April 18, 2015

HOOVER, Ala. – The No. 2 Gamecocks climbed to second place after going 8-under (280) at the 2015 SEC Championships at the Greystone Golf and Country Club on Saturday. South Carolina is 3-over (579) after two rounds of the tournament. Sophomore Katelyn Dambaugh was the highlight of the day, tying teammate Mary Fran Hillow’s school-record and matching the SEC Championship record with a 7-under 65 to move to second place on the individual leaderboard at 6-under (138) overall.

South Carolina’s round of 280 is its best of the season and matches the second-best 18-hole team score in program history, just one stroke off the all-time low.

Dambaugh parred her final hole, the par-4 No. 4, to cap the day at 7-under. Dambaugh did not record a bogey all day. The sophomore is one stroke behind leader Bianca Fabrizio of Texas A&M (-7) after 36 holes.

Justine Dreher wrapped up the day at even-par after navigating her final nine holes at 1-under. The senior is tied for sixth with one other player at 2-under (142) after two rounds of play.

Sophomore Jia Xin Yang opened the day with back-to-back bogeys, but holed three-straight birdies to get back on track. She ended the day with a 1-under 71, and is 7-over (151) after 36 holes (T38). Junior Sarah Schmelzel rebounded from her first-round 77 with a round at even-par. The score moved her seven spots up the leaderboard into a tie for 29th at 5-over (149).

The Gamecocks dropped Hillow’s round of 75 (+3). Hillow posted 11-straight pars to start the second round, but recorded three bogeys in the second half of her day. The junior is tied for 47th at 10-over (154).

No. 13 Texas A&M holds the lead at 6-under after 36 holes. The Aggies created some separation from the field with an 11-under second round, a new SEC Championship low team round. No. 14 Tennessee (+8) is five strokes behind the Gamecocks in third. At 9-over, Vanderbilt is in fourth place, and Alabama is in fifth at 12-over.

Behind Fabrizio and Dambaugh on the individual leaderboard, Vanderbilt’s Jenny Hahn is at 5-under for third place and Texas A&M’s Maddie Szeryk is at 4-under in fourth.

NOTABLES

• Katelyn Dambaugh’s 65 ties teammate Mary Fran Hillow’s program record. Hillow shot a 65 in the third round of the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate Championships in October.
• Dambaugh’s score also ties the SEC Championship record, set previously by Katy Harris of LSU in 2001 and Marina Alex of Vanderbilt in 2010.
• Today’s team total of 280 is the best round of the season and matches the second-best 18-hole score in program history.
• Dambaugh leads the field with 10 birdies. Justine Dreher owns the second-most pars with 28 over the first 36 holes.

QUOTABLE South Carolina Head Coach Kalen Anderson
On the team’s performance in the second round…
They played really well, very steady. We came out and took it one at a time. A&M had a heck of a day, congratulations to them. Hopefully, we’ll have the opportunity to play again tomorrow; I know the weather is moving in a little bit again. It’s anybody’s day tomorrow. Obviously Katelyn Dambaugh was incredible at 7-under today. She’s really come through in the last couple of tournaments for us. From top to bottom, the whole team played really well. It was very steady golf from five out of five, and I was really proud of them. They came back after yesterday and put themselves back into contention. We’re a few back of A&M, but hopefully tomorrow can be our day.

On Katelyn Dambaugh…
She had a 66 last week out in Tempe, Ariz. Yesterday, she didn’t start the first round well, but she finished strong. She’s been playing really, really well. She was at 1-over yesterday in some terrible conditions. She’s been close to playing some incredible golf. So, it’s good to see her break through at the right time. I’m excited for her. We’ll see if she can stay patient and go out there and do it again tomorrow.

South Carolina sophomore Katelyn Dambaugh
On her round of 65…
I felt comfortable starting off, and I just took it one shot at a time. I didn’t really get ahead of myself. I hit the fairways cleanly and didn’t have to work too hard on my putts.

On the team climbing to second place…
It feels great, we knew coming in here that we would have a good chance. We just had to play our game. We’re in contention now.

UP NEXT

South Carolina is set to wrap up play in the SEC Championships at the Greystone Golf & Country Club tomorrow morning. All teams are set to begin play at 11 a.m. ET with another shotgun start. The Gamecocks are paired with Texas A&M and Tennessee. Follow live scoring here.

SOUTH CAROLINA RESULTS

2. Katelyn Dambaugh 73-65=138 (-6)
T6. Justine Dreher 70-72=142 (-2)
T29. Sarah Schmelzel 77-72=149 (+5)
T38. Jia Xin Yang 80-71=151 (+7)
T47. Mary Fran Hillow 79-75=154 (+10)

TEAM STANDINGS 1. Texas A&M 293-277=570 (-11)
2. South Carolina 299-280=579 (+3)
3. Tennessee 293-291=584 (+8)
4. Vanderbilt 293-292=585 (+9)
5. Alabama 300-288=588 (+12)
6. LSU 299-293=592 (+16)
7. Arkansas 300-293=593 (+17)
8. Florida 299-295=594 (+18)
9. Georgia 306-289=595 (+19)
10. Mississippi State 308-291=599 (+23)
11. Auburn 307-295=602 (+26)
12 Kentucky 307-297=604 (+28)
13. Missouri 307-302=609 (+33)
14. Mississippi 310-307=617 (+41)