March 8, 2017

Golfstat Top 25

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina women’s golf continued its climb up the Golfstat rankings, moving into the top 10 in the organization’s poll that was released this week. The 10^th-ranked Gamecocks, who entered the spring ranked No. 13, are one of six SEC teams currently listed in the top 25.

Carolina grabbed another top-five finish this past weekend at the 2017 Darius Rucker Intercollegiate after placing fourth in the 54-hole event in Hilton Head Island, S.C. The performance marked the fourth-straight tournament the Gamecocks finished inside the top five dating back to the 2016 Cougar Classic. Carolina closed its fall with a victory at the 2016 Landfall Tradition after carding a tournament-record 280 (-8) in Wilmington, N.C., and it earned runner-up honors at the 2017 FSU Match-Up with a program-record 847 (-17).

Junior Ainhoa Olarra and freshman Ana Pelaez have paced the Gamecocks this spring with a pair of top-10 showings. Both golfers finished tied for ninth at the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate in a field that included 10 golfers ranked in the top 25 by Golfstat. Pelaez, who was tabbed the SEC Freshman Golfer of the Week on Feb. 22, grabbed runner-up accolades at the FSU Match-Up after carding the lowest 54-hole mark 208 (-8) by a Gamecock freshman.

Carolina senior Katelyn Dambaugh is currently ranked No. 16 in the Golfstat individual rankings, while Pelaez (No. 27) and Olarra (No. 45) are also listed in the top 50.

The Gamecocks, who currently boast the program’s lowest single-season stroke average (287.39), resume their spring slate at the 2017 Bryan National Collegiate. The three-day event gets underway on Fri., March 31, at the Bryan Park Golf Course in Greensboro, N.C.