May 16, 2002

Columbia, S.C. – After firing 301 in the first round of the NCAA East Regional in Roswell, Ga., the University of South Carolina is tied with UAB for 14th. South Carolina is just two strokes back from a six-way tie for sixth. Clemson leads the 27-team field with a two-under-par 286. Georgia Tech stands in second, followed by Southeastern Conference foe, Tennessee.

Freshman Alex Hamilton shot even-par to lead the Gamecocks in their seventh-consecutive appearance in the NCAA Regionals. The Aiken, S.C. native is tied for 12th. In his second NCAA Regional Nash Elliot shot a three-over par 75 to place 46th.

Tied for 67th is freshman Martin Rominger, who blasted 76 in the first round of action at the Ansley Golf Club’s Settin’ Down Creek. Matt Robinson shot 78 to place 91st will Jonathan Jackson holds steady in 116th with 81.

D.J. Trahan, the Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year, scored 33 on the front and 36 on the back, has a 1-shot lead over Matt Weibring of Georgia Tech, Brandt Snedeker of Vanderbilt, who qualified as an individual, Tyler McKeever of Georgia Southern and Jim Fuller of Penn State.

The Gamecocks resume NCAA action with Virginia and College of Charleston tomorrow at 8:42 a.m. The top ten teams of the NCAA East Regional will advance to the NCAA Championships.

Gamecock Finishes

T12 Alex Hamilton South Carolina 72 72 E

T46 Nash Elliot South Carolina 75 75 +3

T67 Martin Rominger South Carolina 76 76 +4

T91 Matt Robinson South Carolina 78 78 +6

T116 Jonathan Jackson South Carolina 81 81 +9

rank team scores

1 Clemson 286 *2

2 Georgia Tech 291 +3

3 Tennessee 295 +6

T4 North Carolina, U of 295 +7

T4 Penn State U. 295 +7

T6 Auburn University 299 +11

T6 Augusta State U. 299 +11

T6 Furman University 299 +11

T6 Georgia Southern U. 299 +11

T6 North Florida, U. of 299 +11

T6 Wake Forest Univ. 299 +11

T12 Florida, U. of 300 +12

T12 Georgia, U. of 300 +12

T14 South Carolina 301 +13

T14 UAB 301 +13

16 Coastal Carolina 302 +14

T17 Charleston, Coll. of 303 +15

T17 Jacksonville St. 303 +15

19 Wm. & Mary, Coll. of 305 +17

20 Virginia*Commonwealth 306 +18

21 Rhode Island, U. of 307 +19

T22 Duke University 308 +20

T22 Michigan State U. 308 +20

24 Virginia, U. of 312 +24

25 South Alabama, U. of 313 +25

26 Yale University 314 +26

27 Iona College 315 +27