July 16, 2004

Columbia, S.C. – No women’s golf program in the nation placed more of its student-athletes on the National Golf Coaches Association All-American Scholar Team than the University of South Carolina, the organization announced today. A total of six Gamecocks were recognized.

Sophomore Erica Battle (marketing/real estate), junior Tiffany Catafygiotu (accounting), senior Adrienne Gautreaux (hotel and restaurant management), sophomore Laura McCaslin (sport/entertainment management), freshman Jenna Pearson (civil engineering) and senior Kory Thompson (sport/entertainment management) were honored for their performance.

The criteria for selection to the All-American Scholar Team are some of the most stringent of all college athletics. The minimum cumulative GPA is 3.50 and student-athletes must have competed in at least 66% of the college’s regularly scheduled competitive rounds during the year.

“We are very proud of the academic accomplishments of our student-athletes,” Head coach Kristi Coggins said. “They work hard in the classroom and deserve to be honored like this. This is a good group, and to see them recognized like this is very special. Year-in and year-out, the women’s golfers have some of the highest GPAs, and that is something we take a great deal of pride in.”

The Gamecock women’s golf program has been showered with academic recognition all year, finishing the fall semester with a South Carolina-best cumulative GPA of 3.430. Battle, Catafygiotu, Gautreaux, McCaslin, Thompson and redshirt freshman Megan Miller also earned spots on the SEC Spring Academic Honor Roll this year.

Gautreaux earned the prestigious Dinah Shore Trophy this May. The award recognizes a female collegiate golfer who excels in both academics and athletics. She must have an overall grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.2 on a 4.0 scale, play in at least 50 percent of her team’s scheduled events and maintain a scoring average of 78.00 or less. Gautreaux, who finished tied for 22nd place at the NCAA Championship, was a First-Team All-SEC selection in 2004, and was chosen based on her outstanding achievements in academics, natural leadership style, dedicated community service work and extraordinary golf ability. She was also recognized as a CoSIDA first-team Academic All-American.