Lamb advances to North and South semifinals

Furman rising senior Blair Lamb, a former East Henderson High standout, advanced to the semifinals of the Women's North and South Amateur Championship on Friday at Pinehurst No. 2 after defeating Georgia's Garrett Phillips 2 up in the quarterfinals.

Lamb, seeded 33rd in the 64-player match play portion, will now face Australia's Kristie Smith, the fourth seed, in Saturday's semifinals. Smith eliminated Florida's Marika Lendl, the 21st seed, 3 and 2 in Friday's quarterfinals.

Last year, Lamb, the 2007 Southern Conference champion, made it to the second round of the North and South where she was defeated by Hickory's Abby Bools.

This year, Lamb bounced back with a shocking upset of defending champion Allison Walshe, the top seed, in Thursday's second round 4 and 3.

If Lamb wins Saturday's match, she will face the winner of the other semifinal match -- either seventh seed Cindy LaCrosse of Florida or 27th seed Chelsea Curtis of Massachusetts.