No. 4 Gamecocks Begin NCAA Regional Play Monday Morning

ATHENS, Ga. – No. 4 South Carolina opens play in the NCAA Athens Regional on Monday at UGA Golf Course. It marks the 24^th straight NCAA Regional appearance for the program dating back to 1999.

The Gamecocks are the top seed at the 12-team regional site. The top-five teams after 54 holes will advance to the NCAA Championship (May 19-24), which is taking place at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz. for the third consecutive season.

This postseason marks the first time of the expanded field on the women’s side. There is now six, 12-team regional sites with six individuals.

The Athens Regional is taking place at UGA Golf Course this week which also host the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic, a staple on Carolina’s schedule every March. The team took second in this year’s tournament and won the event each of the past two seasons in 2021 and 2022.

Freshman Mia Sandtorv Lussand is the top player in the lineup this week after leading the Gamecocks with a T-10^th finish in the stroke play portion of the SEC Championship several weeks ago. She’s joined this week by a familiar four in sophomore All-Americans Louise Rydqvist and Hannah Darling and the team’s senior French duo of Mathilde Claisse and Justine Fournand. Graduate transfer Katherine Muzi will serve as the team’s substitute this week.

Under head coach Kalen Anderson, the Gamecocks have won five NCAA Regional titles (2010, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017) and have advanced to 10 NCAA Championships in the last 12 seasons. The program had appeared in the NCAA Championship a total of just eight times since 1980 before Anderson’s arrival in 2008. Carolina is seeking to make it three-straight appearances in the NCAA finals this year with a top-five finish at the Athens Regional.

The Gamecocks’ five NCAA Regional Titles are tied for the fourth-most in NCAA Division I all-time with Arizona, Arizona State, Georgia and Stanford.

The Gamecocks have been ranked in the top-five of the Golfstat Team Rankings from start to finish this season. The team has 10 top-five finishes this season, which is tied with the 2014-15 team for the most all-time at South Carolina.

Live scoring is available all week via Golfstat. The Gamecocks will be paired with No. 9 San Jose State and No. 16 Ole Miss for the opening round. Fournand will be the first player off on hole one at 8:03 a.m. (ET).

2023 NCAA Athens Regional Gamecock Lineup

1. Mia Sandtorv Lussand
2. Louise Rydqvist
3. Hannah Darling
4. Mathilde Claisse
5. Justine Fournand
6. Katherine Muzi

2023 NCAA Athens Regional Field

1. No. 4 South Carolina
2. No. 9 San Jose State
3. No. 16 Ole Miss
4. No. 23 Ohio State
5. No. 30 Georgia
6. No. 33 Maryland
7. No. 41 Kent State
8. No. 47 College of Charleston
9. Kansas
10. Furman
11. Augusta
12. Sacred Heart

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