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Sept. 9, 2006

Columbia, S.C. – – The No. 19 South Carolina women’s golf team tees off the 2006-07 season when it competes at the Dick McGuire Invitational played Sept. 11-12 at the University of New Mexico Championship Course.

A mix of experienced players and newcomers dot the Carolina lineup heading into the Dick McGuire, with a true freshman leading the way. Bénédicte Toumpsin, a rookie from Sombreffe, Belgium, earned the Gamecocks’ top spot through qualifying for the event. Though making her collegiate debut, Toumpsin already owns an impressive list of credentials, highlighted by the fact that she is Belgium’s top-ranked junior player and she competed for the European team at the 2005 Ping Junior Solheim Cup which matched the top juniors in Europe against the top juniors in the United States.

A name well-known in Carolina golf circles, Jenna Pearson opens her senior campaign after claiming the Women’s Illinois Open during the offseason. Juniors Camila Mori, Blythe Worley and Laura Raffo round out the Gamecock lineup for the Dick McGuire. Freshman Taylor Barrett, the No. 1 prep player in the state of South Carolina and the two-time state champion from York Comprehensive High School, will also be on the trip to make her collegiate debut, competing as an individual with her score not counting toward the team’s total.

Stiff competition awaits the Gamecocks at the Dick McGuire, as the field consists of Arizona State, BYU, Florida, Hawai’i, UNLV, New Mexico State, North Carolina-Wilmington, Oregon, San Diego State, San Francisco, South Carolina, TCU, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and UTEP.

Carolina competed at the Dick McGuire Invitational a year ago, finishing ninth among the 18 teams in the field with a 300-312-294=906.

The teams will play a total of 54 holes at the event, playing 36 holes on Monday and 18 holes on Tuesday.