April 24, 2009

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The South Carolina men’s golf team will play its final event of the 2008-09 regular season this weekend when it travels to Charlottesville, Va., for the 22nd edition of the Cavalier Classic, being played at the par 72, 6,879-yard Birdwood Golf Course. Fresh off a fourth-place tie at the SEC Championships, the 36-hole event will be a final tune-up before NCAA Regional bids are released in early May.

South Carolina will send out a lineup of George Bryan IV, Wesley Bryan, Mark Silvers III, Patrick Rada and fifth-year senior Patrick Cunning, who will be making his first start of the season after earning the final slot in qualifying this week.

“I’m really proud of Patrick for stepping up and earning that last spot,” Gamecock head coach Bill McDonald said. “It’s really good to see a fifth-year senior working hard and earning his way into the lineup. We’re hoping to finish the season on a high note as we get ready for regionals.”

Cunning played in eight events last season, including the NCAA East Regional. His top finish was a tie for 10th place at the Hootie at Bulls Bay. The left-handed senior from Aiken, S.C., carries a career stroke average of 74.37 in 19 career varsity events.

The 11th-ranked Gamecocks will headline the field that includes No. 27 Augusta State, No. 50 Virginia, Akron, Appalachian State, East Carolina, Francis Marion, George Mason, James Madison, Liberty, Longwood, Maryland, Radford, Rutgers, Seton Hall, Towson, UNC Wilmington and Villanova.

South Carolina will be paired with the host Cavaliers and Augusta State for the first round, which gets underway at 9:30 a.m. Saturday. There will be no live scoring for the event, but results and a recap of each day’s play will be available on GamecocksOnline.com.