May 14, 2007

NCAA West Regional Notes in PDF Format
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South Carolina will play in the NCAA West Regional Thursday, May 17, through Saturday, May 19, at the ASU Karsten Golf Course (Par 72 — 7,057 yards) in Tempe, Ariz. The Gamecocks are the No. 11 seed among a 27-team field that also includes six individuals not on the competing teams. Following a practice round on Wednesday, May 16, the 54-hole event tees off Thursday. The Gamecocks start from the 10th tee at 12:24 p.m. PT in Thursday’s first round. In the second round, Carolina tees off from No. 1 at 7:35 a.m. PT and is grouped with Washington and UC Irvine for the first two rounds.

Live scoring can be found online throughout the tournament at www.golfstat.com or by following the links from the South Carolina’s official athletics web site, USCsports.com.

WHAT’S AT STAKE
Three regionals, encompassing the current nine regions, will be conducted May 17-19. The East Regional is being held in Alpharetta, Ga. and the Central Regional is located in Grove, Ill. A total of 27 teams and six individuals not on selescted teams were assigned to each regional site. Ten teams and two individuals not on advancing teams will move on from each regional to the championship finals, played May 30-June 2 at Golden Horseshoe Golf Club in Williamsburg, Va.

A QUICK LOOK AT THE GAMECOCKS
South Carolina’s five-man lineup will feature freshman George Bryan IV, sophomore Florian Fritsch, junior Warren Thomas, junior Mark Anderson and sophomore Mark Silvers. The Gamecocks are listed at No. 33 in the latest Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index (May 6) and are No. 35 in the most recent Golf Stat rankings (May 9). Carolina has posted three top-four finishes this season and played the nation’s No. 10 schedule, according to Golfweek.

NOTING THE SOUTH CAROLINA LINEUP
>> Two-time SEC Golfer of the Week George Bryan IV is the only Gamecock to compete in all 10 varsity events this season. The freshman owns a 73.59 stroke average and a pair of top-five finishes to lead the team, including tying for second at the Augusta State Invitational with a three-day score of 210. Bryan, who boasts four top-20 finishes this season, is ranked No. 98 this week by Golfweek.

>> Sophomore Florian Fritsch, who earned all-SEC honors in 2006, has the team’s second-best stroke average at 74.47. After posting four top-20 finishes as a freshman, Fritsch recorded his best performances of the season in back-to-back weeks, tying for 12th at the Augusta State Invitational his best three-round total of the season (215) and sharing seventh place at the Kepler Intercollegiate. Fritsch tied for 16th, along with Mark Anderson and Warren Thomas, to lead the Gamecocks at the SEC Championship.

>> Junior Warren Thomas posted his best finish of the season, a tie for 11th, at the Robert Kepler Intercollegiate. He followed that performance by tying for 16th, along with Mark Anderson and Florian Frtisch, to lead Carolina at the SEC Championship. In eight events, Thomas’ stroke average is 74.56, good for third on the team. He recorded his best three-round total (218) at Augusta State.

>> Junior Mark Anderson, a 2005 All-American, is in the lineup for the eighth time this season. He turned in his best performance of the season at the SEC Championship, sharing 16th place, with Warren Thomas and Florian Fritsch, to lead the Gamecocks. Anderson owns a 75.15 stroke average. He posted his best round (69) of the season in the final round at SECs.

>> Sophomore Mark Silvers returns to the varsity lineup for the first time since late March, when he tied for 36th in the Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate. Silvers has a 75.00 stroke average this season. He has played in seven varsity events over the last two seasons.

THE WEST REGIONAL FIELD
Of the 27 teams placed in the NCAA West Regional field, nine are listed among the top 25 in both the Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index and Golfstat rankings; moreover, 16 teams appear in the top 50 on both lists. Top squads include (in order of seeding): Stanford (2/2), UCLA (8/4), UNLV (9/6), Southern California (5/10), East Tennessee State (13/14), BYU (15/17), host Arizona State (19/18), Wake Forest (21/19) and Arizona (22/25). Additional top 50 teams include: UC Irvine (38/30), South Carolina (33/35), Washington (35/38), Vanderbilt (46/39), Augusta State (40/42), Pepperdine (41/48) and San Diego State (48/50). Twenty of the nation’s top-50 individuals and 28 of the top 100 are also slated to compete in Tempe. Rankings are listed Golfweek/Golf Stat. See entire polls on page three of these notes.

A LITTLE HISTORY
>> Since the inception of the NCAA Regional format in 1989, South Carolina has received a bid in all but one season (1990) and has a streak of 17 consecutive invitations.

>> The Gamecocks have competed in NCAAs 14 times, advancing to the finals through a regional 10 times.

>> In 2006, South Carolina was seeded No. 13 but placed ninth in the East Regional to secure a spot in the NCAA finals.

>> This marks the third time the Gamecocks have been placed in the NCAA West Regional. Led by Kyle Thompson’s first-place individual showing, the 2001 team placed fifth in Corvalis, Ore., to advance to the NCAA Championship. In 2005 as a No. 8 seed, Carolina tied for 10th in Stanford, Calif., but did not move on to the NCAA Championship after falling in a playoff.

>> The Gamecocks’ best finish in regional play came in 1999. Led by individual medalist Kyle Thompson, South Carolina placed second at the East Regional in Barrington, R.I.

SEC REPRESENTATION
The Southeastern Conference is sending eight teams into NCAA Regional play. South Carolina is joined by No. 13-seed Vanderbilt in the West Regional. The East Regional in Alpharetta, Ga., includes No. 1 seed Georgia, No. 3 Florida, No. 11 Auburn and No. 12 Mississippi. Top-seeded Alabama and No. 6 seed Tennessee will play in the Central Regional in Grove, Ill.

LAST TIME OUT >> SEC CHAMPIONSHIP, APRIL 21-23
Led by a trio of golfers who tied for 16th place, the South Carolina Gamecocks finished eighth at the SEC Men’s Golf Championship at the Sea Island Golf Club in St. Simons, Ga. Carolina navigated the Par 70, 6,991-yard layout at the Seaside Course with a three-day total of 304-297-288=889 (+49). Juniors Mark Anderson and Warren Thomas, along with sophomore Florian Fritsch, shared 16th place on the individual leader board. Anderson finished strong, sinking four birdies on his way to carding a one-under par 69 in the final round. It marked the best round of the weekend for any Gamecock and set a new season-best for Anderson. The Beaufort, S.C., native wrapped up the tournament with a three-day total of 77-75-69=221 (+11). Thomas concluded with a total score of 75-74-72=221 (+11) to finish in the top 20 for the second consecutive event. Fritsch, who led South Carolina throughout the event, carded a final round 74 (+4). He finished with rounds of 74-73-74=221 (+11). Freshman George Bryan IV tied for 40th in his first SEC Championship. Bryan finished with a total score of 80-75=73=228 (+18). Sophomore Allen Koon rounded out the South Carolina lineup by tying for 55th. Koon completed the weekend with rounds of 78-76-81=235 (+25).

GAMECOCKS BOAST BEVY OF IN-STATE TALENT
South Carolina’s 12-man roster features eight players from the state of South Carolina. That group includes sophomore Mark Anderson (Beaufort/Beaufort Academy) and Warren Thomas (Columbia/Richland Northeast), redshirt sophomore Patrick Cunning (Aiken/South Aiken) and sophomores Baker Elmore (Cheraw) and Allen Koon (Bamberg/Bamberg-Ehrhardt) and true freshmen George Bryan IV (Chapin/Dutch Fork), Patrick Rada (Anderson/T.L. Hanna) and Paul Woodbury (Lake City).