Sept. 17, 2015

Tournament Notes

South Carolina women’s golf makes its 2015-16 debut this weekend at the Mason Rudolph Championship in Franklin, Tenn. The 54-hole stroke-play event beings on Friday and runs through Sunday at the Vanderbilt Legends Club.

TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
Dates: Fri., Sept. 18 – Sun., Sept. 20
Location: Franklin, Tenn.
Course: Vanderbilt Legends Club – South Course
Format: 54-hole stroke play
The Lineup: Katelyn Dambaugh, Isidora Nilsson, Ainhoa Olarra, Sarah Schmelzel, Jia Xin Yang
The Field: Vanderbilt, Alabama, Auburn, Augusta, Baylor, UCF, Georgia, Houston, LSU, Louisville, Michigan State, MTSU, Northwestern, South Carolina, Tulane, Virginia and Yale.
Live Scoring: BirdieFire

The Gamecocks last competed in the event during the 2009-2010 season. Seven of the 17 teams at the event finished ranked in the top 25 at the end of the 2015 season. Golfweek ranked the Gamecocks No. 10 in its preseason rankings. Senior Sarah Schmelzel, juniors Katelyn Dambaugh and Jia Xin Yang, sophomore Ainhoa Olarra and freshman Isidora Nilsson are set to make the trip to Franklin, Tennessee.

FROM THE COACH
“We’re extremely excited to get going. We’ve had about three or four weeks of practice now. I couldn’t be happier and more pleased with what they’re doing at this time. I’ve seen a lot of consistency. We’ve been working hard on our short games and our wedge play. I think they’re just really eager to get going.”

RECORDS FALLING
After a historic season, the Gamecocks are following the same recipe starting the season later than normal. Carolina hopes to repeat its record-breaking season, which saw it finish with the second-lowest team scoring average in program history. Senior Justine Dreher departed with the school’s single-season scoring average, finishing at 72.53. Graduating senior Mary Fran Hillow and junior Katelyn Dambaugh set the new low-18 hole record each with a round of 65 during the season. Dambaugh’s 65 at the SEC Championship matched the SEC Championship record. She is currently on pace to break the school’s career scoring average record after two years with a mark of 73.68.

WHO’S BACK
Three of the five golfers from the Gamecocks’ core lineup in 2014-15, including junior Jia Xin Yang and two-time All-SEC honoree junior Katelyn Dambaugh, return. Senior Sarah Schmelzel, an SEC All-Freshman selection in the 2012-13 season, is back as well along with sophomore Ainhoa Olarra, who played in five tournaments as a freshman. Every returning player has been in the Gamecock lineup at some point in her career.

RECORD BREAKING
After earning its first No. 1 team ranking last fall, South Carolina finished the season at No. 6 in the Golfstat rankings. The Gamecocks set a school record with 10 top-five finishes on the season, received a No. 1 seed in the NCAA East Regional for the first time in program history and won the East Regional title for the third time in the last six years. The team finished in the top six at every regular-season tournament and recorded 15 straight top-five finishes dating back to the 2013-14 season, the longest streak in program history. A pair of wins at the ANNIKA Intercollegiate and the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate as well as a runner-up finish at the SEC Championship also highlighted the season.

SUMMER SUCCESS
A pair of Gamecocks participated in the 113th Women’s North & South Amateur Championship this July. Senior Sarah Schmelzel and junior Katelyn Dambaugh represented South Carolina at the event where nine of the last 12 winners have gone on to draw paychecks as members of the LPGA Tour. Schmelzel finished +18 after three days of stoke play, one stroke away from qualifying for match play. Dambaugh advanced to the semifinals of the tournament before falling (3 and 2). She finished her week at Pineburst No. 2 course with two match-play victories and medalist honors after posting the championship’s top stroke play score (+8). Her 2-under (68) in the third round of stroke play marked the field’s only round under par during stroke play.

UP NEXT FOR THE GAMECOCKS
South Carolina continues the fall season looking to defend its title at the ANNIKA Invitational in Reunion, Fla. The event, which features 12 of the top programs in the country, will take place Fri., Sept. 27, through Sun., Sept. 29, on the Tom Watson course at Reunion Resort.