No. 4 Gamecocks Open Season Monday at ANNIKA Intercollegiate

LAKE ELMO, Minn. – No. 4 South Carolina opens its 2024-25 season on Monday morning at the ANNIKA Intercollegiate. The Gamecocks are the defending champions and have won two of the last three team titles at the prestigious fall event.

Expectations are high yet again as the Gamecocks return everyone from a team that made the program’s fourth-straight trip to the NCAA Championship last season after winning four events and being ranked in the top-five for much of the 2023-24 season.

Senior All-Americans Louise Rydqvist and Hannah Darling are in the lineup this week as well as All-SEC performers Mia Sandtorv Lussand and Vairana Heck. Freshman Maylis Lamoure is in the fifth spot this week. Both her and Heck had top-10s last season at the ANNIKA Intercollegiate in their debuts in Garnet and Black.

It’s a strong field at this week’s event per usual with seven top-20 teams from the Preseason Mizuno WGCA Coaches Poll. No. 3 UCLA is the highest ranked team.

Round one begins Monday morning with live scoring via Golfstat each day. The Gamecocks will be paired with No. 7 Wake Forest and No. 10 Oregon for the opening 18 holes at Royal Golf Club.

The individual winner again this week receives a sponsor exemption into the The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican Golf Club (site of 2025 SEC Women’s Golf Championship) on the LPGA in the middle of November. Rydqvist was co-champion last year and received the exemption which she took full advantage of in making the cut in her professional tournament debut.

2024 ANNIKA Intercollegiate Field

1. No. 12 Arizona State
2. Cal
3. No. 18 Clemson
4. No. 15 Duke
5. Iowa State
6. Minnesota
7. No. 10 Oregon
8. Purdue
9. No. 4 South Carolina
10. UCF
11. No. 3 UCLA
12. No. 7 Wake Forest

2024 ANNIKA Intercollegiate Gamecock Lineup

1. Louise Rydqvist
2. Vairana Heck
3. Mia Sandtorv Lussand
4. Hannah Darling
5. Maylis Lamoure

* – rankings from 9/6/24 Preseason Mizuno WGCA Coaches Poll

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