Oct. 7, 2007

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Senior Blythe Worley tied her career best with a final-round 70 to tie with teammate Benedicte Toumpsin for 31st place in the Lady Tar Heel Invitational at UNC Finley Golf Course. The duo helped South Carolina to a 13th-place finish with a total score of 902 (311-296-295).

Worley’s comeback from a first-round 81 was dramatic as she carded a 73 on Saturday before the career-tying 70 0n Sunday. In the shotgun start Sunday, the senior started on the 14th hole, posting steady pars until a birdie on No. 2. She improved to -2 for the round with a birdie on the 10th as well.

Toumpsin had more of an up-and-down tournament, opening with a 77, posting a 72 Saturday and carding a final-round 75 to finish at 224. The Gamecocks’ sophomore leader picked up a pair of birdies in the final round, but uncharacteristically posted five bogeys, all on the back nine.

Senior Camila Mori finished two strokes behind her teammates at 226 to take 39th place. Overcoming a first-round 79, Mori shot 73 and 74 on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. She started on No. 13 in the final round and birdied the second hole she played. A bogey on the par-4 16th brought her back to even par, where she stayed until a bogey on No. 5. Fighting back to even with a birdie on the eighth hole, she stumbled down the stretch with a pair of bogeys in her final four holes.

Freshman Erika Holmen continued her steady improvement over the three-day even, shooting 76 on Sunday after rounds of 77 and 78 on Friday and Saturday, respectively. She got off to a rocky start with a double bogey on her first hole, the 15th, but a birdie on 17 got her back on track. She finished 61st. In the first tournament she has finished this season, senior Laura Raffo took 89th at 244 (78-83-83).

No. 1 Duke defended its tournament title on its rival’s home course. This year’s victory was much more hard fought as the Blue Devils topped Tennessee by just two strokes, compared to the 21 it won by in 2006. Amana Blumenherst completed the Duke sweep, as she was the individual medalist at 209 (-7), defeating Georgia’s Alina Lee by three strokes.

The Gamecocks have three weeks to prepare for their next outing at the UA-Ann Rhoades Intercollegiate, which begins on Oct. 26.

FINAL TEAM SCORES
1 Duke University 302-287-288=877 (+13)
2 Tennessee, U. of 297-289-293=879 (+15)
T3 Auburn University 301-293-291=885 (+21)
T3 Georgia, U. of 298-293-294=885 (+21)
T5 Vanderbilt Univ. 297-299-290=886 (+22)
T5 Wake Forest Univ. 295-298-293=886 (+22)
7 North Carolina State 301-292-296=889 (+25)
8 Texas A&M University 302-294-296=892 (+28)
9 Virginia, Univ. of 299-302-296=897 (+33)
10 Oklahoma State Univ. 314-293-292=899 (+35)
11 North Carolina, U of 306-303-291=900 (+36)
12 Tulsa, University of 296-302-303=901 (+37)
13 South Carolina, U of 311-296-295=902 (+38)
14 Florida State Univ. 306-296-303=905 (+41)
15 East Carolina Univ. 311-302-293=906 (+42)
16 Texas, Univ. of 306-307-299=912 (+48)
17 Kentucky, U. of 307-309-314=930 (+66)
18 Charleston, Coll. of 312-315-313=940 (+76)