Feb. 14, 2007

By Miquel Jacobs, South Carolina Media Relations

Bénédicte Toumpsin didn’t plan on sitting back and learning as a spectator in her first season on the women’s golf team at the University of South Carolina. She came in with a clear-cut idea of what she would like to happen out on the golf course and didn’t compromise with herself at all.

“I want to win championships,” Toumpsin said. “My goal for this season is of course to be the best that I can, but except for the NCAA championship I don t have any special goals. I just want to go and play each tournament and see what happens.”

Her first tournament during the fall season showed that a lot can happen for the freshman from Belgium this year. At the Dick McGuire Invitational in Albuquerque, N.M., Toumpsin finished tied for second overall with a weekend score of 71-69-75=215 (-4). Toumpsin’s second round 69 made her one of only 10 players in South Carolina history to shoot a round in the 60’s.

“I like to win,” Toumpsin said. “Every time I go out there I want to win. That’s why I do well because I hate to not win. I work all the time at trying to get better and better.”

Toumpsin’s road to Columbia began with an impressive résumé including carrying a No. 1 ranking in the Belgian women’s rankings. Toumpsin competed as a member of the Belgian National Team since she was 13 years old, winning Belgian Player of the Year awards for her age group in 2002 and 2006 and leading the national team to a victory at the 2005 Nation`s Cup. The winner of numerous individual tournaments during her junior career, Toumpsin’s highlights include victories in the 2005 Belgian Masters, the International Junior Ladies of Sweden, the Consolation Cup of the Spanish Lady Junior International Championship and the Federal Tour of Belgium.

However it was when she represented Europe in the 2005 PING Junior Solheim Cup – a tournament that plugs Europe’s top junior players against America’s top junior players – that Toumpsin pinpoints as the moment that led to her trek to South Carolina.

“I had been to the USA to play in tournaments like the Junior Orange Bowl International Golf Championship in Miami and the Solheim Cup in Indianapolis,” Toumpsin said. “It’s always special for a European junior golfer to come and play (in American tournaments). They are the best opportunities to get a chance to meet some American college coaches and to get a scholarship.”

Toumpsin’s scholarship offer to play for the University of South Carolina seemed like a perfect fit. She enjoyed the “perfect weather – not too hot like Florida and not too cold like Michigan.” She knew that she wouldn’t have a difficult time adjusting to collegiate academics due to the stricter standards placed in European schools, and she recently was named to the school’s Dean’s List. The only other factor that would decide where she played was how comfortable she felt with the coaching staff.

“I had a good (connection) with Coach Coggins when she recruited me in Switzerland during the European Girls Team Championship,” Toumpsin said. “The contact with the coach is really important, especially in golf where the confidence is a huge factor of success.”

In addition to excelling at golf, Toumpsin is also an avid skier and tennis player. A natural competitor, Toumpsin always worked her hardest in all the she did, but it was golf that she ultimately decided to stick with. As the spring season rolls around and she works towards winning an SEC Championship, Toumpsin is positive that she will continue to improve her game as will the rest of her team.

“If I focus and concentrate on my game, I’m sure that good things will happen for me and my team,” Toumpsin said. “Hopefully I will also win some tournaments. Golf is a game where we win based on what we do individually on the golf course, so it is a little bit of (just myself) that will decide my results.”

After being named everything from “fiercest competitor” to having the “sweetest swing” by her teammates, it is almost certain that Toumpsin’s competitive nature and skill will indeed yield great results throughout her career as Gamecock.