Gamecocks Win 2019 Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic

Stroke Play Recap // Day Two Recap

ATHENS, Ga. – Just four days prior to the 2019 SEC Championships, No. 10 South Carolina women’s golf took the title at the 2019 Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic in its first taste of match play this season. The Gamecocks defeated Augusta University 3-2 in the championship match at the University of Georgia Golf Course.
 
“It was a really, really, good match,” South Carolina head coach Kalen Anderson said. “Augusta played really awesome, especially on the front nine. They were making so many putts and kept the pressure on us all the time. They really fought us hard until the end and it’s nice for us to come away with the win.”
 
While junior Anita Uwadia completed her weekend with an unblemished 3-0 record, fellow junior Ana Pelaez was able to halve her match to clinch the victory for the Gamecocks on the par-5 18th.  
 
“[The team] was really gutty with their ball striking coming down the stretch,” Anderson said. “They played really well and hung in there. This is a really good warmup for SECs and getting tuned into match play. I think today was probably our best round of match play and the toughest match we had.”
 
Freshman Emily Price was the first to complete the course on Saturday. After sweeping her two matches on Friday, Price was forced to fight back from two holes down through seven holes. The talented rookie continued to work, and used a birdie on the par-3 8th and pars on the 10th and 11th to take a 1-up lead. The lead grew to 2-up after the 15th, but Augusta’s Teresa Diez-Moliner squared the match down the stretch to halve the match and split the point.  
 
After an Augusta victory in the second pairing, Carolina’s Lois Kaye Go claimed a victory for the Garnet and Black in the third pairing. Go took advantage of some bogeys from Augsuta’s Cecilia Diez-Moliner, and had increased her lead to 2-up through the first 11 holes. A birdie on the par-5 12th added to her lead before she clinched the win with her fourth birdie on the par-4 15th to tie the match at 1.5.
 
Although Uwadia’s match was close, the junior never trailed throughout the match. She used an opening birdie to take an early lead, but a birdie from Augusta’s Linda Lundqvist knotted the match after the par-4 5th. After the two matched birdies on the 8th, Uwadia carded a second-straight birdie to take back the lead at 1-up through the front nine. Lundqvist later tied the match after a bogey from Uwadia on the 14th, and three-straight pars between the two set up a dramatic finish on the par-5 18th. With Lundqvist carding a double bogey, Uwadia calmly sank a par to give the Gamecocks a 2.5-1.5 lead with one match remaining.
 
With the match all square through 13 holes, Pelaez and Augusta’s Charlotte Alran each posted five-consecutive pars to halve the match and claim the championship for the Gamecocks. Pelaez finished with a team-high five birdies in the final match of the weekend.
 
Championship Match
South Carolina 3, Augusta 2
Teresa Diez-Moliner (Aug.) vs. Emily Price (SC) all square
Maggie Ashmore (Aug.) def. Marion Veysseyre (SC), 4-and-3
Lois Kaye Go (SC) def. Cecilia Diez-Moliner (Aug.), 4-and-3
Anita Uwadia (SC) def. Linda Lundqvist (Aug.), 1-up
Charlotte Alran (Aug.) vs. Ana Pelaez (SC), all-square
 
Up next for the Gamecocks is the 2019 SEC Championships. Carolina will take their talents to Birmingham, Ala. to play at Greystone Golf & Country Club from April 17-21. Last season, the Gamecocks made it all the way to the championship match before falling 3-2 to Arkansas. The tournament will begin with multiple rounds of stroke play before match play concludes the tournament on Saturday and Sunday.
 
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