April 11, 2015

Round 2 Results

TEMPE, Ariz. – Led by sophomore Katelyn Dambaugh’s 66 (-6), No. 4 South Carolina climbed to second place with a 4-under 284 in the second round of the PING/ASU Invitational. Dambaugh is just the sixth in school history to turn in a round of 66. For the tournament, the Gamecocks are now 4-under (572) and are eight-strokes behind No. 8 Arizona (-12). The event at the ASU Karsten Golf Course features the top five teams in the country and seven of the nation’s top 10.

Dambaugh played bogey-free in today’s round and is 5-under for the tournament (139). Dambaugh and sophomore Jia Xin Yang, who is playing as an individual this weekend, are just one stroke behind the leaders in a tie for third (-5) after 36 holes. Yang continued her strong weekend, firing a 2-under 70 to follow her opening-round 69.

Senior Justine Dreher carded a 1-under 71 on Saturday to give her a two-round total of 141. She is 3-under and tied for 12th entering the final day. Arizona native Sarah Schmelzel holed an eagle on No. 5, just the third of the Gamecocks’ season, and finished the day at 2-over (74). She is 2-over for the tournament and in 31st place.

Freshman Ainhoa Olarra posted a strong front nine, making the turn at 2-under, but ultimately wrapped up the day with a 2-over 74 (T42). Junior Mary Fran Hillow turned in a 2-over 74 on Saturday, giving her a two-round total of 147 (+3, T37).

After entering the day tied with the Gamecocks for fourth at even-par, No. 8 Arizona had a stellar day on the course, going 12-under to hold an eight-stroke lead over South Carolina. At 2-under, Texas is two strokes behind the Gamecocks in third. No. 19 Stanford is in fourth place at 1-under and No. 1 Southern Cal rounds out the top five at even-par.

On the individual leaderboard, Southern Cal’s Annie Park and Arizona State’s Monica Vaughn are tied for first at 6-under. South Carolina’s Dambaugh and Yang are just one stroke back at 5-under and are tied with UNLV’s Harley Dubsky and Bertine Strauss of Texas. Five players are at 4-under.

KEY STAT

Every Gamecock finished the front nine at even-par or better.

NOTABLES

• Katelyn Dambaugh became just the sixth in Gamecock history to record a round of 66. Only teammate Mary Fran Hillow (65) has recorded a lower collegiate round.
• Today’s team score of 284 was the Gamecocks’ lowest round since posting a 281 in the final round of the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate Championships on Oct. 19, 2014.
• South Carolina continued to take advantage of the par-4s today. The Gamecocks still best the field in par-4 scoring at 2-under for the tournament.
• Sarah Schmelzel’s eagle is one of four in the first two rounds of the tournament.
• Over two rounds, the Gamecock lineup has produced 30 birdies. Playing as an individual, Jia Xin Yang has carded 11 birdies in the first two rounds.
• The top five schools in the most recent Golfstat Relative Rankings are at the tournament.

QUOTABLE South Carolina Head Coach Kalen Harris
Overall, today was a strong day for the Gamecocks. Katelyn was on fire today, which was fun to see and Justine played steady as she usually does. I’m also very pleased with the play of Jia Xin in our individual spot. Hopefully we can get hot tomorrow in the final round.

UP NEXT

The Gamecocks conclude play at the PING/ASU Invitational tomorrow morning. South Carolina is set to tee off at 12 p.m. ET. Follow live scoring here.

SOUTH CAROLINA RESULTS

T3. Katelyn Dambaugh 73-66=139 (-5)
T3. Jia Xin Yang (Indiv.) 69-70=139 (-5)
T12. Justine Dreher 70-71=141 (-3)
T31. Sarah Schmelzel 72-74=146 (+2)
T37. Mary Fran Hillow 73-74=147 (+3)
T42. Ainhoa Olarra 76-73 =148 (+4)

TEAM STANDINGS 1. Arizona 288-276=564 (-12)
2. South Carolina 288-284=572 (-4)
3. Texas 291-283=574 (-2)
4. Stanford 288-287=575 (-1)
5. Southern California 289-289=576 (E)
6. Arizona State 287-290=577 (+1)
T7. Duke 286-293=579 (+3)
T7. Baylor 292-287=579 (+3)
9. UCLA 292-288=580 (+4)
T10. Arkansas 284-298=582 (+6)
T10. Alabama 289-293=582 (+6)
12. Washington 290-293=583 (+7)
13. Oklahoma 293-295=587 (+11)
14. UNLV 296-294=590 (+14)
15. San Diego State 302-291=593 (+17)