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April 4, 2009

COLUMBIA, S.C. – One would be hard-pressed to find a tougher field in men’s collegiate golf than the group of 15 teams that will tee it up Sunday through Tuesday at the U.S. Collegiate Championships in Alpharetta, Ga. Ninth-ranked South Carolina enters the weekend on a roll with a first- and third-place finish in its last two tournaments, but with the entire GolfStat Top 10 in the field, the Gamecocks face their stiffest test of the season.

“We are looking forward to competing in the U.S. Collegiate for the very first time,” South Carolina head coach Bill McDonald said. “The Golf Club of Georgia, combined with probably the best field we will see all year, should provide a great challenge for our team. This is without a doubt one of the premier events in college golf.”

South Carolina will stay consistent with its lineup, sending out the same group for the third consecutive tournament. Senior Mark Silvers, juniors George Bryan IV and Patrick Rada, and freshmen Sam Braver and Wesley Bryan will look to keep the momentum going for the No. 9 Gamecocks.

Bryan IV has recorded two straight runner-up finishes at the Schenkel E-Z-Go Invitational and the Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate. His last time out at the Hootie, Bryan shot a 6-under 65, his best round of the year, to finish at 12-under 201 for the tournament and grab second place. For his efforts, he was named SEC Golfer of the Week for the fourth time in his career.

The rest of the team has been contributing as well. Silvers and Rada both had final rounds under par at the Hootie, and Braver and Bryan have been among the most consistent on the team as freshmen.

The tournament field includes the top 10 teams in the country as ranked by GolfStat – in order, Georgia, Oklahoma State, Southern California, Indiana, Clemson, Washington, Stanford, Florida, South Carolina and Alabama. Rounding out the field will be No. 14 Georgia Tech, No. 18 Florida State, No. 22 UCLA, No. 23 Texas A&M and No. 28 East Tennessee State.

Tournament action gets underway Sunday morning and runs through Tuesday at The Golf Club of Georgia. Tee times will be posted as they become available, and live stats will be available through golfstat.com.