March 31, 2013

Results

GREENSBORO, N.C. — South Carolina freshman Sarah Schmelzel fired her second 71 (-1) of the weekend on her way to claiming third place at the Bryan National Collegiate on Sunday afternoon at the Bryan Park Golf and Enrichment Center. As a team, the Gamecocks posted a final-round 296 (+8) to finish in eighth place with a total of 893 (+29).

Schmelzel wrapped up the weekend with a 54-hole total of 215 (-1), which matches the second-lowest 54-hole total for a freshman in school history. She came up four strokes short of tournament champion Emilie Burger of Georgia, who recorded a total of 211 (-5) for the weekend. The Gamecocks finished ahead of six teams ranked ahead of them in the Golfstat Top 50, including second-ranked Duke and ninth-ranked North Carolina.

“I’m proud of the way the team played this week,” South Carolina head coach Kalen Harris said. “We handled adversity very well and were very tough. Three of our players birdied their last hole today to push us in front of some highly ranked teams. We need to keep this mentality moving into the postseason. There were a lot of positives to build on from this week.”

A native of Phoenix, Ariz., Schmelzel was one of the Gamecocks who birdied their last hole. She finished the afternoon with five birdies and four bogeys on the scorecard.

Junior Suzie Lee was the next highest Gamecock on the leaderboard as she finished in a tie for 40th with a total of 225 (+9). Lee turned in a final-round 75 (+3) that included two birdies and five bogeys.

Sophomore Justine Dreher posted a 76 (+4) on Sunday to conclude the tournament in a tie for 44th with a total of 226 (+10). Dreher was as high as 5-over during her round but she tallied her first birdie of the afternoon on her final hole to finish the day at 4-over.

Freshman Chelsey Couch turned in the second lowest round of the day for the Gamecocks as she shot a 74 (+2). Couch finished the weekend in a tie for 56th with a total of 229 (+13). For her round she recorded four bogeys and two birdies, including a birdie on her finishing hole at No. 10.

Freshman Mary Fran Hillow shot a 77 (+5) to finish the tournament in a tie for 75th with a total of 237 (+21). Junior Samantha Swinehart, who played as an individual, carded an 81 (+9) to finish in a tie for 50th with a total of 228 (+12).

Virginia won the tournament title with a total of 869 (+5), followed by Arkansas (873), Wake Forest (885) and Vanderbilt (886).

The Gamecocks will close out the regular season on April 12-14 at the Pink Arizona State Invitational. The 54-hole event will be held at the ASU Karsten Golf Course in Tempe, Ariz.

SOUTH CAROLINA RESULTS3. Sarah Schmelzel (5)       71-73-71=215 (-1)T40. Suzie Lee (2)         73-77-75=225 (+9)T44. Justine Dreher (3)   72-78-76=226 (+10)T56. Chelsey Couch (4)         80-75-74=229 (+13)T75. Mary Fran Hillow (1)   84-76-77=237 (+21)*T50. Samantha Swinehart  72-75-81=228 (+12)*Played as an individual
FINAL TEAM STANDINGS1. Virginia             281-293-295=869 (+5)2. Arkansas             294-289-290=873 (+9)3. Wake Forest          297-299-289=885 (+21)4. Vanderbilt           286-300-300=886 (+22)5. Florida          304-292-291=887 (+23)6. Georgia          300-295-293=888 (+24)7. NC State             300-297-295=892 (+28)8. South Carolina        296-301-296=893 (+29)T9. Duke            297-307-290=894 (+30)T9. Auburn          298-297-299=894 (+30)11. North Carolina      294-303-300=897 (+33)12. Michigan State      298-302-302=902 (+38)13. Tennessee           306-304-294=904 (+40)14. Florida State       307-302-299=908 (+44)15. UNCG            316-306-305=927 (+63)16. UNC Wilmington      311-310-307=928 (+64)17. Louisville          304-305-321=930 (+66)