March 13, 2008

COLUMBIA – South Carolina women’s golf swings back into action on Friday at the LSU/Cleveland Golf Classic, which will be played at the University Club in Baton Rouge, La. One of eight Southeastern Conference teams in the 17-team field, the Gamecocks are coming off a seventh-place finish at the Lady Puerto Rico Classic behind the strong showing of sophomore Bénédicte Toumpsin, who finished third.

Head coach Kalen Anderson will take four of her top five scorers to the second event of the spring season, starting with Toumpsin. The sophomore’s third-place finish at the Lady Puerto Rico Classic, which was highlighted by a career-low 68 in the second round, was her best showing of the season and her second top-five finish in five events. She has a 73.20 stroke average, which is the fifth-best in the SEC.

Senior Blythe Worley was the second-best Gamecock in Puerto Rico, finishing 15th as an individual. Like Toumpsin, it was her best placing of the season and her top showing since taking 10th at the 2007 SEC Championship. Worley has a 75.40 average have played in all five tournaments this season.

Fellow seniors Camila Mori and Whitney Simons will also represent the Gamecocks in this event. Mori is the team’s third-best scorer with a 76.00 average and closed the fall campaign with a 25th-place showing at the UA-Ann Rhoads Intercollegiate. Simons has a 76.67 average in four tournaments this season.

Sophomore Taylor Barrett is the most inexperienced member of Anderson’s lineup having played in just nine career tournaments. Barrett has a 77.22 average in three tournaments this season and was the team’s third-best scorer at the Lady Puerto Rico Classic.

The Gamecocks are among the first groups in Friday’s 8 a.m. (CT) tee times. South Carolina will play in threesomes with North Carolina State and Louisville. Four nationally ranked teams are among the 17-team field – No. 11 Georgia, No. 14 Wake Forest, No. 16 Alabama and No. 25 Virginia. Tee times begin at 8 a.m. (CT) on Saturday as well, and there will be an 8:30 a.m. (CT) shotgun start for Sunday’s final round.