May 21, 2003

West Lafayette, Indiana — The University of South Carolina women’s golf team shot a 30-over par 318 to drop to 18th place in Wednesday’s second round of the 2003 NCAA Championships. The Gamecocks are +60 after two days with a total score of 636. The Championships are being played at the Kampen Course of the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex in West Lafayette, Indiana, and feature the nation’s 24 best women’s collegiate teams in a 72-hole battle for the title.

“We were right on the edge of having a solid round today,” said USC head coach Kristi Coggins. “The wind is playing tough for all the teams and pushing up the scores. If we had a few more putts to drop and had some better reads of the wind, we’d be where we want to be. Birdies are a tight commodity on this course but you can get them. We did some good things at the end of today’s round and we’ll come back tomorrow and play like we have nothing to lose. Our girls are fighters and have the talent to compete with anyone.”

Senior Kristy McPherson led all Gamecock golfers Wednesday with a six-over-par 78 and is tied for 39th with a two-day total of 157, or 13-over par. Junior Adrienne Gautreaux shot a second-day 79 and is tied for 61st place with a two-day total of 159 (+15). Sophomore Tiffany Catafygiotu carded an 81 Wednesday to tie for 69th place (160, +16). Senior Kacy Thompson is tied for 72nd after posting an 81 in the second round and is +17 for the tournament (161). Junior Marci Robinson is tied for 94th place after securing an 80 for a total of 165 (+21).

The 15th-ranked Gamecocks return to the course Thursday at 9:00 a.m. for the third round of the NCAA competition.

South Carolina advanced to the NCAA Championships for the third consecutive year and the eighth year overall. USC finished seventh in the NCAA East Regional last weekend to earn one of the eight spots from each of the three regionals to advance into this week’s tournament. The best NCAA Championship finish by a Gamecock squad dates back to 1995 when the team finished in a tie for ninth place. The best South Carolina individual performance at an NCAA Championship was Siew Ai Lim’s ninth-place finish in 1995.

INDIVIDUAL GAMECOCK GOLFERS
T39th Kristy McPherson 79 78 157 +13
T61st Adrienne Gautreaux 80 79 159 +15
T69th Tiffany Catafygiotu 79 81 160 +16
T72nd Kacy Thompson 80 81 161 +17
T94th Marci Robinson 85 80 165 +21