May 6, 2009

Live Scoring

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina’s women’s golf team will begin its quest for a second straight NCAA Championship appearance Thursday when the Gamecocks tee off in the NCAA East Regional at the Mark Bostick Golf Course in Gainesville, Fla. It will mark the Gamecocks’ 11th straight appearance in the NCAA Regional and their 16th overall.

The five competitors for the Gamecocks will be junior Benedicte Toumpsin, freshman Katie Burnett, junior Taylor Barrett, junior Corrine Carr and senior Meredith Taylor. It will be Toumpsin’s third regional appearance and the second for both Barrett and Carr. All three competed in last year’s regional in Athens, Ga., with Toumpsin winning the individual title and Barrett finishing tied for 68th. Carr, as a sophomore at Furman University, finished tied for 10th in last year’s regional.

South Carolina has played in events with 17 of the 20 other teams in this weekend’s field, compiling a 21-37 record head-to-head. Eight of the 21 teams in the field are from the Southeastern Conference (Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vanderbilt) and three more are from the Palmetto State (Coastal Carolina, College of Charleston, Furman). Rounding out the 21-team field will be Denver, Duke, East Carolina, Florida State, Jackson State, North Carolina, Stetson, Tulane, UCF and Virginia.

The Mark Bostick Golf Course is a par-70 layout that will play to just over 6,000 yards for the week. The Gamecocks have played the course six times since 2000 – the 2001 SEC Championship, 2005 NCAA Regional and four appearances in the Lady Gator Invitational. South Carolina has found success on the short but challenging track, earning a pair of runner-up finishes at the 2000 and 2002 Lady Gator events and a third-place finish at the 2001 SEC Championship.

Carolina will be paired with in-state foe Furman and SEC rival Mississippi for the first two days of competition. The Gamecocks will go off the No. 1 tee in Thursday’s first round, beginning at 11:50 a.m. The three teams will have the early wake-up call Friday morning with tee times beginning at 7:30 a.m. off the No. 10 tee. Saturday’s tee times will be set based on scores.

Live stats can be followed at golfstat.com, and full tournament coverage will be available through ncaa.com and gamecocksonline.com.