April 28, 2008

COLUMBIA – For the 10th-straight season, South Carolina women’s golf has earned a spot in the NCAA East Regional. Host University of Georgia is among the six SEC schools in the 21-team field for the event, which will be played May 8-10 at the UGA Golf Course. A total of 63 teams are in the NCAA field with the other two 21-team regionals to be played at University of Texas Golf Course in Austin, Texas, and Lincoln Hills Golf Club in Lincoln, Calif. From each regional, eight teams will advance to the NCAA Championship, which will be played at the University of New Mexico Championship Golf Course in Albuquerque.

“This is a great region for us to be in,” South Carolina head coach Kalen Anderson said. “It will be competitive with so many great teams. We have seen the course once before, which will help us be better prepared, and it is close to home, making travel easier on the team. It is the best case scenario for us.”

The Gamecocks are coming off a fifth-place showing at the SEC Championship last week. Ranked 31st in the Golfstat Head-to-Head Standings, South Carolina is led by sophomore first-team All-SEC selection Bénédicte Toumpsin, who is currently seventh in the league with a 74.07 stroke average. The Gamecocks will need to rely on the veteran leadership of seniors Blythe Worley, Camila Mori and Whitney Simons to improve on their ninth-place showing at last year’s regional.

NCAA East Regional Teams
Auburn
Central Florida
Charleston Southern (Big South Champion)
Duke (ACC Champion)
East Carolina
Florida (SEC Champion)
Furman (Southern Conference Champion)
Georgia
Georgia State
Indiana
Jackson State (SWAC Champion)
Jacksonville State (Ohio Valley Champion)
Louisville
Missouri
New Mexico (Mountain West Champion)
South Carolina
Tennessee
UNC Wilmington (CAA Champion)
Vanderbilt
Virginia
Wake Forest

Individuals: Dori Carter (Mississippi), Emma Degroot (Chattanooga) and Paula Hurtado (Florida International)