Feb. 15, 2015

Final Results

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – No. 1 South Carolina carded a 5-over 293 in the final round of the Florida State Match-Up to finish fourth with a 54-hole total of 844 (+20) in its first tournament of the spring at the SouthWood Golf Course. The Gamecocks have finished in the top five of 12-straight regular season tournaments.

Entering the final round, the Gamecocks held a three-shot lead, but struggled on the back nine in today’s final round and could not catch a surging Furman. The Paladins took home the team championship after going 7-under in the final round to finish the tournament at 12-over (876). The total bested Mississippi State and Virginia, who both finished at 19-over (883), by seven strokes, with South Carolina one shot behind in fourth.

Senior Justine Dreher collected her sixth career top-five finish, wrapping up the event at 1-over to tie for fifth. Dreher hit five birdies in today’s round, but ran into trouble on No. 12 and ultimately quadruple bogeyed the hole. Over the course of the weekend, Dreher was second in the field in par-3 scoring at 3-under and third in par-5 scoring at 4-under. The senior also posted the second most birdies of the event (12) and holed one of the weekend’s two eagles.

In her first tournament back after missing the fall due to injury, junior Sarah Schmelzel earned her fifth career top-10 finish. Schmelzel finished the day at 1-over and the tournament just behind Dreher at 2-over (218).

After a tough second round, freshman Ainhoa Olarra rebounded with a solid round of even par to card the Gamecocks’ low round of the day. Olarra surged 12 spots up the leaderboard to finish T32 at 11-over for the weekend in her Gamecock lineup debut.

Junior Mary Fran Hillow was 3-over for the day to record a three-round total of 299 (+13) and finish tied for 40th. Sophomore Katelyn Dambaugh was 4-over for the day and 12-over for the tournament (228) to finish in a tie for 36th.

Texas A&M’s Bianca Fabrizio and Furman’s Taylor Totland finished the 54-hole event at 2-under (214), but Fabrizio defeated Totland in a two-hole playoff to claim the medalist honors. Marijosse Navarro of Texas A&M was third at 1-under and Ally McDonald of Mississippi State finished fourth at even par. Dreher tied for fifth with three other players at 1-over.

NOTABLES

• Dating back to the 2013 Mercedes-Benz Collegiate Championship, the Gamecocks have finished in the top five of 12-straight regular season tournaments.
• The Gamecocks were second amongst the field in par-3 scoring at 7-over and par-5 scoring at 4-under.
• Justine Dreher’s first-round eagle was one of two in this weekend’s event.
• South Carolina carded 36 birdies in the tournament, fourth most of the field.

QUOTABLE South Carolina Head Coach Kalen Harris
The team got off to a good start today. Unfortunately, we had a few tough breaks on the back nine and we couldn’t keep up with Furman’s great play today. Justine and Sarah each had a solid tournament, and I was impressed with Ainhoa’s even par round today as a freshman in our team lineup for the first time.

UP NEXT South Carolina is set to host the fourth annual Darius Rucker Intercollegiate at Long Cove Club in Hilton Head Island, S.C., March 6-8.

SOUTH CAROLINA RESULTS T5. Justine Dreher 72-72-73=217 (+1)
T9. Sarah Schmelzel 73-72-73=218 (+2)
T32. Ainhoa Olarra 74-81-72=227 (+11)
T36. Katelyn Dambaugh 73-79-76=228 (+12)
T40. Mary Fran Hillow 78-76-75=229 (+13)

TEAM STANDINGS 1. Furman 301-294-281=876 (+12)
T2. Virginia 300-294-289=883 (+19)
T2. Mississippi St. 296-301-286=883 (+19)
4. South Carolina 292-299-293=884 (+20)
T5. Kennesaw St. 298-300-287=885 (+21)
T5. Texas A&M 299-297-289=885 (+21)
7. Coastal Carolina 298-302-290=890 (+26)
8. Florida State 299-295-297=891 (+27)
9. Missouri 300-299-293=892 (+28)
10. East Tennessee St. 309-307-312=928 (+64)
11. Troy 312-311-308=951 (+67)
12. Georgia St. 323-322-306=951 (+87)