May 24, 2010

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina sophomore golfer Katie Burnett was named an Honorable Mention All-American by the National Golf Coaches Association, the organization announced Friday night at their banquet following the NCAA Women’s Championship.

Burnett, who was named to the All-SEC second team last month, won the 2010 NCAA East Regional and led the Gamecocks to the NCAA Championship for the second time in three seasons. At last week’s NCAA Championship in Wilmington, N.C., Burnett put together rounds of 72-74-69-71=286 (-2) to earn a tie for ninth place overall, the second-best finish in the national championship by a Gamecock women’s golfer in program history. Her strong play helped South Carolina to a tie for 14th place, its best showing on the national stage since 1999.

The native of Brunswick, Ga., finished the season with a scoring average of 73.58, which ranks as the second-best single season in South Carolina history, just 0.16 strokes behind current LPGA star Kristy McPherson’s senior season of 2003. Through 64 competitive rounds as a collegiate golfer, Burnett’s career scoring average stands at 74.37, which currently ranks at the top of the charts in Gamecock annals, 0.05 strokes ahead of McPherson.

During the course of the 2009-10 season, Burnett amassed a pair of top-five finishes, including her first collegiate victory at the NCAA East Regional in Greenville, N.C. She also earned three top-10 showings and finished in the top 20 in nine of 11 full-field events. Of her 34 competitive medal-play rounds, 12 resulted in scores at par or better, including a 67 (-5) in the first round of the NCAA Regional that ties for the second-best 18-hole score in school history. Burnett finished the year ranked 36th in the nation by Golfstat and 41st by Golfweek. Her improved putting was one of the biggest keys to her success this season as she averaged 30.47 putts per round, ranking 19th nationally in that category.

Burnett is the fourth Gamecock golfer to earn All-America honors from the NGCA, joining McPherson, Benedicte Toumpsin and Siew Ai Lim in that category.

NGCA ALL-AMERICA TEAMS

FIRST TEAM
Marina Alex – Vanderbilt
Carlota Ciganda – Arizona State
Cydney Clanton – Auburn
Lindy Duncan – Duke
Jodi Ewart – New Mexico
Carolina Hedwall – Oklahoma State
Jennifer Johnson – Arizona State
Stephanie Kono – UCLA
Marta Silva – Georgia
Jennifer Song – Southern Cal

SECOND TEAM
Maude-Aimee LeBlanc – Purdue
Laura Kueny – Michigan State
Camilla Lennarth – Alabama
Tiffany Lua – UCLA
Nathalie Mansson – Tennessee
Megan McChrystal – LSU
Sydnee Michaels – UCLA
Margarita Ramos – Arizona
Lizette Salas – Southern Cal
Kelli Shean – Arkansas
Cheyenne Woods – Wake Forst

HONORABLE MENTION
Brittany Altomare – Virginia
Amy Anderson – North Dakota State
Katie Burnett – South Carolina
Numa Gulyanamitta – Purdue
Jennifer Kirby – Alabama
Joanne Lee – California
Sara-Maude Juneau – Louisville
Lisa McCloskey – Pepperdine
Kayla Mortellaro – Idaho
Callie Nielson – Virginia
Victoria Park – Oklahoma State
Candace Schepperle – Auburn
Jaclyn Sweeney – Arizona State
Sally Watson – Stanford