March 28, 2015

ATHENS, Ga. – On the second day of action at the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic, the No. 3 Gamecocks dropped their first round of match play against Georgia, 3-2, and took down No. 7 Arkansas 3.5-1.5 in the day’s second round at the University of Georgia Golf Course.

After earning the No. 7 seed yesterday, host Georgia upset the No. 2 seed Gamecocks 3-2 in South Carolina’s first duel of the day. Junior Sarah Schmelzel found the most success in the match, defeating Manuela Carbajo 3 up. South Carolina also tallied a win thanks to sophomore Jia Xin Yang, who took down Sylvie Brick 1 up. The Bulldogs’ Harang Lee and Rocio Sanchez defeated sophomore Katelyn Dambaugh and freshman Ainhoa Olarra by one. Senior Justine Dreher fell to Sammi Lee by two.

The loss sent the Gamecocks to the lower bracket to face Arkansas. Led by Dambaugh’s 6 and 5 win over Samantha Marks, South Carolina recorded a 3.5-1.5 win over the Razorbacks. Yang, the only Gamecock to win both of her head-to-head contests, recorded her second win of the day with a 3 and 2 victory over Summar Rochell. Olarra topped Jordy Labarbera by two holes. Dreher and Gaby Lopez went the full 18 holes before finishing all square. Razorback Regina Plasencia won by three holes over Schmelzel.

In 2014, the Liz Murphey became one of the first women’s events to switch to a combination of stroke and match play in advance of the NCAA Championships’ adaptation of a similar format in 2015. Yesterday, the Gamecocks earned the No. 2 seed after 18 holes of qualifying stroke play and advanced to the “Red” bracket. After playing two rounds of match play today, the teams will wrap up the event with one final round of match play on Sunday.

UP NEXT

The Gamecocks wrap up the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic with one more round of match play on Sunday. South Carolina faces Baylor beginning at 8 a.m. Follow along here.

SOUTH CAROLINA RESULTS South Carolina vs. Georgia
Harang Lee (UGA) def. Katelyn Dambaugh (SC) 1 up
Rocio Sanchez (UGA) def. Ainhoa Olarra (SC) 1 up
Jia Xin Yang (SC) def. Sylvie Brick (UGA) 1 up
Sarah Schmelzel (SC) def. Manuela Carbajo (UGA) 3 up
Sammi Lee (UGA) def. Justine Dreher (SC) 2 up

South Carolina vs. Arkansas
Regina Plasencia (Ark.) def. Sarah Schmelzel (SC) 3 up
Justine Dreher (SC) vs. Gaby Lopez (Ark.) AS
Katelyn Dambaugh (SC) def. Samantha Marks (Ark.) 6 and 5
Ainhoa Olarra (SC) def. Jordy Labarbera (Ark.) 2 up
Jia Xin Yang (SC) def. Summar Roachell (Ark.) 3 and 2