May 20, 2005

STANFORD, Calif. – Behind a balanced team effort, the South Carolina men’s golf team sits in ninth place heading into the final 18 holes of the NCAA West Regional in Stanford, Calif., at Stanford Golf Course. The Gamecocks shot a team score of 288 on Friday and moved up one spot. Senior Alex Hamilton, junior Eirik Johansen and freshman Mark Anderson are all tied for 30th-place. The top 10 teams at the conclusion of Saturday’s round will advance to the 2005 NCAA Championship, June 1-4, at Caves Valley Golf Course, near Baltimore, Md.

“I’m very proud of this group. Despite tough starts, they’ve fought back and remained in the hunt,” head coach Puggy Blackmon said. ” We’re becoming a little more comfortable with the layout each round. We have been at a disadvantage due to the fact that the majority of the Western schools have played the Stanford Course on numerous occasions.”

Hamilton paced the Gamecocks by shooting an even-par 70 on Friday. South Carolina started on the back nine, and Hamilton birdied No. 17 and No. 18 and kicked off his final nine holes with a birdie on No. 1. Carolina’s lone senior is 74-70=144 for the tournament.

“Alex showed tremendous tenacity yesterday after being five over part through the first five holes and finishing with a 74,” Blackmon stated. “He was impressive today and could have been much lower if his putts had fallen.”

Anderson duplicated his opening round and is 72-72=144 after two days of play. He got off to a rough start with a double-bogey on No. 10, but fought back and had four birdies the rest of the way.

Johansen followed up his team-leading 70 on Thursday with a 74 on Friday to move to 70-74=144 for the tournament.

Junior Robert Svensson battled back from a rough day on Thursday and collected three bridies over the final nine holes to card a 72. He sits at 80-72=152 and is tied for 99th.

Redshirt junior West Streib rounded out the Gamecocks’ lineup with a 78. Streib is 73-78=151 and currently tied for 90th.

No. 1-seed UNLV fired a team score of 277 on Friday and leads the field at two-under for the tournament. Individually, BYU’s Oscar Alvarez (63-74=134, -6) remains atop the individual standings.

Other SEC teams competing in the West Regional include No. 3-seed Auburn in 14th place. The Tigers are +23 (290-293=583) through two days. No. 11-seed LSU (294-301=595) is +35 and in 20th place.

The final 18 holes of the West Regional will be played on Saturday. Live results are available online at www.golfstatresults.com.

“The team is definitely starting to peak and show the mental toughness and patience required for a difficult championship course and NCAA play,” Blackmon said. “Our best golf is yet to be played and hopefully tomorrow will be a good one. There’s very little difference in the top 15 teams here, so we’ll have to play well to advance.”

SOUTH CAROLINA INDIVIDUALST30 Mark Anderson, 72-72=144 (+4)T30 Alex Hamilton, 74-70=144 (+4)T30 Eirik Johansen, 70-74=144 (+4)T90 West Streib, 73-78=151 (+8)T99 Robert Svensson, 80-72=152 (+12)

TEAM LEADERBOARD1   UNLV            -2   -3     281     277     5582   Brigham Young Univ.     +2   +4     278     284     562T3  New Mexico      +8  +4  284     284     568T3  Washington      +8  +2  286     282     568T5  Pepperdine      +11     +12     279     292     571T5  Arizona State U.        +11     +1  290     281     571T7  San Diego State         +16     +10     286     290     576T7  UCLA            +16     +8  288     288     5769   South Carolina      +17     +8  289     288     57710  Southern California         +18     +12     286     292     57811  Arizona             +19     +16     283     296     579T12     St. Mary's-California       +20      +5     295     285     580T12     Stanford University         +20      +11    289     291     58014  Auburn          +23      +13    290     293     58315  UC Riverside        +25      +10    295     290     585T16     Oregon          +30     +18     292     298     590T16     Denver          +30      +16    294     296     59018  South Alabama       +32      +17    295     297     59219  Fresno State        +34      +19    295     299     59420  Louisiana State         +35     +21     294     301     595T21     Cal Poly - SLO      +44     +27     297     307     604T21     Texas-Arlington         +44     +27     297     307     60423  Colorado State      +45     +22     303     302     60524  Princeton           +47     +21     306     301     60725  Illinois State          +52     +29     303     309     61226  Samford University      +54      +22    312     302     61427  Central Conn. St.       +59      +37    302     317 619