No.3 Gamecocks Finish 14th at NCAA Championship

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — No. 3 South Carolina saw its historic 2021-22 season come to a close on Monday with a 14^th place finish at the 2022 NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championship. The Gamecocks fired the team’s low score over four rounds, with a field-best 288 (E).
 
“Unfortunately we fell short of making match play, but I’m very proud of our group’s grit and finish today,” said head coach Kalen Anderson. “To shoot 8-under on the back nine and post the low round of the day shows true championship character. Although our expectation was to make a run at the National Championship, our body of work for the entire season is something for which to hold our heads extremely high. We had a record-breaking season this year, and I look forward to returning four starters next year. Go Gamecocks!”
 
Freshman Hannah Darling, who missed the third round due to illness on Sunday, returned and fired a 3-under 69 to pace the team. She was one of just three players in the field to shoot in the 60s in Monday’s medal round. The Midlothian, Scotland, native made the turn at 1-over and was bogey free on the back nine with four birdies. She finished strong with birdies on 17 and 18.
 
Freshman Louise Rydqvist also had a solid final round with an even par 72. She made the turn at 1-over and shot 35 (-1) on the back with a pair of birdies, including a four on her final hole at the par-5 18^th.
 
The Gamecocks’ French duo of Mathilde Claisse and Justine Fournand also turned in solid perfromances. Claisse shot 73 (+1) and just missed a birdie putt on the final hole. She led the team with a T-40^th finish at 9-over par. Fournand got off to a tough start with back-to-back double bogeys. She rallied shot 2-under the rest of the way to get into the clubhouse at 74 (+2). On the back nine, Fournand had birdies on three of four holes on a stretch from 13 to 16.
 
Graduate senior Tai Anudit, who also was battling illness during the week, shot 80 (+8) in her final tournament in Garnet and Black.
 
This week was the seventh top-15 finish for South Carolina in 11 NCAA Championship appearances under Anderson.
 
After one of the best seasons in program history last year, the Gamecocks welcomed four new faces to the lineup this season. They upheld the same standard of excellence, winning a program record five times while being ranked in the top-five for most of the year. Claissse, Darling, Fournand and Rydvist will all be back in 2022-23 for Carolina.
 
2022 NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championship R4 Leaderboard
1. No. 1 Stanford – 1,161 (+9)
2. No. 2 Oregon – 873 (+9)
3. No. 15 Texas A&M – 877 (+13)
4. No. 10 UCLA – 878 (+14)
5. No. 19 Auburn – 885 (+21)
6. No. 16 Florida State – 887 (+23)
7. No. 5 San Jose State – 888 (+24)
8. No. 28 Georgia – 892 (+28)
— top-eight advance to NCAA Match Play —
9. No. 7 Arizona State – 894 (+30)
10. No. 12 Southern Cal – 892 (+28)
11. No. 14 LSU – 888 (+24)
12. No. 48 Purdue – 893 (+29)
13. No. 13 Texas – 901 (+37)
14. No. 3 South Carolina – 903 (+39)*
15. No. 8 Virginia – 901 (+37)
— top-15 advance to fourth round of NCAA Championship —
16. No. 4 Wake Forest – 903 (+39)
17. No. 34 Mississippi State – 905 (+41)
18. No. 17 Baylor – 906 (+42)
19. No. 6 Oklahoma State – 907 (+43)
20. No. 18 Michigan – 911 (+47)
21. No. 33 TCU – 912 (+48)
T22. No. 35 Vanderbilt – 913 (+49)
T22. No. 20 Arkansas – 913 (+49)
24. No. 9 Alabama – 916 (+52)
 
*Advanced in playoff defeating Wake Forest  
Hole 14: Fournand – 5 WF – 4
Hole 15: Rydqvist – 3 WF – 6
Hole 16: Anudit – 5 WF – 4
Hole 17: Claisse – 4 WF – 4
Hole 18: Darling – 5 WF – 5
Total: SC – 22 WF – 23
 
2022 NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championship R4 Gamecock Leaderboard
T40. Mathilde Claisse – 297 (+9)
T57. Louise Rydqvist – 301 (+13)
T65. Tai Anudit – 305 (+17)
68. Justine Fournand – 306 (+18)
N/A SUB. Hannah Darling – 75 (+3) in R1, 78 (+6) in R2, 69 (-3) in R4
N/A SUB. Paula Kirner – 84 (+12) in R3  
 
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