Feb. 21, 2007

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The Basics

The South Carolina women’s golf team competes at the 2007 Lady Puerto Rico Classic played at the par-72 Coco Beach golf course in Rio Grande, P.R., from Feb. 23-25.

South Carolina Lineup

Jenna Pearson (Sr.) 75.25 Stroke Average

Bénédicte Toumpsin (Fr.) 75.88 Stroke Average

Whitney Simons (Jr.) 79.60 Stroke Average

Blythe Worley (Jr.) 76.00 Stroke Average

Camila Mori (Jr.) 77.67 Stroke Average

* Laura Raffo (Jr.) 78.40 Stroke Average

*Competing as an individual

Lady Puerto Rico Classic Field

Alabama, No. 6 Auburn, Central Florida, No. 1 Georgia, Indiana, Iowa State, Kent State, Minnesota, N.C. State, Oklahoma, No. 9 Oklahoma State, No. 15 Purdue, South Carolina, TCU, Texas Tech, Wisconsin

Ranked Players Competing

No. 1 Taylor Leon (Georgia)

No. 10 Whitney Wade (Georgia)

No. 13 Maria Hernandez (Purdue)

No. 16 Jenny Suh (Alabama)

No. 20 Pernillia Lindberg (Oklahoma State)

No. 37 Christina Boeljon (Purdue)

No. 39 Catherine Matranga

No. 40 Nicole Hage (Auburn)

No. 46 Mallory Wetzel (Georgia)

No. 47 Sara Bradley (Oklahoma State)

No. 48 Margaret Shirley (Auburn)

No. 50 Abigale Schepperle (Auburn)

No. 51 Tara Delaney (Kent State)

No. 53 Karin Kinnerud (Oklahoma State)

No. 57 Candace Schepperle (Auburn)

No. 66 Garrett Phillips (Georgia)

No. 70 Marissa Milligan (Auburn)

No. 71 Lauren Doughtie (NC State)

No. 78 Jenna Pearson (South Carolina)

No. 83 Jessica Lovell (Auburn)

No. 86 Kirby Dreher (Kent State)

* Team and Individual Rankings According To Golfweek

Last Time Out

South Carolina concluded its fall season at the NGCA Match Play Championships, dropping a tiebreaker to Florida. Though the final score was dead even at 2-2-1, Florida won the tiebreaker based on the fact that the margin of victory in the matches that the Gators won was larger than the margin of defeat in the matches that the Gamecocks won.

Blythe Worley and Bénédicte Toumpsin both posted victories over their Florida counterparts, with Worley winning 2 and 1 over Ornella Jouven while Toumpsin won 4 and 3 over Tiffany Chudy.

South Carolina At Last Year’s Lady Puerto Rico Classic

The Gamecocks also competed in last year’s field at the Lady Puerto Rico Classic, finishing in 11th place at 58 over par with a 306-312-304=922. Graduated senior Erica Battle led the Gamecocks at the event, finishing in a tie for 28th. Camila Mori, Whitney Simons and Jenna Pearson return to the event after Mori tied for 40th (77-77-78=232) and Simons finished tied for 45th (74-80-79=233). Pearson finished in a tie for 47th, coming in at 78-80-76=234.

Fall Recap

The South Carolina women’s golf team enjoyed a few stellar performances in the fall season, highlighted by Pearson and Toumpsin’s turn in the Dick McGuire Invitational. Toumpsin finished second overall, the highest individual placement of the fall season. The Gamecocks posted two fifth place finishes at the Dick McGuire and Derby Invitational’s while finishing 15th at the Lady Tar Heel Invitational. Carolina concluded the fall season at the NGCA Match Play Championships with matchups against second-seeded Duke and tenth-seeded Florida.

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 matched 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.

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.