Tournament Notes

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Coming off one of its most successful seasons in program history, the 17th-ranked South Carolina women’s golf team will attempt to keep the momentum going as it opens the 2012-13 season on Sunday at the Cougar Classic in Hanahan, S.C.

The 54-hole event runs through Tuesday at Yeamans Hall Club, which features a par-72, 6,219-yard layout. South Carolina head coach Kalen Harris, who enters her sixth season with the Gamecocks, is anxious to see her squad open the year against a challenging field that includes 13 teams ranked in the Golf World/NGCA Preseason Coaches’ Poll.

“It’s a great event on a fantastic golf course,” Harris said. “There’s going to be a lot of competition there, but that’s something I like to do every year is play the toughest competition because I think it prepares us very well. We are just excited to get going again.”

The Gamecocks had a banner year in 2011-12 as they won their second NCAA East Regional title in three years and finished fifth at the NCAA Championship, which is the best showing ever by a Gamecock squad at the national championship.

Carolina carried the momentum into the summer with several golfers playing well at different events. Senior Meredith Swanson and junior Samantha Swinehart placed second at the Collegiate Team Championship, finishing one stroke back of first place. Sophomore Justine Dreher advanced to match play at the Ladies’ British Amateur Championship. Swinehart and freshman Sarah Schmelzel played at the U.S. Amateur Championship, and Swinehart advanced to match play.

“The Gamecocks had a very solid summer,” Harris said. “Everybody was pretty active. We got a lot of experience under our belt this summer.”

Carolina has just four golfers returning from a year ago, but three of those golfers were in the lineup at the NCAA Championship. All four returnees will be in this week’s lineup, as Swanson, Swinehart, junior Suzie Lee and Dreher will tee off for the Gamecocks on Sunday. Schmelzel will be making her collegiate debut after qualifying for one of the five spots.

Swanson will help fill the leadership void left by the departure of All-American Katie Burnett. A native of Roanoke, Va., Swanson played in all 11 tournaments a year ago, compiling the fourth best stroke average on the team (76.03). She played some of her best golf late in the season and recorded her first career top-10 finish with a tie for 10th showing at the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic.

“I’m really proud of Meredith,” Harris said. “She’s really matured as a player over her four years. She had a really great qualifier. Overall I was really please with our qualifying as a team to get our lineup established for this first event. Meredith is going to be a strong player in our lineup as we move forward.”

Swinehart competed in eight events last season and had a scoring average of 77.48. Her season best finish was a tie for 22nd at the Bryan National Collegiate. Lee played a key role in helping the Gamecocks secure the NCAA East Regional title as she fired a career-low 68 (-4) in the final round.

Dreher, who was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team, produced three top-20 finishes in 2011-12. She had a scoring average of 75.50, which ranks third all-time at South Carolina for a freshman.

Schmelzel, a highly ranked golfer on the junior circuit from Phoenix, Ariz., won medalist honors at the 2011 Arizona State High School Championship to lead Xavier Prep to its third team state title in four years.

The Gamecocks are making their fifth trip to the Cougar Classic, including their third straight to open the season. Carolina’s best finish at the event was a fourth-place showing in 2010. The Gamecocks claimed 10th last season with a three-round total of 869 (+5), including a school-record 279 (-9) in the final round. Of the returning Gamecocks, Swanson had the best finish as she tied for 12th with rounds of 77-69-68=214 (-2).

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Cougar Classic, and the field has grown to a tournament-record 24 teams. Of the 13 ranked teams, top-ranked and defending national champion Alabama highlights the field. No. 3 Southern California, No. 5 Duke, No. 6 North Carolina, No. 7 Auburn, No. 8 Vanderbilt, No. 9 Florida, No. 10 LSU, No. 11 Georgia, No. 12 Virginia, No. 13 Tennessee and No. 25 North Carolina State join the 17th-ranked Gamecocks as the remaining ranked teams. The tournament also features the top five teams from last year’s NCAA Championship (Alabama, Southern California, LSU, Virginia, South Carolina).

Rounding out the field are College of Charleston, Charleston Southern, Furman, Maryland, Miami, Mississippi, Penn State, UCF, UNC Greensboro, Wake Forest and Wisconsin.

First-round play begins Sunday at 7:50 a.m. Live scoring will be available by clicking here.