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Oct. 4, 2006

The Basics
The South Carolina women’s golf team competes at the 2006 Lady Tar Heel Invitational played at the par-72 UNC Finley Golf Course from Oct. 6-8. Of the 18 teams competing at the Lady Tar Heel, 11 are ranked among the top 25 teams in the nation, with four of those teams ranked in the top 10. In addition, 29 of the nation’s top 100 players are included in the field.

South Carolina Lineup For The Lady Tar Heel
Bénédicte Toumpsin (Fr.) 71.67 Stroke Average
Jenna Pearson (Sr.) 72.00 Stroke Average
Camila Mori (Jr.) 76.33 Stroke Average
Taylor Barrett (Fr.) 78.00 Stroke Average
Whitney Simons (Fr.) First 2006-07 Tournament

Lady Tar Heel Invitational Field
No. 5 Auburn, College of Charleston, No. 2 Duke, No. 11 Florida State, Kentucky, No. 24 LSU, No. 14 North Carolina, NC State, No. 16 Ohio State, No. 20 Oklahoma State, South Carolina, No. 15 Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Tulsa, No. 18 Vanderbilt, No. 9 Virginia, No. 8 Wake Forest.

Ranked Players Competing At The Lady Tar Heel
No. 5 Lauren Hunt (North Carolina)
No. 6 Nicole Smith (Tennessee)
No. 8 Jacqui Concolino (Vanderbilt)
No. 10 Leah Wigger (Virginia)
No. 11 Amanda Blumenherst (Duke)
No. 12 Anna Grzebien (Duke)
No. 13 Caroline Westrup (Florida State)
No. 19 Whitney Brummett (Florida State)
No. 20 Jessica Lovell (Auburn)
No. 23 Jenny Lee (Duke)
No. 25 Jennie Arseneault (Virginia)
No. 28 Bénédicte Toumpsin (South Carolina)
No. 29 Jennifer Pandolfi (Duke)
No. 32 Jenna Pearson (South Carolina)
No. 35 Dolores White (Wake Forest)
No. 36 Margaret Shirey (Auburn)
No. 42 Pernilla Lindberg (Oklahoma State)
No. 46 Melissa Eaton (LSU)
No. 48 Marci Turner (Tennessee)
No. 52 Amanda Goins (Wake Forest)
No. 55 Chris Brady (Vanderbilt)
No. 68 Nanette Hill (Wake Forest)
No. 70 Ashley Knoll (Texas A&M)
No. 71 Dana Je (Ohio State)
No. 76 Jean Chua (Wake Forest)
No. 79 Jennifer Cassidy (Ohio State)
No. 84 Nicole Hage (Auburn)
No. 91 Carling Coffing (Ohio State)
No. 99 Alison Whitaker (Duke)

* Team and Individual Rankings According To Golfweek

Last Time Out
South Carolina opened its season with a fifth-place finish out of 17 teams at the Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitatonal, posting a 295-288-307=890 (+14). The Gamecocks were 21 strokes behind tournament winner Arizona State, who ran away with the team championship, defeating the rest of the field by 14 strokes. Seeing her first action as a collegian, freshman Bénédicte Toumpsin finished an impressive tied for second on the individual leader board with a 71-69-75=215 (-4). Senior Jenna Pearson was also very strong for Carolina, finishing in a tie for fifth with a 72-67-77=216 (-3).

Pearson Matches McPherson’s School Record
Senior Jenna Pearson matched a school record for lowest single round when she carded a 67 in the second round at the season-opening Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational. Pearson’s effort becomes even more impressive when you consider that the course was a par-73 course. Pearson’s performance matche the existing record of 67, set by current LPGA pro Kristy McPherson, who fired a first-round 67 at the 2001 SEC Championship, played on the par-72 University of Florida Golf Course. McPherson went on to win individual medalist honors at the SEC Championship that year before duplicating that honor the next year en route to leading the Gamecocks to the 2002 SEC Championship.

Pearson, Toumpsin Set A New First
Both Jenna Pearson and Bénédicte Toumpsin posted rounds in the 60s at the season-opening Dick McGuire Invitational, with Pearson firing a second-round 67 and Toumpsin posting a second-round 69. In doing so, Pearson and Toumpsin became the first pair of Gamecock teammates to both shoot a round in the 60s in the same tournament, much less in the same round.

An LPGA Indicator?
Throughout South Carolina’s women’s golf history, only 10 players have ever shot a round in the 60s, with Jenna Pearson and Bénédicte Toumpsin the only current players on the list. Of the eight remaining players on that list, five have gone on to play professionally. Kristy McPherson, Siew Ai Lim, Marianne Morris and Debbie Eckroth are either currently on the LPGA Tour or were at one time, with Adrienne Gautreaux currently on the Duramed FUTURES Tour.

Toumpsin A Name To Remember
Freshman Bénédicte Toumpsin is a player who collegiate golf observers will become familiar with this year. The Sombreffe, Belgium native arrived at South Carolina with a very impressive résumé, highlighted by the fact that she competed for the European team in competition against the United States at the 2005 PING Junior Solheim Cup. Toumpsin came to Carolina ranked No. 1 in the Belgian Women’s Rankings. She won the 2005 Belgian Master’s among numerous other major tournament victories. A member of the Belgian National Team since age 13, Toumpsin arrived at Carolina with a +2.3 handicap.

South Carolina At Last Year’s Lady Tar Heel
The Lady Tar Heel Invitational is hardly unfamiliar territory for the Gamecocks, as South Carolina was in last year’s field, tying for ninth place at 57 over par with a 325-303-293=921. Jenna Pearson was the Gamecock leader at the event, finishing in a tie for 25th at 10 over par with a 79-75-72=226. Blythe Worley, Camila Mori and Whitney Simons also competed for Carolina at last year’s Lady Tar Heel, with Worley coming in at 16 over par, Mori at 20 over par and Simons at 22 over par.

Back-To-Back National Team of the Year
South Carolina enters the 2006-07 season as the two-time reigning NGCA All-Scholar Team of the Year, as the Gamecocks earned the recognition in 2004-05 and again in 2005-06. The honor is presented to the team with the highest combined grade point average in the nation. Several players on this year’s roster were part of the last two teams to win the award, as Jenna Pearson, Blythe Worley, Laura Raffo, Whitney Simons and Meredith Taylor all look to make it three years in a row should they accomplish the feat again this year.

Simons Is SEC’s Best
Speaking of academic awards, South Carolina junior Whitney Simons is the reigning SEC Women’s Golf Scholar-Athlete of the Year after winning the award in 2006. Simons has appeared on South Carolina’s President’s List (perfect 4.0 grade-point average) every semester she has been enrolled in school. Simons triple majors in international business, marketing and finance and is a Spanish minor. Making her GPA more impressive is the fact that the international business school at South Carolina is the top-ranked school in the nation. Simons is the first Gamecock ever to earn SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors.

About The Newcomers
South Carolina Head Coach Kristi Coggins added three newcomers to this year’s roster in freshmen Bénédicte Toumpsin, Taylor Barrett and Arliss Hoy. Toumpsin arrived in Columbia as the No. 1-ranked player in the Belgian women’s rankings and represented Europe in competition against the United States at the 2005 PING Junior Solheim Cup. Barrett was the top-ranked prep player in the state of South Carolina and was a two-time state champion while competing for York Comprehensive HS. Hoy is a two-time San Antonio city champion as well as a two-time district champion.

What’s Next
South Carolina is back in action when it travels to Auburn, Ala., to compete at The Derby Invitational from Oct. 27-29. The tournament will be played at the par-72, 7,259-yard Auburn University Club At Yarbrough Farms.