Oct. 4, 2007

COLUMBIA – South Carolina women’s golf ends a two-week break when play begins at the Lady Tar Heel Invitational on Fri., Oct. 5, at UNC Finley Golf Course in Chapel Hill. The 18-team field boasts nine top-25 programs, including top-ranked Duke and three others in the top 10. The Gamecocks are bringing three seniors – Camila Mori, Laura Raffo and Blythe Worley – their top player, Bénédicte Toumpsin, and freshman Erika Holmen.

“We have had great practice rounds between tournaments, and this is a great field to test ourselves,” South Carolina head coach Kristi Coggins said. “I’m looking forward to seeing how our players score on a course that will produce great scores for everyone in the field.”

Toumpsin leads the team with a 72.50 average, sixth-best in the Southeastern Conference. She opened the season with a fourth-place finish at the Cougar Classic, and closed the Mason Rudolph Women’s Championship with a season-best round of 70 to tie for 22nd place. With a 75.50 average, Holmen is second on the squad in her first season, coming off the Mason Rudolph where she opened with a season-low 70. Worley is third with a 76 average. The senior has been steady in both tournaments this season, posting 226 at the Cougar Classic and 230 at the Mason Rudolph. Mori made her season debut at the Mason Rudolph, closing with a 77 after opening with a 75. She has 77.33 average heading into the Lady Tar Heel Invitational. Raffo, a senior, rounds out the group, looking to make her first finish of the season. She played in the first two rounds of the Cougar Classic before pulling out of the event.

Of the 18 teams in the field, 15 played in the event last year, which Duke won by 21 strokes over Auburn. The Gamecocks finished tied for ninth in the 2006 tournament. Texas A&M’s Ashley Knoll was last year’s individual medalist, running away with the title by eight strokes.

In addition to top-ranked Duke, other nationally ranked teams in the field are #5 Auburn, #6 Oklahoma State, #10 Georgia, #12 Vanderbilt, #13 Wake Forest, #14 Tennessee and #23 North Carolina. The Gamecocks, who received votes in the poll this week, also face College of Charleston, East Carolina, Florida State, Kentucky, North Carolina State, Texas A&M, Tulsa and Virginia.