Oct. 5, 2008

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – No. 19 South Carolina improved its final standing by one position Sunday, taking home a 12th-place finish from the Lady Tar Heel Invitational, which was stocked with several of the nation’s top teams. The Gamecocks finished one spot higher than in last year’s tournament.

“The course was playing tough,” head coach Kalen Anderson said. “If you weren’t in the fairway it was difficult. We struggled as a team putting, that’s where we lost a lot of our shots. And to be honest, so did most teams. We’re going to address that this week and move forward.”

Wake Forest took the team title with a total score of 876 (+12). The Deacons led wire-to-wire and finished 12 shots clear of runner-up North Carolina (+24). Vanderbilt shot its best round of the tournament to finish third at 892 (+28).

For the second straight week, freshman Katie Burnett led the Gamecocks as she shot a final-round 76 (+4) to finish at 8-over and in a tie for 17th place. Burnett started with a birdie at her opening hole, the 13th, but gave it back and then some with a bogey at the next hole and a disastrous triple-bogey at the 15th. Burnett got two strokes back with birdies at No. 4 and No. 6, but finished with three bogeys and one birdie over her last six holes to shoot her second 76 of the tournament.

Junior Benedicte Toumpsin matched Burnett’s 76 Sunday to finish at 12-over and a tie for 35th place. Toumpsin also started strong with two birdies in her first six holes, but a 40 on the front nine and a three-birdie, three-bogey back nine left her at 4-over.

Senior Meredith Taylor showed the most improvement over the three days, lowering her score by five strokes from Friday to Sunday with a 77 (+5) in the final round. Aside from a double-bogey at No. 7 and a triple at the 17th, Taylor had a strong round with three birdies and three bogeys to finish at 240 (+24) and a tie for 72nd place.

Taylor Barrett and Corrine Carr struggled in the final round, shooting 80 (+8) and 83 (+11), respectively. Carr finished in a tie for 65th at 22-over and Barrett was tied for 79th at 27-over.

Two Wake Forest players – Jean Chua and Natalie Sheary – and Virginia’s Catherine O’Donnell finished in a three-way tie for individual medalist honors, all with an even-par 216. The UNC Finley Golf Course was at its toughest with only 13 rounds of par or better Sunday, and only two rounds under 70 the entire tournament.

South Carolina will have little time to rest as the Gamecocks head to Knoxville, Tenn., next weekend for the Mercedes-Benz Championships. Play begins Friday at Fox Den Country Club.

SOUTH CAROLINA RESULTS

TEAM STANDINGS