March 24, 2008

CHARLESTON, S.C. – Junior Patrick Cunning and senior Mark Anderson maintained top-10 places to help South Carolina to the team lead through two rounds of the Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate. The Gamecocks, who shot 286 (+2) on Monday, held off a second-round charge by North Carolina State, which shot 279, to hold a one-stroke lead over the Wolfpack. Cunning is among the tournament’s top five, while Anderson holds a share of 10th place.

Entering the second round in seventh place, Cunning moved up two places with a 71 (E) on Monday. A pair of birdies on the back nine had him on pace to top his first-round 70, but back-to-back bogeys to close the round brought him back to even.

Anderson, who was tied with Cunning in seventh place after the first round, finished Monday’s effort at 72 (+1) as he fought throughout the back nine. After three straight birdies, Anderson made the turn at -2 before a bogey on the par-4 11th stopped his momentum. He tood a double-bogey on the par-5 13th before carding birdie on the par-3 14th to get back to even for the round. The par-4 16th took him back to +1 and he salvaged par on the final to holes to finish in ninth place.

Sophomore George Bryan IV sits just outside the top 10 in 12th place after a second-round 72 (+1). He opened the round well with birdies on the first two holes, but went through a slump of bogeys on Nos. 11, 12 and 13 to fall back to +1 for the round. Junior Mark Silvers III followed his first-round 69 with a 75 (+4) on Monday to fall back to 19th place. Silvers was even at the turn thanks to a birdie on the par-4 ninth. After a pair of bogeys on the back nine, however, he carded a double-bogey on 18.

Senior Warren Thomas shaved four strokes off his first-round effort to turn in a 71 (E) Monday, moving into 30th place. A double-bogey on No. 9 had him make the turn at +1, and two bogeys on the first three holes of the back nine sent him back to +3. He recovered with an eagle on the par-5 13th and turned in birdies on the par-4 15th and 18th holes to close the round.

Trailing the Gamecocks and Wolfpack, Clemson sits three strokes off the pace in third with Florida four shots back in fourth. N.C. State’s Matt Hill leads the individual race as he fired a tournament-best 67 (-4) on Monday after an opening-round 71. He has a one-shot lead on Wake Forest’s Webb Simpson in second place.

Play concludes on Tuesday with the Gamecocks playing in threesomes with Clemson and N.C. State beginning at 10:20 a.m.