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Women’s golf set to defend SEC title BY MATT ROTHENBERG THE (jAMEGOCK After clinching their first Southeastern Conference Championship in the spring, fol lowed by an impressive showing at the NCAA's and solid individu al performances during the sum mer, the Lady Gamecock golf team will have its opponents shaking in their spikes this fall. USC finished the 2001-02 season ranked No. 22 in the nation. Head coach Kristi Coggins re turns for her ninth season at the helm of a very talented and expe rienced squad: Having lost only one senior (Reetta Laakonen) from the spring, Coggins' team re tains much of the ingredients needed to fuel another run to an SEC title and an NCAA appear ance. Carolina’s leader on the links is senior Kristy McPherson, a two time defending SEC champion and First Team All-American. McPherson also had the opportu nity to represent her country this summer against Japan in a colle giate golf championship series. Shooting a 71 in the final round of play, McPherson - named women's MVP - defeated Chiharu Tsunekawa to clinch the champi onship for the United States. In other summer action, McPherson reached the round of 16 at the Western Amateur Championship. Not to be outdone, fellow senior Kacy Thompson en ters the fall with international ex perience from this past summer. Thompson, with four Top 20 fin ishes in the spring, was part of a group of United States All-Stars that played on a tour of Japan, Korea and Hong Kong and helped her group win the title in Japan. Big things are expected out of the Lady Gamecocks' three ju niors: Marci Robinson, Adrienne Gautreaux, and Kory Thompson. Robinson finished strong down the stretch in the spring, landing in 22nd place at the SEC Championships. In June, she won the City Championship, firing a 3 over-74 in the last round, while leading the tournament from start to finish. Gautreaux participated in all the tournaments last season and made her USC debut in style, fin ishing fourth in The Dodge ACC/SEC Shootout. Her 76.67 strokes per round average placed her second on the team only to McPherson. Kory Thompson did not see much action in the spring but should get an increased role this fall. She shot a season-low round of 73 at the Lady Paladin Invitational. Carolina also has a pair of sophomores that should figure highly into Coggins' plans this fall. Tiffany Catafygiotu and Erin Hallman both will participate in more tournaments in the 2002-03 season. While Hallman did not see any action this past season, she can definitely play her way into the rotation. Catafygiotu, howev er, played in four tournaments, posting a low round of 75 at both the Lady Gator Invitational and the LSU/Cleveland Golf Classic. Erica Battle of Irmo and Megan Miller of Murrells Inlet are the newcomers to a veteran-laden Lady Gamecock golf team. USC begins its quest for anoth er SEC Championship and a third straight NCAA appearance at the NCAA Fall Preview in Lafayette, Ind., from Sept. 15-17. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecocksports@hotmail.com I Prize issued as music cash. Redeemable at 48 participating music retailers. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. A PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. Game runs May 13, 2002 to February 8, 2003. Open to legal ll.S. residents 18 years of age or older. Game pieces available on specially marked packages of Accent Highlighters, or by mail by sending a game piece request to: Accent Music Cash Game, P.0. Box 2067, Maryland Heights, MO 63043 while supplies last. Mail-in requests must be accompanied by a self addressed envelope (VI residents omit return postage) and must be postmarked by February 8, 2003. Total value of ail prizes: $1,380,000. Subject to complete Official Rules available by mail at P.O. Box 1368, Maryland Heights, MO 63043. ©2002 SANFORD. 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Calling Card Calling home has become cheaper El Long distance calls 4.9 cents a minute 0 No hidden charges El No monthly fees El Same rates 24/7 El Automatic recharge by credit card El Dedicated customer service Customized services for international students El Health insurance as low as $27 per month El Health insurance for non-US citizen $52 per month under age 40 E3 Dental Plans - $27 per month (available to all) m The International Spirit magazine Call today and receive it FREE of charge International Rates Argentina 0.13 France 0.08 Brazil 0.11 Germany 0.07 Canada 0.05 Guatemala 0.22 China 0.10 Hong-Kong 0.08 Columbia 0.12 India 0.51 El Salvador 0.15 Italy 0.07 Japan 0.08 Philippines 0.15 Mexico City 0.10 Moscow 0.08 Poland 0.14 Spain 0-09 Pakistan 0.43 South Korea 0.13 Peru 0.17 Taiwan 0.08 UK 0.06 Veenezuela 0.21 For updated rates to other countries visit www.isoa.org 1-800-244-1180 ~- " PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE GAMECOCK Marcy Robinson finished 22nd at the SEC Championships last year. She won the Columbia City Championships In June. Men’s golf team tee off at Kiawah Island BY FOZAIL ALVI THE GAMECOCK Loaded with young talent and a solid core of returning starters, the Gamecock golf team will open its 2002-2003 season on Sept. 9 at the Cleveland Golf Kiawah Island Tournament in Charleston, S.C. Last season, Head Coach Puggy Blackmon did wonders with the youngest squad in his 19 years of coaching. The Gamecocks will return all but one starter, lone senior Brent Delahoussaye, for this year's run towards Stillwater, Okla., site of the NCAA Finals Championships. Last season's 25th place-fin ish in the NCAA East Regionals marked just the sec ond time in Blackmon's 7-year stint at USC that his Gamecocks have failed to ad vance to the NCAA Finals, and Blackmon will surely use that as motivation for this year. Blackmon will turn to re turning leaders Martin Rominger, Alex Hamilton, Scott Feaster and Nash Elliot to lead the young squad. Rominger and Hamilton head a deep sophomore class, which has been getting plenty of me dia coverage in the months leading up to the season. Jake Thompson stood near the leaderboard after two rounds at the South Carolina State Amateur, while fellow second year teammate Jonathan Jackson qualified for the U.S. Amateur by shooting an 8-un der-par 136 to decisively win the Amateur tournament in his native North Carolina. Blackmon, who is known for his recruiting prowess in his 12 years as head coach at Georgia Tech, recently added junior college transfer Spence Andrews to replace the roster spot left by Delahoussaye. Andrews joins the Gamecocks PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE GAMECOCK Alex Hamilton will return for his sophomore year at USC. from John A. Logan junior col lege where he was named an All-American in both years of play. The native of Glenn Allen, Va., helped the Volunteers to a sixth-place fin ish in 2001 and a fourth-placp finish this past season, while also cracking the top three spots in the individual rank ings. The Cleveland tournament was the last competition fob the USC golfers one season age before heading into the SEC Championships. The Gamecocks took ninth place in the tournament, held in Augusta, Ga., before struggling to a 10th place-finish in the SEC Tournament two weeks later. The team still managed, however, to earn their seventh consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. Led by then-freshmen Hamilton, Rominger and Jackson, the team played well at the NCAA Tournament be fore falling apart in the last day of the tournament, shoot ing a team total of 329 to drop from 16th place to 25th place in one day. With one year of ex perience now under their belt, the three golfers now hope to lead USC and Blackmon back to the NCAA Tournament and beyond. 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