USC fits golfer to a tee

Gaffney High golfer Cayci Ruppe announced a verbal commitment to South Carolina in August. She will become the school's first female golfer to sign with a college next month. Cayci Ruppe remembers her first encounter with South Carolina women's golf coach Kristi Coggins.

"I was at the South Carolina Junior Match Play tournament at Furman and I went to get something to eat and I saw the coach," Ruppe said.

They'll be seeing much more of each other when Ruppe officially signs with the Gamecocks next month to become the first Gaffney High female golfer to sign a college scholarship.

"(Coggins) asked me to come down and visit," Ruppe said. "I went down for an unofficial visit and I loved it. I loved the coach and I loved the campus."

Coggins watched Ruppe at several other tournaments before offering her a scholarship.

Ruppe didn't hesitate to accept.

"I visited Wofford and Furman, but I just thought that South Carolina was the right place for me," she said.

Ruppe verbally committed to the Gamecocks on Aug. 19.

Ruppe will also be attending South Carolina with best friend, Taylor Weaver, a golfer who plays for Dorman.

"It's a dream to play for South Carolina, especially with my best friend there," she said. "We are very excited."

So is Cherokee National Golf and Recreation Club pro Danny Agapion, who has watched Ruppe develop into a talented shot maker.

"She is a heckuva player with a lot of potential to take it to the next level," Agapion said. "She can play with any girl at the collegiate level."

She's proved that as a prep player, finishing second in the South Carolina Class 4A golf tournament last year. This summer, she finished first at the Upstate Junior Classic and placed second at the South Carolina Junior Girls Match Play Championship.

Because Gaffney doesn't field a girls team, Ruppe has been a fixture on the Gaffney boys team for three years. In addition to playing for the Indians this spring, she'll also be busy playing in tournaments this winter and summer.

"My goal now is just to work to get better," she said.