March 5, 2004

The University of South Carolina women’s golf team shot a 17-over-par 305 in the first round of the 23rd LSU/Cleveland Classic to move into fourth place of the 54-hole event held at the University Club in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The Gamecocks are only six strokes off the leader, Alabama, with two more days of golf this weekend at the 6,200 yard, par 72 tournament.

“We played a solid round today,” said Gamecock head coach Kristi Coggins. “We gave some shots back at the end of the round today but we also made 17 birdies and one eagle. There are birdie opportunities out there and we’re looking forward to two more days of competition.

“We feel very comfortable on LSU’s University Club course. Three of our golfers have played here before in the 2002 NCAA East Regional and we’ll be back here in April for the SEC Championship. The greens are very similar to our University Club course in Columbia and we feel that they play to our advantage.”

Last year’s individual medalist, UNC-Wilmington’s Amelie Farrah, leads the field with a one-under-par 71 after 18 holes with USC senior Adrienne Gautreaux tied for second place at even par 72. Gamecock teammates Kory Thompson, Tiffany Catafygiotu and Laura McCaslin are tied for 19th place with a five-over-par 77. Marci Robinson opened with a 79 (+7) to grab a share of 39th place while Columbia native Erica Battle is just one stroke back with an 80 on the first day of competition.

With the threat of inclement weather Friday, tournament officials elected to go with a shotgun start at 8:30 a.m. The rain held off, however, and the 17 teams were all able to complete their opening day rounds.

On Saturday, South Carolina begins its second round of competition at 10:00 a.m. EDT.

South Carolina Golfers
T 2 Adrienne Gautreaux     E 72T 19    Kory Thompson +5  77T 19    Tiffany Catafygiotu +5  77T 39    Marci Robinson   +7  79T 45    Erica Battle           +8  80T19 Laura McCaslin           +5  77  *
*   Playing as an individual

Team Scores1      Alabama              +11 2992   Louisiana State     +13 3013   N. Car. Wilmington  +16 3044   South Carolina          +17 3055   North Carolina          +18 3066   Tulane University   +20 3087   Furman University   +22 3108   Mississippi         +25 3139   Birmingham So.      +26 31410  Louisville                  +27 31511  Mississippi State       +29 31712  Augusta State           +36 32413  North Carolina State    +40 32814  Kentucky                  +41   32915  UAB                          +42    33016  Memphis +44 33217  Winthrop University +52 340