Willkommen » is set to kick off at 1 p.m. CT on the SEC Network+.

RIO DE JANEIRO -- Lovesick. Goofy. Flamboyant. Not usually words youd associate with Chinas Olympic team.In Rio, however, a new generation of Chinese Olympians are breaking the mold and shaking up social media.Theres diver Qin Kai, who walked up to the podium with a ring and a rose to propose to his girlfriend He Zi during her Olympic medal ceremony. Was Qin a true romantic or an entitled man gatecrashing a womans big moment? It depends on your view. Whats certain is that his gesture would have been unimaginable even a few years ago.A swimmer who makes faces in interviews and doesnt know when shes won a medal, a table-tennis player who snoozes at the venue, a weightlifter with gleaming gold shoes and a tendency to celebrate prematurely all have made a splash in Rio.Chinese fans call them the mudslides, and they are changing the colorless mainstream.The success of Internet technology has forged a new generation of young Chinese athletes whose mind is much more self-centered, who really enjoy the game itself, who always talk of `me, in sharp contrast with older athletes, who are always ready to talk about `we, the collective interests of the Party and the nation, Beijing-based analyst Shi Shusi told The Associated Press.For decades seen as the humorless products of a state production line, Chinese athletes were ruthlessly on-message at the games, with the Communist Party and their coaches receiving the plaudits after every success, while athletes lambasted themselves for failures.Athletes from a new generation raised with social media and a growing focus on individual rights face looser restrictions on self-expression at the Olympics. Their fans increasingly denounce old-style statements of state loyalty as fake and demand authenticity. Even the Communist Party is getting on board.More expressive athletes have changed the single goal of our chasing after Olympic golds, have changed the stereotypes of the Chinese athletes but injected new meanings into Chinese sports, the partys civilization-building arm said in an editorial on its website.Queen of the mudslides is swimmer Fu Yuanhui, whose exaggerated facial expressions, pop-culture references and enthusiastic style in interviews have made her a darling of social media back home. Cartoons of Fu smiling and sticking her tongue out have gone viral on messaging apps as emojis, as has video of her finding out shed won bronze from a TV interviewer after shed blamed her short arms for letting her down.I never thought so many people could like me. It puts me under a lot of pressure, she said of her millions of new social media followers. Fu even broke a taboo by admitting she wasnt up to her best in a relay because she was on her period.In the normally staid world of weightlifting, Lyu Xiaojun brings Usain Bolt-style swagger. Wearing shiny gold shoes like those of the Jamaican sprinter, Lyu is a showman on the stage, with grins and little nods of the heads when he makes a lift, as if to say: I got this.In the past, nothing less than gold was good enough for China, but Lyu is more laid-back. Instead of being heartbroken to lose out to a Kazakh rival for gold on Wednesday, and even though hed started celebrating before the competition was over, Lyu was charitable in defeat. It was quite an honor to participate in an Olympic Games again. Thats one of the reasons I was smiling all the way, he said. Bashfully, he admitted his flashy footwear -- specially made by a friend who expected me to win gold -- no longer fit the occasion.Sometimes, the crowd-pleasing gestures go wrong. When Sun Yang celebrated his swimming gold medal, he tried to throw his cap to the crowd but flicked it into the pool and had to fish it out before trying again. Still, that didnt dampen the love from his fans.With Chinas sports marketing industry having gone through a revolution of its own in recent years, athletes who make a name for themselves can also expect greater endorsement opportunities if their personality resonates.Unlike older Chinese athletes who grew up watching only the team efforts of the state system, those in Rio also had individual stars like Li Na on the tennis court or Yao Ming in the NBA.Those two fought opposition within the state training system to play around the world and become the first Chinese athletes with a truly global profile. Lis candid style, deadpan delivery and willingness to share personal details made her a favorite with fans worldwide.After reaching her first Grand Slam final in Australia in 2011, there was no praise of the Party in her on-court interview, but plenty of mockery of her husbands snoring. I always wake up every hour, you know, she quipped, cementing her reputation as a goofy new star.Chinese fans on social media are turning their favorite athletes into superstars in the worlds most populous nation, but when angered theyre a force to be reckoned with.After a public feud between Chinese swim star Sun and Australias Mack Horton, who didnt hide his distaste at Suns 2014 doping ban, Chinese fans bombarded Hortons Instagram page with angry comments. When Rio organizers used an inaccurate flag for China, the fans ripped Brazilians as incompetent.There are signs that the new attitudes are spreading to once-rigid Chinese sports officials, too. Chinas team has been the talk of the Rio velodrome not just for their first-ever gold medal but the elegant portraits of historical and legendary figures on their helmets.In Rio, Chinas not the medal factory it used to be -- chances of beating the U.S. in the medal table are fading fast -- but it certainly has attitude.---Tang reported from Phoenix. John Leicester in Rio de Janeiro and AP news researcher Dong Tongjian in Beijing contributed. Matt Wieters Jersey . Clarke was injured while practicing on the Doha Golf Club range after the pro-am on Tuesday. The Northern Irishman arrived at the course on Wednesday hoping to start, but after hitting a few balls on the practice putting green Clarke advised officials he was not fit to play. 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BATON ROUGE - Junior All-SEC striker Jorian Baucom converted two penalty kicks on either side of halftime and junior midfielder Zoe Higgins put the match out of reach with her first career goal late in the second half to lead the LSU Tigers to a 3-0 shutout of Ole Miss in their SEC home opener Friday night at the LSU Soccer Stadium.Baucom made it a perfect 4-for-4 from the penalty spot this season and finished the match with a team-leading six goals for the fall with conversions in the 30th and 70th minutes of play, while Higgins secured the points for the hosts with her first goal as an LSU Tiger when she headed home Marlena Cuturas corner kick in the 77th minute of the second half.The Tigers (5-4, 1-1 SEC) snapped a three game losing streak to the Rebels (4-5, 0-2) with their first win in the series since 2012 while taking a 10-9-4 advantage in 23 matches played between the two sides.Fridays win marked a return to winning ways for the Tigers as they picked up their fourth win in their last five outings in all competitions dating back to another 3-0 win at Indiana back on Sept. 2. They entered SEC play on the back of three-straight non-conference wins, including a 2-1 win at reigning Big East Champion Butler on Sept. 4 and a 1-0 win at Western Kentucky on Sept. 8.As weve been building early in the season, weve been confident that we have a good team. Weve just needed to find the right mix of players, get into the flow of the season and get a little familiar with each other. Weve had maybe five new kids in the lineup at any given time, said LSU head coach Brian Lee. Were starting to gel a little bit. I think tonight is the best weve competed and the best weve played.The home side seized the initiative at the half-hour mark when Baucom drew a penalty with an incisive cutback in the right side of the area where she was hauled down by freshman defender Madison Meador for the Rebels. Baucom sent goalkeeper the wrong way on the ensuing spot kick and finished calmly to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead.Melissa Capocaccia was the victim of a lovely bit of individual skill from senior Summer Clarke midway through the second half as LSUs All-SEC striker skipped past the Rebel defender near the end-line before dropping to the turf under an awkward challenge in the left side of the area. Baucom was true from the spot for the second time as sshe again got the best of Merritt for her sixth goal of the season in the 77th minute.ddddddddddddBaucoms strike rate is impressive as she has now found the net six times in nine appearances this season. She remains LSUs active career scoring leader with 29 goals scored in 51 career appearances as a Tiger.Every time I step up to take a PK, I have a certain routine I like to do. I just pick a spot and try to place it as best I can. Theres not any certain way I like to go, Baucom explained. We definitely had something to prove tonight coming back for our SEC home opener. We just came in with a mindset that we had to be aggressive, get into every tackle, win headers, get stuck into tackles.The win means everything. I think we just need to take this momentum into Sunday, and just start thinking of it one game at a time. If we stay consistent with the way we played tonight, we can get a lot of wins.The match was beyond the Rebels reach in the 77th minute when freshman Jade Clarke won LSUs fourth and final corner kick of the night with her run down the left flank. Cutura picked out Higgins near the top of the six-yard box for a thumping header into the back of the net for her first goal of the season and a commanding 3-0 lead.It was exciting, I finally got one, Higgins said of scoring her first goal for the Tigers. Marlena does a great job of putting those corner kicks right in the danger zone. We feel like all we have to do is step out and get our head on it, and its probably going in. Thats all I really had to do. We came out strong and just put the game away like we hoped to in the second half. Its SEC play, so we know we have to buckle down.Redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Caroline Brockmeier was steady once again in defense as she saved all four shots on target she faced from the Rebels in the 90 minutes for her fourth clean sheet of the season.The Tigers return to non-conference play on Sunday afternoon when they welcome Lamar to the LSU Soccer Stadium for a match that is set to kick off at 1 p.m. CT on the SEC Network+. They will head back on the road next week to face 10th-ranked South Carolina on Thursday at 6 p.m. CT before a trip to Vanderbilt next Sunday, Sept. 25, with kickoff set for 1 p.m.