Oct. 10, 2009

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – South Carolina’s women’s golf team turned in a score only one stroke higher than their opening round performance, but dropped three spots in the standings to a tie for 10th through 36 holes at the Lady Tar Heel Invitational. The Gamecocks shot 296 (+8) on Saturday and is tied with Florida State and Texas A&M at 15-over heading into Sunday’s final round at the UNC Finley Golf Course.

Freshman Amanda Strang led the way for South Carolina on Saturday, shooting a 1-over-par 73. Strang had two birdies and three bogeys to lead the Gamecocks in the second round. She is tied for 26th overall through 36 holes with a total score of 147 (+3).

Benedicte Toumpsin, the Gamecocks’ leader on Friday, shot 74 (+2) on Saturday to go along with an even-par 72 from Friday’s round. The senior from Belgium had four birdies to go along with four bogeys, but a double-bogey at the 14th hole put her above par to stay. She remains tied for 18th at 2-over for the tournament.

Fellow senior Corrine Carr also fired a 74 (+2) on Saturday, a four-shot improvement over her opening round. One hole was the difference between breaking par and 74 – a triple-bogey 8 at the par-5 third. She had two birdies and a bogey on the round, and is tied for 63rd place.

Freshman Meredith Swanson and sophomore Katie Burnett each shot 75 (+3) on Saturday. It was a one-stroke improvement for Burnett, but two shots higher for Swanson from their respective first rounds. Swanson is tied for 32nd and Burnett is tied for 54th heading into Sunday’s final round.

Michigan State more than doubled its lead after a round of 283 (-5) on Saturday. They are at 8-under 568, 11 shots ahead of second-place Alabama (+3). Auburn and Vanderbilt are tied for third place at 6-over.

Louisville’s Sara-Maude Juneau shot 68 (-4) on Saturday to move into the individual lead at 138 (-6) with Vanderbilt’s Marina Alex one shot back at 5-under. MSU’s Laura Kueny dropped to third place at 3-under after shooting an even-par 72 Saturday.

The Gamecocks will be paired with Florida State and Texas A&M for Sunday’s final-round shotgun start. Play gets underway at 9:15 a.m., and live results are available through golfstat.com.

SOUTH CAROLINA RESULTS
T18. Benedicte Toumpsin – 72-74=146 (+2)
T26. Amanda Strang – 74-73=147 (+3)
T32. Meredith Swanson – 73-75=148 (+4)
T54. Katie Burnett – 76-75=151 (+7)
T63. Corrine Carr – 78-74=152 (+8)