March 27, 2015

Day 1 Results | Match Play Brackets

ATHENS, Ga. – Senior Justine Dreher fired an even-par 72 to lead No. 3 South Carolina in the stroke play portion of the 43rd Annual Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic on Friday at the University of Georgia Golf Course. Dreher was one of just two rounds of par or better and the All-American finished the day in second on the individual leaderboard. The Gamecock team carded a 20-over 308 to earn the No. 2 seed as the event shifts to match play tomorrow.

After finishing the front nine at 1-under, Dreher holed seven-consecutive pars before recording a bogey on No. 17 to finish with a 72. It is Dreher’s best competitive round since the second day of the spring-opening Florida State Match-Up in early February.

Sophomore Katelyn Dambaugh and junior Sarah Schmelzel finished the day at 6-over (78) to tie for 21st. Freshman Ainhoa Olarra carded an 80 (+8) to finish in 30th. The Gamecocks dropped sophomore Jia Xin Yang’s score of 81 (+9).

UCLA earned the top seed for match play, topping the leaderboard with a 13-over 301. South Carolina (+20), Arkansas (+21) and Duke (+22) earned the top four seeds in the “Red” bracket. Arkansas’ Regina Plasencia finished one stroke ahead of Dreher on the individual at 1-under (71). Three athletes are tied for third behind Dreher at 1-over.

NOTABLES

• South Carolina led the field in par-3 scoring at 4-over and finished the day even on the par-5 holes, second best in the field.
• The Gamecocks’ 10 birdies were the second most in the field.

QUOTABLE South Carolina Head Coach Kalen Harris
The golf course played extremely tough today. The greens were firm and it was very windy. Justine (Dreher) played exceptionally well today, and I was very proud of the way the team fought through the difficult conditions. We grabbed the second seed for match play. Anything can happen in match play. We are looking forward to the rest of the weekend with this very strong field.

UP NEXT The Gamecocks begin match play at the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic. Tomorrow, South Carolina begins the first of two rounds with No. 7 Georgia. The host Bulldogs tied for seventh with the nation’s No. 1 team Southern Cal, but Georgia won the tiebreaker by virtue of a lower drop score. The winner of the match will face the winner of Arkansas and Northwestern in the semifinals.

Follow live scoring here.

SOUTH CAROLINA RESULTS

2. Justine Dreher 72 (E)
T21. Katelyn Dambaugh 78 (+6)
T21. Sarah Schmelzel 78 (+6)
T30. Ainhoa Olarra 80 (+8)
T36. Jia Xin Yang 81 (+9)

TEAM STANDINGS 1. UCLA 301 (+13)
2. South Carolina 308 (+20)
3. Arkansas 309 (+21)
4. Duke 310 (+22)
5. Baylor 311 (+23)
6. Northwestern 315 (+27)
T7. Georgia 317 (+29)
T7. USC 317 (+29)
9. Purdue 318 (+30)
10. Stanford 319 (+31)
11. Alabama 320 (+32)
12. Auburn 323 (+35)