July 11, 2007

Columbia, S.C. – The No. 25 South Carolina women’s golf team placed six of the eight players on its roster on the Southeastern Conference Spring Sports Academic Honor Roll, the SEC announced today. Senior Jenna Pearson, juniors Camila Mori, Laura Raffo, Whitney Simons and Blythe Worley and redshirt freshman Meredith Taylor were all recognized for their efforts in the classroom. The SEC only recognizes student-athletes who have completed at least 24 credit hours of school work, so freshman Taylor Barrett was not eligible despite being named to the National Golf Coaches Association’s All-American Scholar Team earlier in the week.

The SEC’s criteria for the Academic Honor Roll is that each student-athlete must 1) have a GPA of 3.00 for either the preceding academic year or have a cumulative GPA of 3.00 or above at the nominating institution; 2) be on scholarship, a letter winner or have participated on a varsity team for two years if non-scholarship; 3) have completed 24 semester hours of non-remedial credit at the nominating institution; and 4) have been a member of the varsity team for the sport’s entire NCAA Championship segment.

A second-team all-SEC honoree for her play on the course, Pearson earned a spot on the Academic Honor Roll for the third consecutive year. Pearson finished the season with a 74.79 stroke average, a mark that ranks as the sixth-lowest single-season stroke average in school history. Her 76.52 career stroke average ranks fourth in school history. After graduating from South Carolina in May, she is currently playing professionally on the Duramed FUTURES Tour. Raffo, Simons, Taylor and Worley all earned their second consecutive year of recognition with Mori securing her first appearance on the SEC Academic Honor Roll.

In addition to the academic honors presented by the SEC, the Gamecocks also placed five student-athletes on the NGCA’s All-American Scholar Team, matching Appalachian State, Ball State, Indiana State, Santa Clara, South Alabama and Tennessee for the highest figure in Division I women’s golf for the 2006-07 season.

Under Head Coach Kristi Coggins, South Carolina has placed 23 of its women’s golf student-athletes on the SEC Spring Sports Academic Honor Roll the last four years (5.8 representatives per year.) The Gamecocks were recognized as the NGCA All-Scholar Team of the Year in both 2005 and 2006. The success has also translated onto the golf course, as the Gamecocks have advanced to the post-season in each of the last four years and finished fourth at the 2007 SEC Championship.