Feb. 28, 2010

COLUMBIA, S.C. – It will be a quick turnaround for the 26th-ranked South Carolina women’s golf team as they travel to Valdosta, Ga., for the Kinderlou Challenge on Monday and Tuesday. The event will take place at the par 73, 6,265-yard Kinderlou Forest Golf Club, and the event is co-hosted by Kennesaw State and Kentucky.

The Gamecocks will be looking to bounce back from a rough outing at the Central District Invitational near Tampa last Monday and Tuesday, where South Carolina finished 11th in the 15-team field. But the going doesn’t get easier for coach Kalen Anderson’s team as the 18-team field at this event features 14 squads ranked in the latest GolfWeek Top 50.

Six top-20 teams – five of which reside in the Southeastern Conference – headline the field, including No. 12 Georgia, No. 14 Tennessee, No. 15 Virginia, No. 16 Florida, No. 19 Vanderbilt and No. 20 LSU. They are followed by Ohio State (27), Chattanooga (29), Florida State (30), North Carolina (31), Kent State (32), Tulane (35) and Arkansas (41). Fellow SEC schools Kentucky, Ole Miss and Mississippi State, along with tournament co-host Kennesaw State, round out the strong field.

South Carolina’s lineup will be the same as last week, with seniors Corrine Carr, Taylor Barrett and Benedicte Toumpsin leading the way, along with sophomore Katie Burnett and freshman Amanda Strang. It will be the Gamecocks’ first time in this event.

The Gamecocks will be paired with both of the host schools in threesomes (some pairings will go off in groups of four) for Monday’s 8:30 a.m. shotgun start. Live scoring will be available through Golfstat.com.