Feb. 13, 2011

By Wes Todd
Assistant Media Relations Director

SORRENTO, Fla. – South Carolina shot an opening-round 294 (+6) on Sunday at the UCF Challenge and stands in 10th place through 18 holes at RedTail Golf Club.

The Gamecocks got off to a hot start as all five players in the Carolina lineup were at par or better at some point during the back nine of their round, and the team was 4-under through 15 holes. But a treacherous closing stretch of holes caused some problems, dropping the Gamecocks a few spots in the team standings.

“We did some really, really great things today,” head coach Kalen Anderson said. “Through the first 14 or 15 holes, we were outstanding. For this to be the first round of the spring after four months off, I couldn’t ask for more through the first part of the round. I think as our young team continues to grow and mature, they will learn how to finish their round after they get off to a good start. But there’s a lot of golf left this week. And as long as we can build on the good things we did today, I think we’ve got a chance to be in the mix at the end.”

Junior Katie Burnett finished with South Carolina’s best round of the day, an even-par 72, to stand in a tie for 14th place in the individual standings. Burnett made the turn at 1-under-par after a birdie at the short par-5 second hole, then overcame a bogey at No. 5 with a birdie at the eighth. A bogey at the difficult 10th hole, followed by another at the narrow 13th, left her at 1-over. But a birdie at No. 15 and three straight pars to close gave her an even-par round, her team-leading fifth round of par or better this season.

Freshman Samantha Swinehart got off to a rough start with two straight bogeys to open, but settled down and finished with a 1-over-par 73 to tie for 24th place through one round. She climbed back to even par with back-to-back birdies at the sixth and seventh, then gave one back at No. 8 to make the turn with a 1-over 37. Birdies at 11 and 13 got her into red figures, but a double-bogey at the par-3 15th moved her back to 1-over before closing with a trio of pars.

Amanda Strang, one of two sophomores in this week’s lineup, finished with a 74 (+2). After an opening birdie, she dropped to 1-over with bogeys on Nos. 3 and 4, but then got both shots back with back-to-back birdies at the seventh and eighth holes to make the turn 1-under. However, a closing stretch of five holes included a birdie, two bogeys and a double-bogey as she finished at 2-over for the day, tied for 35th place.

Freshman Katie Rose Higgins and sophomore Meredith Swanson both finished with rounds of 75 (+3). Swanson had five birdies on the day and made the turn at 2-under, but a pair of triple-bogeys on the back nine were the only major blemishes on an otherwise solid round. Higgins made a bogey on the first hole, but then rolled off a stretch of 14 straight bogey-free holes – including three birdies – as she was 2-under through 15. A double bogey-bogey-double bogey finish, however, resulted in a five-shot swing as she and Swanson are tied for 45th place.

Leading the team standings is 14th-ranked Tulane, who shot 4-under 284 in the opening round. Coastal Carolina is one shot back of the Green Wave, and tournament host UCF is in third place at 2-under. It is a crowded leaderboard after the opening round – the top 10 teams are all within 10 shots of the tournament lead. Individually, Coastal’s Jessica Alexander and Kentucky’s Ashleigh Albrecht are tied for the tournament lead after matching rounds of 66 (-6); Ket Preamchuen of Kennesaw State is in third place at 4-under-par.

The Gamecocks will begin Monday’s second round on the No. 10 tee at 8:30 a.m., paired with Augusta State and Baylor. Tee times may be subject to change; Sunday’s start times were pushed back by an hour due to frost. Live scoring is available via golfstatresults.com, and periodic updates will be available via Twitter by following @GamecockWGolf.

SOUTH CAROLINA INDIVIDUALS
T14. Katie Burnett – 72 (E)
T24. Samantha Swinehart – 73 (+1)
T35. Amanda Strang – 74 (+2)
T45. Katie Rose Higgins – 75 (+3)
T45. Meredith Swanson – 75 (+3)

TEAM STANDINGS
1. Tulane – 284 (-4)
2. Coastal Carolina – 285 (-3)
3. UCF – 286 (-2)
4. Kentucky – 287 (-1)
5. Minnesota – 288 (E)
6. Texas – 290 (+2)
7. Mississippi – 291 (+3)
8. Kennesaw State – 292 (+4)
9. South Florida – 293 (+5)
10. South Carolina – 294 (+6)
11. Augusta State – 296 (+8)
12. Baylor – 297 (+9)
T13. Georgia State – 299 (+11)
T13. East Carolina – 299 (+11)
T15. Memphis – 302 (+14)
T15. UT-San Antonio – 302 (+14)
17. Illinois State – 306 (+18)