Aug. 29, 2012

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina women’s golf team is ranked No. 17 in the Golf World/NGCA Preseason Coaches’ Poll, Golf World announced Wednesday.

The Gamecocks are coming off one of the most successful seasons in program history as they won the NCAA East Regional title for the second time in three years and finished fifth at the 2012 NCAA Championship, which was the best showing ever by a Carolina team at the national championship. The Gamecocks were ranked No. 25 in the final Golf World/NGCA Poll last season.

Carolina is one of 10 SEC teams ranked in the top 25, joining No. 1 Alabama, No. 7 Auburn, No. 8 Vanderbilt, No. 9 Florida, No. 10 LSU, No. 11 Georgia, No. 13 Tennessee, No. 15 Texas A&M and No. 23 Arkansas. The Crimson Tide enter the season at the top after winning the program’s first ever NCAA title last season.

The Gamecocks are set to open their 2012-13 season on Sept. 9 at the Cougar Classic in Hanahan, S.C. Carolina returns four golfers from last year’s roster, including three – senior Meredith Swanson, junior Suzie Lee and sophomore Justine Dreher – from the lineup that finished fifth at the NCAA Championship.

Golf Wolrd/NGCA Preseason Coaches’ Poll
Rank Team Points
1. Alabama (19) 655
2. UCLA (6) 638
3. USC 578
4. Arizona State (1) 559
5. Duke (1) 525
6. North Carolina 470
7. Auburn 452
8. Vanderbilt 380
9. Florida 354
10. LSU 324
11. Georgia 311
12. Virginia 294
13. Tennessee 272
14. Arizona 260
15. Texas A&M 255
16. Colorado 239
17. South Carolina 237
18. California 226
19. Oklahoma 200
20. Baylor 176
21. Oklahoma State 175
22. Purdue 173
23. Arkansas 143
24. Pepperdine 127
25. N.C. State 126

First-place votes in parenthesis