April 7, 2016

Golfstat Rankings | Golfweek Rankings

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Following its second runner-up finish of the spring this past weekend at the Bryan National Collegiate, the South Carolina women’s golf team has moved into the top-25 in both national collegiate golf polls. The Gamecocks, who open postseason play at the SEC Tournament later this month, check in at No. 21 in the latest Golfstat rankings, and they’re ranked No. 22 by Golfweek.

South Carolina posted a three-round total of 894 (+30) and finished six strokes behind No. 20 Virginia on Sunday at the Bryan Park Champions Course. Senior Sarah Schmelzel led the way, totaling a 219 (+3) to claim her first career medalist honors and notch her second top-five showing of the spring, while junior Katelyn Dambaugh finished in a tie for second (221, +5), as she recorded her fifth-straight top-10 finish. Dambaugh (No. 12) and Schmelzel (No. 50) both sit in the top 50 of Golfweek’s current individual rankings.

The Gamecocks have enjoyed a solid spring, tallying six head-to-head wins against top-25 teams. They opened 2016 with second-place honors at the Florida State Match-Up (Feb. 12-14) in Tallahassee, Fla., where three South Carolina golfers notched top-10 finishes, and they placed in a tie for eighth at the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate (March 4-6) against a field that included seven teams in the top-25.

South Carolina will look to carry its momentum into the SEC Tournament, set to take place April 15-17 at the Greystone Country Club in Birmingham, Ala. The 54-hole event will feature six teams currently ranked in Golfstat’s top-25 poll, including No. 1 Alabama. The Gamecocks have finished second in each of the last two years at the conference championship.