May 6, 2004

The University of South Carolina women’s golf team fired a 28-over-par 316 Thursday to grab a share of 14th place in the 2004 NCAA East Regionals, held at the Mission Inn Golf & Tennis Resort in Howie-in-the-Hills, Florida. The Gamecocks tee off in Friday’s second round beginning at 12:30 p.m. along with Furman and Tennessee.

Duke leads the field of 21 teams after shooting a 286 (two-under-par) today in the first round. North Carolina’s Meaghan Francella leads the field by one stroke as she shot a three-under-par 69 to open the Regional.

Adrienne Gautreaux paced all Gamecock golfers as the senior team captain fired her fifth par-or-better round of the season Thursday with a 71. She is tied for fourth place. Senior Marci Robinson shot a 79 (+7) Thursday to tie for 50th place. Freshman Jenna Pearson is tied for 83rd place with teammate Kory Thompson after both opened with an 83 (+11). Sophomore Erica Battle is one stroke back with an 84 Thursday and is tied for 89th place.

The 54-hole, 6,165-yard tournament began Thursday morning at 8:10 a.m. and runs through Saturday’s final round. Twenty-one teams are participating in each of the three regionals with the top eight teams from each advancing to the 2004 NCAA Championships to be held May 18-21st in Auburn, Alabama. Each team is comprised of five golfers with the best four scores counting towards the team’s total score each day.

This is the sixth consecutive NCAA Regional appearance for the Gamecocks and the 10th overall. Under head coach Kristi Coggins, the team has advanced to the Regional eight times in her nine years.

Results from each day’s competition will be posted on the South Carolina website (www.uscsports.com) after the completion of each round. Fans can follow the NCAA Regionals by watching the live hole-by-hole coverage on the Golf Stat website (www.golfstat.com).

Gamecock GolfersT4th    Adrienne Gautreaux   71  (-1)T50th   Marci Robinson   79  (+7)T83rd   Jenna Pearson 83 (+11)T83rd   Kory Thompson 83  (+11)T89th   Erica Battle   84  (+12)