May 4, 2016

BATON ROUGE, La. – No. 24 South Carolina is set to make its 18th-straight NCAA postseason experience when it opens play at the Baton Rouge Regional at University Club. The 54-hole event, which takes place May 5-7, features an 18-team field and six individual players from schools that did not qualify for the postseason. The top-six teams at the end of the tournament will advance to the NCAA Championship, set for May 20-25 at Eugene Country Club in Eugene, Ore. For more information on the event, visit its Tournament Central Page.

This week will mark South Carolina’s 23rd NCAA Regional appearance. The Gamecocks have captured a regional title three times in program history, with each championship coming under head coach Kalen Anderson. South Carolina won the 2010 and 2012 East Regional Titles before besting the field at last season’s East Regional. The Gamecocks have competed in an NCAA Regional at University Club three times, and their best finish at the venue came in 2002 when they placed sixth.

Three South Carolina golfers have claimed individual titles at regionals, and the Gamecocks have advanced to the NCAA Championship in each of the last six seasons. Junior Katelyn Dambaugh boasts two top-25 finishes at the NCAA Regionals, while senior Sarah Schmelzel placed just outside the top-10 (11th) at the event last season with a three-day total of 220 (+4). Sophomore Ainhoa Olarra and freshmen Marion Veysseyre and Isidora Nilsson will all be making their NCAA postseason debut for the Gamecocks at the Baton Rouge Regional.

COACH Kalen Anderson ON THE EVENT

BREAKING DOWN THE FIELD

The NCAA Baton Rouge Regional will feature six teams currently ranked in Golfstat’s Top-25. No. 4 Duke highlights the field as one of three Top-10 schools (No. 5 Florida, No. 10 Arizona State) in action, while No. 13 Washington and No. 20 Oregon will also be vying for a spot in the NCAA Championship along with the No. 24 Gamecocks. The Gators, one of 10 SEC schools in the NCAA postseason field, enter regionals with six tournament victories this season, and 12th-seeded LSU marks the other league member in the Baton Rouge Regional. South Carolina has notched three head-to-head victories over the Tigers this season.

RECAPPING THE SEC CHAMPIONSHIP

For the fourth-straight season, South Carolina notched a top-five finish at the SEC Championship, placing fifth with a three-day score of 888 (+24). Katelyn Dambaugh led the charge for the Gamecocks, as the junior erased a six-stroke deficit and climbed to the top of the individual leaderboard before ultimately settling for runner-up honors on Sunday’s final round at Greystone Golf and Country Club. Her third-round 66 (-6) marked the low round of the week and was one stroke off the tournament 18-hole score record (65) that she matched last season. Sophomore Ainhoa Olarra shined in her postseason debut, finishing eighth with a career-best 217 (+1). Her opening-round 69 (-3) was the lowest round in Olarra’s collegiate career, and her performance on the weekend gave the San Sebastian, Spain, native her second career top-10 finish.

MODEL OF CONSISTENCY

Katelyn Dambaugh has notched top-10 finishes in seven of South Carolina’s nine events this season, including all five tournaments this spring. The Goose Creek, S.C., native has placed second in each of her last two competitions, and her five top-five finishes have matched the program record for most by a junior in a season. Dambaugh’s 71.89 stroke average, the lowest single-season mark in South Carolina history, ranks 12th in Division I.

RECORD BOOK WATCH

Senior Sarah Schmelzel and junior Katelyn Dambaugh both enter the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional with two of the top scoring averages in program history. Dambaugh sports the lowest average with a career mark of 73.14, while Schmelzel is fourth (74.38) in the statistical category. Both of their stroke averages for South Carolina’s 2015-16 campaign rank in the top-10 in school history for single-season scoring, and the two have combined for 63 career rounds of par or better.

GOING OUT ON TOP

Playing in her final collegiate regular-season tournament, senior Sarah Schmelzel broke through, tallying her first career medalist honor at the Bryan National Collegiate. Schmelzel battled windy conditions all weekend and played her final nine holes at 1-under (34) to secure the individual title. The Phoenix, Ariz., native became the first Gamecock to finish atop the individual leaderboard since Nanna Madsen won the 2014 Mercedes-Benz Collegiate, and she is the fifth medalist under head coach Kalen Anderson.

SOUTHEASTERN STANDOUT

Junior Katelyn Dambaugh was tabbed the SEC Women’s Golfer of the Week earlier this spring (March 16) following her ninth-place finish (216, E) at the Wildcat Invitational. Dambaugh has recorded top-10 finishes in each of her last six tournaments, and her 71.89 stroke average this season ranks second in the league. The accolade marked the fourth career weekly conference honor for Dambaugh.

GOING FOR THE GREEN IN TWO

Katelyn Dambaugh has taken advantage of par-5 holes throughout her junior campaign, boasting the fifth-best par-5 scoring average (4.69) among Division I golfers. She has carded a team-high three eagles on the season, including one on the par-5 11th which jumpstarted her final-round 66 (-6) at the SEC Championship earlier this month.

FALL WRAP-UP

The Gamecocks, who competed in four events during the fall, saw a strong finish to their year when they fired a season-low 283 (-5) in the final round of the Landfall Tradition. South Carolina’s ninth-place finish at the event marked the second top-10 showing of the fall for the Gamecocks, who placed ninth at the ANNIKA Intercollegiate (Sept. 27-29). Junior Katelyn Dambaugh paced South Carolina with two top-three finishes and a 71.92 stroke average this fall, while Sarah Schmelzel finished in the top 20 in two events. The senior’s 6-under (70-69-71=210) at the ANNIKA Intercollegiate marked the lowest 54-hole total in her collegiate career.

UP NEXT FOR THE GAMECOCKS

With a top-six finish at the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional, South Carolina will advance to the NCAA Championship (May 20-25) in Eugene, Ore. The Gamecocks have qualified for the NCAA Championship 15 times in program history.