July 5, 2017

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Five South Carolina women’s golfers have been named 2016-17 Women’s Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) All-American Scholars, the organization announced Wednesday afternoon. Recent Gamecock graduates Katelyn Dambaugh and Jia Xin Yang, rising junior Marion Veysseyre and rising sophomores Ana Pelaez and Anita Uwadia each earned the distinction.

The 2016-17 All-America Scholar Team includes 952 golfers who needed to maintain at least a 3.50 GPA to be eligible for the honor. This year marks the third-straight season Yang has collected the award and the second time Dambaugh has been recognized as an All-American Scholar.

Dambaugh, Carolina’s all-time leader in career stroke average (72.67), remained among the nation’s elite in her final year with the Gamecocks. She posted the 12th-best scoring average (71.68) in Division I and ranked first on the team with five top-five finishes. The 2017 Golfweek First-Team All-American’s senior campaign was highlighted by medalist honors at the 2017 SEC Championship.

Yang appeared in nine tournaments this past season. She boasted five top-50 finishes and saw her best showing of the year at the 2016 Landfall Tradition, where she tied for 21^st with a 54-hole mark of 220 (+4).

Veysseyre competed in all 11 tournaments for the Gamecocks, finishing the season with a 75.10 stroke average. She earned her first career top-10 finish (T10) at the 2017 FSU Match-Up and shot par or better six times on the season.

Pelaez turned in a historic first season at Carolina after appearing in nine of 11 tournaments. The Malaga, Spain, native became the first freshman in program history to earn All-America honors and boasted a 73.12 stroke average, the lowest single-season mark ever by a Gamecock newcomer. Pelaez tallied a pair of top-five finishes, including medalist honors at the 2017 NCAA Columbus Regional.

Uwadia played in six tournaments as a freshman and ended the spring with a 75.94 scoring average. She tied for 11^th at the 2016 ANNIKA Intercollegiate in her collegiate debut and carded a final-round 71 (-1) at the 2016 Landfall Tradition to help the Gamecocks capture the tournament title.