Gamecocks Reach Championship Match at the Liz

ATHENS, Ga. – No. 10 South Carolina women’s golf defeated No. 36 Ole Miss and No. 38 Georgia on Friday to reach the championship match at the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic at the University of Georgia Golf Course. The match-play finals appearance, which will be against Augusta University, is the first for Carolina at the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic.
 
“Everyone fought really hard,” South Carolina head coach Kalen Anderson said. “We hung in there, it was just a really good experience. Georgia really gave us a fight, so it was good to battle it out to the end and get the win.”
 
Highlighted by sweeps from Emily Price, Anita Uwadia and Ana Pelaez, the Gamecocks defeated the Rebels in the quarterfinals 4-1 before taking down Georgia 3-2 in the semifinals.
 
OLE MISS MATCH
Price claimed the Gamecocks first match-play victory of the 2018-19 season with a 3&2 win over Ellen Hutchinson-Kay. With the two all square through seven holes, she won four of the next six holes, using two birdies, to go up three with five holes remaining. The Ludlow, England, native held on at the par-5 7th with a par to seal the first victory of the day.
 
Marion Veysseyre’s match came down to the final hole, naturally creating some drama. Down one with two holes remaining, she won the 17th and headed into the 18th all square with Conner Beth Ball. Veysseyre and Ball both went into the trees off the tee, but both had clean second shots. The senior came up clutch on the green, and connected on a birdie for the win to give the Gamecocks a 2-0 lead.
 
After Lois Kaye Go dropped her match 2&1, it was up to Pelaez and Uwadia to take care of business for the Gamecocks to advance to the semifinals. Pelaez never trailed the entire match, but the match was even through the back nine. With the match within one with five holes to go, Pelaez fired off a birdie on the par-4 5th to take a two hole lead and used three pars to take the 2&1 victory after the par-4 7th.
 
Uwadia added on to the Gamecocks victory with another 2&1 win. She was up five holes at one point, using two birdies in a three-hole stretch to build the lead. Macy Somoskey battled down the stretch, but it was too late as Uwadia finalized the 4-1 victory for the Gamecocks.
 
GEORGIA MATCH
A dominating performance by Pelaez got Carolina on the board first against the Bulldogs. The junior wrapped up the match by the end of the par-3 13th to win 6&5 over Kelsey Kurnett. She used big birdies on holes three and five to create separation and used steady play the rest of the way to take the first victory.
 
Another big lead was built by Price in her second match of the day. The freshman was four up through 11 holes, with birdies on four and nine to build the big lead. Georgia’s Jenny Bae fought back, cutting Price’s lead to one up going into the par-5 18th. Price held on, registering a par to increase Carolina’s lead to 2-0.
 
After a victory for Georgia over Veysseyre, Uwadia was the next to come to 18. The junior also had a large lead through 12 holes, but Harmie Constantino brought the match all square by the end of the par-3 16th. Uwadia didn’t let Constantino’s run phase her, she connected on a par on the 17th as Contantino bogeyed. Down the final hole, Uwadia used a solid approach that eventually set up a par putt to give Carolina the victory.
 
AGATE SCORES
South Carolina 4, Ole Miss 1
Emily Price (SC) def. Ellen Hutchinson-Kay (OM), 3-and-2
Marion Veysseyre (SC) def. Conner Beth Ball (OM), 1-up
Julia Johnson (OM) def. Lois Kaye Go (SC), 2-and-1
Ana Pelaez (SC) def. Kennedy Swann (OM), 2-and-1
Anita Uwadia (SC) def. Macy Somoskey (OM), 2-and-1
 
South Carolina 3, Georgia 2
Emily Price (SC) def. Jenny Bae (UGA), 1-up
Jo-Hua Hung (UGA) def. Marion Veysseyre (SC), 1-up 
Anita Uwadia (SC) def. Harmie Constantino (UGA), 1-up
Ana Pelaez (SC) def. Kelsey Kurnett (UGA), 6-and-5
Rinko Mitsunaga (UGA) def. Lois Kaye Go (SC), 1-up

Next for the Gamecocks is Augusta, who defeated both No. 9 Florida and No. 6 Arkansas 4-1 in the quarterfinals and semifinals. The first tee time for the championship match will be at 9:20 a.m. ET from the first hole.