March 5, 2004

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Spurred by the strength of team victories in each of its last two tournaments, the South Carolina men’s golf team has moved into eighth and 11th positions, respectively, in the Golfstat Head-to-Head Rankings and the Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index.

The Gamecocks will look to continue to build on those rankings when they return to action on March 8-9 at the Coastal Carolina Invitational in Murrells Inlet, S.C. The 54-hole event will be contested at the par-72, 6,950-yard, TPC of Myrtle Beach. Joining South Carolina in the 14-team field will be Arkansas, Charlotte, Coastal Carolina, East Carolina, East Tennessee State, Furman, Kansas State, Long Beach State, Louisville, Michigan, Pepperdine, South Alabama, Texas-Arlington, UCF, Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Wake Forest.

In the Golfstat Head-to-Head Rankings, the Gamecocks boast an overall record of 68-22-1 (.753), including a solid 20-10 mark against the top-25 teams in the poll. South Carolina is a combined 7-2 on the year against SEC top-25 schools, Georgia (2-1), Tennessee (3-0) and Kentucky (2-1), holding a 106-stroke advantage over those schools in head-to-head match-ups. Within its district, USC holds a 24-8 (.750) record, including a 17-4 (.809) record against fellow SEC teams.

Leading the way for the Gamecocks has been junior Martin Rominger and sophomore Eirik Johansen. Both hold sub-73 stroke averages on the year, with Johansen sitting at 72.1 and Rominger close behind at 72.4. The two have combined to post eight top-10 finishes in 2003-04, including Johansen’s second-place effort and Rominger’s fifth-place showing in South Carolina’s dominant 24-stroke team win at the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate. Johansen is ranked 33rd in the latest Golfweek/Sagarin Individual Rankings.

Junior Alex Hamilton has recorded back-to-back top-20 finishes of his own, tying for ninth place at the Hawaii/Turtle Bay Intercollegiate and placing in a tie for 11th at the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate. On the year, Hamilton is fourth on the team with a 74.0 scoring average.

A recap of the Gamecocks’ daily results from the Coastal Carolina Invitational will be available at www.uscsports.com, while full tournament results will be posted at www.coastal.edu/athletics.