person and may be ordered from the Association of Letter-man (803-760-0534) or the USC Athletic Depart-ment (803-777-4274). Tickets are also available in the Gamecock Club Lobby at the Rice Athletics Center (1304 Heyward Street). The class of 2013 Hall of Fame Class in-cludes: • The late arlo Elkins, who guided Carolina’s women’s tennis team to 17 consecutive NCAA tournaments and 19 overall. Elkins coached the Gamecocks from 1983-2012, with his teams win-ning 438 matches.

• All-America baseball shortstop Drew Meyer, a first-round draft choice by the Texas Rangers, who still holds the SEC record for most base hits

in a season with 120 in 2002. • All-America softball pitcher Megan Mat-

thews (buning), who played from 1998-2002. Matthews won 101 games for Carolina, and led the nation in saves as a true freshman. When Matthews closed out her career in 2002, she was the Gamecocks’ all-time leader in strikeouts, complete games and innings pitched.

• Four-time women’s track All-American Charmaine Howell, who excelled in the 800 me-ters, finishing as runner-up at the NCAA indoor and outdoor championships. Howell won a silver medal in the 2000 Olympics in the 4x400 relay. She also ran at the world championship in 1999.

• Max runager, outstanding punter for coach Jim Carlen’s teams of the late 1970s, who was voted to Carolina’s all time team in 1992. Run-ager punted in the NFL from 1979-1989 for the Eagles, 49ers and Cleveland Browns. He punted for two Super Bowl teams - the Eagles in 1980 and the 49ers in 1984.

• Dave DeCamilla, who anchored the offensive line for coach Paul Dietzel’s Gamecocks from

1968-1970. DeCamilla was named first-team All-ACC in both 1969 and 1970. Carolina won the ACC title in 1969.

• Chris boyle, baseball catcher for coach June Raines from 1981-84 who helped lead the Game-cocks to two College World Series appearances. In his career Boyle drove in 198 runs, second only to Justin Smoak’s 207, and he also had 224 base hits.

• And the late jake bodkin, who was voted first-team All-ACC on coach Warren Giese’s offensive line in 1960, after being named second team in 1959. Bodkin won the Jacobs Block-ing Trophy for the state of SC in 1960 and was drafted by the Buffalo Bills.

also, the annual USC association of Letter-men’s Golf Tournament will take place Friday, September 13th at Cobblestone Golf Course (280 University Club Pwky., blythewood, SC 29016) beginning at 12:00 pm. There are still sponsorship opportunities available:

• block C Sponsor: $1500- advertisement with

company link on Lettermen’s website, ¼ page ad in 2013 Lettermen’s Directory, 3 by 6 ft ban-ner at dining area, 2 sponsor signs on holes 2 and 11, 1 foursome golf team in the golf tournament, 4 passes to Lettermen’s Association Lounge at Williams Brice Stadium and 2 passes in Colonial Life Arena

• Gamecock Sponsor: $1000- advertisement with company link on Lettermen’s website, 2 sponsor signs on holes 3 and 12, 1 foursome golf team in the golf tournament, 2 passes to Letter-men’s Association Lounge at Williams Brice Stadium and 2 passes in Colonial Life Arena

• Varsity Sponsor: $500- Thank you recogni-tion on Lettermen’s website, 2 hole sponsorships

• Hole Sponsor: $200- sign placed at tee-box in recognition of company

all sponsors will be recognized in apprecia-tion for their support on the rules and registra-tion form placed in all carts. Please contact Courtney Leavitt at [email protected] for more info.

Hall of Fame Ceremony, Association of Lettermen Golf Tournament coming up

The Gamecock Club remembers the following member of Gamecock Nation who recently passed away.

robert ramsey: Mr. Ramsey was born

in Spindale, North Carolina. He was an athlete at Tryon High School and he was then drafted to serve in the US Army. He is a graduate of the University of

South Carolina where he played baseball. Robert loved golfing at the Greenville County Club and traveling, especially to volunteer at the US Open Championships. He attended Ryder Cups, British Opens, Olympic Games and he loved watching his Gamecocks play! He was a member of Buncombe Street United Methodist Church.

In Memoriam


Always Remember 9/11

all photos by allen sharpe

South Carolina and Mississippi State played the first NCAA FBS football game after the 9/11 terrorist attacks on Thursday, Sept. 20, 2001. The 18th-ranked Gamecocks claimed a 16-14 victory over the 17th-ranked Bulldogs in the contest. Before resuming the major-college football season, the teams held an American flag that nearly covered a 20-yard stretch of the field as the national anthem was sung and ``God Bless America’’ was played. Then Mississippi governor Ronnie Musgrove addressed the crowd before the seven-minute ceremony that included both schools’ bands playing patriotic songs. Bulldogs coach Jackie Sherrill’s daughter, Bonnie, sang “The Star Spangled Banner,” the bands played “God Bless America” and about 30,000 mini flags were handed out to fans (South Carolina Athletics Media Relations contributed to this report).

In the overall scheme of things, playing Georgia in the second game of the season is a mixed bag. When you win, it is abso-lute bliss and jubilation, which we have had for the last three seasons (though last year’s game was later on the schedule). Losing is just the pits.

It’s not that we did not have our chances. The Gamecocks played well at times. Nick Jones had a breakout game, par-ticularly in the first half. Mike Davis shows flashes of bril-liance and figures to be an outstanding running back for the rest of the season and future. But three big plays that went against USC in the second half really are the dif-ference in the game.

Connor Shaw picked up a big first down on a fourth down play, deep in Georgia territory, only to have the balled slapped out of his hands just before his knee hit the ground, causing the only turnover of the game.

Then a pass to Bruce Ellington, that was on the money and would have been good for another first down on the ensuing drive, was lost in the sun. One of the most unusual looking plays you will ever see. And then on fourth and a half yard to goal, the offense was stopped short. Indeed this is part of the game, and there is no guar-antee that the first two drives would have resulted in points, but Carolina definitely had the momentum, only to give it away. The fourth and goal was the backbreaker as the Bulldogs were able to sustain a drive and run out the rest of the clock.

I have to admit, the defense play was disappointing. The youth of the linebacker corps and defensive backs showed. In par-ticular, the long touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter for the Bulldogs, was a blown assignment, resulted in the 11-point lead that Georgia never relinquished and was the final score of the ballgame. And being unable to rise up and stop the Dawgs on the last drive and get the ball back was tough.

And as much as I do not like to do it, you have to give Georgia credit. The onside kick recovery in the first quarter was big and resulted in three points. Todd Gurley is as good a running back as there is in

the country. I think most teams (if not all) will have difficulty containing him. As I mentioned last week, my expectation was that they would play much better than they did last week and that was the case. It’s a reminder of just how difficult it is to go on the road and win in the SEC.

However, all is not lost. As everyone knows, South Carolina took it to Georgia last year and the preceding year, only to lose two games in the SEC, while Georgia ran the table and won the SEC East both years. Last year, after we humiliated them in Columbia, the Bulldogs came within a play of defeating Alabama and playing (and most likely winning) for the National Championship. In the words of Steve Spurrier in 2005, “why not us?”

The margin for error will be minimal, but running the table is not out of the question. Road games at Arkansas, Ten-nessee and Missouri on successive Sat-urdays will be a difficult task, but not unthinkable. Florida certainly looked beatable on Saturday, which is a long way away, but it is in Columbia. That leaves Kentucky at home on the first weekend in October, Mississippi State the first game at home after the three road games, and, of course, this week’s game at home against Vanderbilt (yes, I know we go to Central Florida and host Coastal Carolina and Clemson, but we’re talking about winning the SEC East; we will worry about these others later).

We certainly cannot afford to have any let down against Vanderbilt. Nobody can forget the 2007 “game on” contest. I have to believe that the coaches will have the team’s full attention to prepare. The Com-modores had a tough loss at home, the same night of our opener with UNC and lost on a long run in the final minute to Mississippi. They will be working hard to get back into the picture, thus, it will be incumbent upon USC to put the boot on them and play the best game of the year.

It is amazing how a couple of wins will help put this loss in the rear view mir-ror. The week will have its difficulties, particularly fans calling local talk shows, tweeting, posting and declaring just how “great” their team is (I would suggest they not count their eggs before they crack). Next Saturday cannot get here soon enough to get this taste out of our mouths and get back on track. Our goals are still obtainable, so let us put the past where it belongs and look to the future with high hopes. The sooner the better!


Our goals are still obtainable

Ed GirardeauContributing

Editor

photo by jenny Dilworth

Connor Shaw finished the Georgia game with 228 yards passing and 75 yards rushing.


Jadeveon Clowney registered his first sack of the season in the Georgia game.

spurs & feathers 911

Documents

vanderbilt team

host team

georgia credit

kick return team

consecutive game

debilitating things

big win

little nap