Feb. 12, 2011

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UCF Challenge Tournament Notes | Golfstat Live Scoring

By Wes Todd
Assistant Media Relations Director

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina’s women’s golf team will begin the second half of its 2010-11 season on Sunday as it takes on a 17-team field at the UCF Challenge, which runs Sunday through Tuesday at RedTail Golf Club in Sorrento, Fla.

The Gamecocks enter the spring season ranked No. 32 in the nation by Golfweek/Sagarin and No. 35 in the latest Golfstat Head-to-Head ratings. Despite the team’s youth – three freshmen and at least one sophomore competed in every tournament in the fall – Carolina has seen a measure of success against the nation’s 19th-toughest schedule, according to GolfWeek.

South Carolina will send out a roster of one junior, two sophomores and two true freshmen for this week’s UCF Challenge. Leading the way is junior Katie Burnett (Brunswick, Ga.), who has played in every event through her two-plus years in the Garnet and Black. Sophomore Amanda Strang (Jonstorp, Sweden) also continues her streak of never missing an event as she plays in her 17th consecutive tournament. Fellow sophomore Meredith Swanson (Roanoke, Va.) will be making her second tournament appearance of the season.

Freshmen Katie Rose Higgins (Charleston, S.C.) and Samantha Swinehart (Lancaster, Ohio) complete the Gamecock lineup as both have been impressive throughout the early part of the season and also in recent qualifying matches. Swinehart will be playing in the No. 1 slot this week for Carolina, a first for her. Freshman Suzie Lee (East Northport, N.Y.) will miss her first event of the season as she recovers from a wrist injury.

The Gamecocks will be part of a tournament field that includes six teams ranked in the latest Golfweek/Sagarin Top 50, led by No. 14 Tulane and No. 21 Texas. SEC foe Ole Miss is ranked No. 33 – one spot behind the Gamecocks – while Minnesota comes in at No. 42 and Baylor at No. 48. Kentucky will be the third SEC team in the field, and in-state foe Coastal Carolina also will be in attendance. Augusta State, East Carolina, Georgia State, Illinois State, Kennesaw State, Memphis, UCF, USF and UT-San Antonio round out the field.

Tee times and pairings will be posted later in the day Saturday. Live results and more information is available through golfstatresults.com. Fans can also receive periodic updates throughout this week’s tournament by following @GamecockWGolf on Twitter.