Oct. 18, 2014

Team Standings | Individual Standings

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – No. 2 South Carolina battled with just four players on Saturday to finish the second round of the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate Championships at the Cherokee Country Club in third place. The Gamecocks shot a 5-over 289 today for a two-day total of 584 (+16) and are just four strokes behind leader Louisville (+12). Freshman Nanna Madsen (-1) will take the individual lead into tomorrow’s final round.

Madsen recorded the Gamecocks’ first under-par round of the weekend today to move from fifth to the lead, firing a 2-under 69. She is the only player in the field under par after two rounds at 1-under. Just three strokes behind Madsen in a tie for fourth is senior Justine Dreher at 2-over (144). Dreher overcame two double bogeys and a bogey with five birdies to finish the day at even (71).

Junior Mary Fran Hillow shot a 3-over 74 on Saturday and is 8-over for the tournament to tie for 31st. Sophomore Jia Xin Yang has a two-day total of 156 after carding a 4-over 75 today. Yang was 3-over after the first two holes, but fought to finish the day at 4-over.

The Gamecocks played the day with just four players today after sophomore Katelyn Dambaugh withdrew this morning due to injury. Dambaugh shot a 3-over 74 yesterday and was tied for 16th.

Louisville (+12) has a three-stroke lead on first-round leader Kent State (+15). Behind the Gamecocks (+16) is SEC foe Missouri (+19) and UCF (+21).

Madsen (-1) has a one-shot lead over Missouri’s Alina Rogers (E). Tennessee’s Hannah Pietila is in third at 1-over. Dreher is tied with Jennifer Ha from Kent State in fourth at 2-over.

KEY STAT

Senior Justine Dreher led the Gamecocks with five birdies today, including four on the back nine.

NOTABLES

• Nanna Madsen and Justine Dreher are two of three players to record seven birdies over the last two days. The pair account for 14 of the Gamecocks’ 19 birdies.
• Madsen is one of two players in the field to shoot a 69, the lowest round of the tournament. Today’s round was Madsen’s third 69 of the season.
• At 2-under, Madsen and two other players lead the field in par-4 scoring.
• This weekend’s 16-team field features four top-25 teams and three SEC programs.

QUOTABLE

South Carolina head coach Kalen Harris
Katelyn Dambaugh played through some considerable pain yesterday. She went through warm-ups this morning, but couldn’t go and withdrew from today’s round. So, we went with four, and they did a great job. We had a bit of a rough start, but we hung in there. This golf course is playing much differently than last year. The pin placements are extremely difficult and hard to access. The wind picked up today, too. It’s important to stay patient on this course. We lost our patience quite a bit yesterday, and that was something that we talked about going into today’s round. We talked about having the right attitude and finishing well. That’s exactly what we did today. Jia Xin Yang was 3-over after the first two holes and bounced back to finish at 4-over. Justine (Dreher) figured out a way to shoot even after a double bogey and a bogey. Our heads were in the right place today, and it paid off for them. We’re just four shots back after playing just four players today. They did a great job mentally today to be down one player and to keep us in it. Nanna (Madsen) was awesome for us at 2-under. This team generally rises to the occasion. We have the opportunity to be in the lead group tomorrow and to be in the hunt for the championship.

UP NEXT The Gamecocks tee off in the final round of the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate tomorrow morning starting at 10:10 a.m. Live scoring will be available at Golfstat.com.

SOUTH CAROLINA RESULTS 1. Nanna Madsen 72-69=141(-1)
T4. Justine Dreher 73-71=144 (+2)
T31. Mary Fran Hillow 76-74=150 (+8)
T66. Jia Xin Yang 81-75=156 (+14)
Katelyn Dambaugh (withdraw)

TEAM STANDINGS 1. Louisville 293-287=580 (+14)
2. Kent State 289-294=583 (+15)
3. South Carolina 295-289=584 (+16)
4. Missouri 297-290=587 (+19)
5. UCF 294-295=589 (+21)
6. Tennessee 301-290=591 (+23)
T7. Denver 297-300=597 (+29)
T7. Wisconsin 304-293=597 (+29)
9. Furman 299-300=599 (+31)
10. Notre Dame 300-303=603 (+35)
11. College of Charleston 306-302=608 (+40)
12. Michigan 311-299=610 (+42)
13. Chattanooga 317-298=615 (+47)
14. Penn State 317-301=618 (+50)
15. East Tennessee State 317-306=623 (+55)
16. Eastern Kentucky 324-313=637 (+69)