Nov. 3, 2005

Carpet Capital Collegiate Notes
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The No. 16 South Carolina men’s golf team wraps up the fall portion of its schedule, Nov. 4-6, at the Carpet Capital Collegiate in Rocky Face, Ga. The 54-hole tournament is played at The Farm (6,896 yards, Par 72) and is hosted by Georgia Tech. Live scoring will be available on Saturday and Sunday at www.golfstat.com.

THE CARPET CAPITAL COLLEGIATE FIELD
The Carpet Capital Collegiate boasts nine of the nation’s top 25 teams (Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings) in the 15-team field, including top-ranked Georgia, No. 4 Tennessee, No. 5 Florida, No. 7 Duke, No. 14 Georgia State, No. 20 East Tennessee State, and No. 22 Auburn. Alabama, Augusta State, Clemson, Georgia Southerm, NC State, Oklahoma, TCU, Texas Tech and Vanderbilt round out the field.

CAROLINA LINEUP
Head coach Puggy Blackmon’s lineup for the Carpet Capital Collegiate includes senior Eirik Johansen, sophomore Mark Anderson and true freshmen Florian Fritsch, Mark Silvers and Baker Elmore.

Player   Tourneys    Rounds  Stroke Avg. Low Rd.1. Eirik Johansen  3   9   72.22   692. Florian Fritsch    2   6   72.33   683. Mark Anderson    3   9   76.22   724. Mark Silvers  1   3   76.00   715. Baker Elmore  1   3   75.00   72

JOHANSEN LEADING THE WAY
South Carolina’s lone senior is setting an excellent example for his teammates. Johansen has finished in the top 10 in all three of the Gamecocks’ events this fall. The Stavanger, Norway, native placed in a tie for fourth at the TOPY Cup in Tanagura, Japan, to open the season. Johansen posted another fourth-place finish and helped Carolina to the team title at the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate. In USC’s last tournament, he battled a stout field at Isleworth and finished tied for eighth. Johansen, who earned honorable mention All-America honors as a freshman in 2003, boasts 16 top-20 finishes during his career at South Carolina.

FRESHMAN CLASS IMPACT
South Carolina ranks second in Golfstat’s Top 25 Freshman Class Impact Ranking. With three freshmen in Carolina’s top five, the formula ranks the Gamecocks behind only UCLA. True freshmen Baker Elmore, Florian Fritsch, Allen Koon and Mark Silvers, along with redshirt freshman Patrick Cunning have all competed in at least one varsity event this fall.

CAROLINA FINISHES SEVENTH VS. TOUGH ISLEWORTH FIELD
In a field that included 14 of the nation’s top 25 teams, the University of South Carolina men’s golf team finished seventh out of 18 teams on Oct. 25 at the UCF/Isleworth Collegiate Invitational, played at Isleworth Country Club in Windermere, Fla. Eirik Johansen posted his third top-10 finish in as many outings this season, placing in a tie for eighth individually.

The Gamecocks completed the three-round tournament with a team score of 904. Top-ranked Georgia took home the team title with a score of 872. The Bulldogs out-distanced second-place and No. 2 Oklahoma State by seven strokes.

Johansen fired a final-round 77 and finished the tournament at 220. The senior’s eighth-place finish marks the 16th time he has placed in the top 10 while competing at South Carolina.

Florian Fritsch shot 79 on in the final “18” and tied for 32nd with a stroke total of 226. Mark Silvers, who was competing in his first collegiate varsity event, finished tied for 37th. Silvers carded a 79 in the final round and wrapped the tournament with a score of 228.

Mark Anderson’s final round 77 tied Johansen for the best round of the day. Anderson placed in tie for 45th with a total score of 230. Allen Koon tied for 82nd after shooting 85 in the final round.

GAMECOCKS WIN BANK OF TENNESSEE INTERCOLLEGIATE
South Carolina claimed the team tournament title at the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate, which was played at The Ridges Golf and Country Club in Jonesborough, Tenn., Oct. 15-16. It marked the Gamecocks’ first team win since the 2003-04 season, which saw Carolina bring home three event titles.

The Gamecocks had a pair of top-five individuals in Florian Fritsch and Eirik Johansen. Mark Anderson turned in a 12th-place finish. Fritsch, who was playing in his first collegiate event, finished second on the individual leaderboard. All three of his rounds were under par. Fritsch was eight-under for the tournament and just three strokes behind medalist Rhys Davies of East Tennessee State, the tournament’s host.

Johansen placed fourth. He shot a one-over par 73 in the final round and finished three-under for the tournament.

Anderson fired a final round 73 and placed tied for 12th. He was two-over par in the event and notched his fourth top-15 finish at South Carolina.

Baker Elmore carded a 74 in the final round and finished in a tie for 43rd with teammate Patrick Cunning. Cunning shot 76 on the tournament’s final 18 holes.

GAMECOCKS IN THE RANKINGS
In the latest Golfweek/Sagarin rankings, the Gamecocks are No. 16. Invidiually, senior Eirik Johansen ranks No. 15.

GARNET SQUAD
South Carolina has gone to a two-tier tournament schedule this season, sending the Garnet squad to some events. USC’s Garnet team placed fourth at the Raines Development Group Intercollegiate in Florence, S.C., on Sept. 20. The team captured the Billy Joe Patton Intercollegiate title on Oct. 11 in Hickory, N.c. with freshman Allen Koon tying for medalist honors. In its last event, Oct. 23-24, the group placed second at the Coker College Collegiate.