April 12, 2016

By Kyle Heck (Spurs and Feathers)

The South Carolina women’s golf team knows what it takes to be successful at the SEC Championship. The past two seasons, the Gamecocks have finished as the runner-up in the ultra competitive event. So as the team prepares to travel to Birmingham, Alabama to begin the tournament at the Greystone Country Club on Friday, April 14, the Gamecocks will hope to build off of past success at the golf course.

“We’ve had really solid teams going in there,” head coach Kalen Anderson said of the SEC Championship. “Part of what we do is we do a lot of the same thing all year long and by the end of the year, they’ve really bought into it and it helps us sort of peak at the right time. Fortunately, we’ve been able to do that. They’re a crew that kind of flourishes in the postseason and the pressure of that and we’re here to win championships so I think they enjoy going out there and trying to compete for them.”

This year is no different as the Gamecocks have a strong lineup, particularly at the top. Junior Katelyn Dambaugh has racked up four top-five finishes and six top-10 finishes while senior Sarah Schmelzel has had an outstanding final year with the Gamecocks, notching two top-five finishes to go with three top-10 finishes. Schmelzel is going into the SEC Championship with all kinds of momentum as she’s coming off an individual victory at the Bryan National Collegiate in South Carolina’s last event.

Sophomore Ainhoa Olarra has also provided a consistent club to go behind Dambaugh and Schmelzel.

“Katelyn, Sarah and Ainhoa, the one, two, three punch of those three have been so solid all year, especially this spring, so it’s been really, really fun,” Anderson said. “I think our top three are one of the strongest in the SEC, if not the nation.”

However, it’s been the play of the bottom of the lineup that have given the Gamecocks some momentum in recent weeks. Freshman Marion Veysseyre has started to pick up the pace after just arriving at the school in January and junior Jia Xin Yang is another veteran that has plenty of postseason experience.

Led by Schmelzel’s victory, the Gamecocks placed second at the Bryan National Collegiate and head into the SEC Championship with five consecutive top-10 finishes. In addition, South Carolina recently moved into the top-25 in both the Golfstat and Golfweek polls.

“For Marion, you can’t expect from a first semester freshman coming from a different country to do a lot more than what she’s doing,” Anderson said. “All we’re expecting is everyone to work really hard and get better and they seem to be every event. It’s just kind of firing at the right time and hopefully we’ll peak here. I like where we’re at.”

Anderson is hoping her team can keep the momentum they’ve built with a strong showing in Birmingham once again. If they can do so, the Gamecocks should be in excellent shape as they look for a 18th consecutive NCAA Regional appearance in May.

“Obviously that’s going to give us more confidence moving into regionals and hopefully nationals,” Anderson said. “It’s just a momentum builder. If we happen to not have our week, we don’t. I don’t think it’s going to shut us down, but it certainly is going to be positive if we can go in there and have a great week.”