Gamecocks Advance to East Lake Cup Championship

ATLANTA, Ga.  –  The University of South Carolina women’s golf team had its hands full with the Florida Gators, but gritted out a win in the East Lake Cup semifinal on Tuesday at the East Lake Golf Club. 

Sophomore Pauline Roussin-Bouchard started things off for Carolina by going 1-up on the second hole, and battled Florida’s Annabell Fuller through the first five holes before taking a 2-up advantage. Fuller chipped away at that lead with a win on the 12th hole, but Roussin-Bouchard held steady through the final six holes to win her matchup 1-up. 

“I’m very excited,” Roussin-Bouchard said after the round. “It was a really tough match and we both played really, really good, especially the last five holes.”

Fellow sophomore Mathilde Claisse took a 1-up lead on the first hole against Florida’s Marina Escobar Domingo but lost the second hole and found herself in a tight match. The two remained tied through the first five holes before Claisse took the lead on the sixth hole, just to drop the seventh and regain the lead on the eighth hole. Claisse went 2-up on 10 before dropping the 12th hole to see her lead shrink. The Paris, France native responded with gusto on 13, notching an eagle to regain her 2-up lead. Domingo tried to rally late by taking 17, but Claisse finished strong to give the Gamecocks a 2-0-0 lead through the first two matchups. 

After Florida took the third matchup of the day senior Lois Kaye Go had the opportunity to win it for the Gamecocks, but getting past Florida’s Clara Manzalini was much easier said than done. Go dropped the second and third holes before winning the fourth. Manzalini regained her 2-up lead with a win on the eighth hole, but Go locked in and took both nine and 10 to tie the matchup. Go fell behind again on 13, but won 15 to even things up, and the women finished the first 18 holes all knotted up. On the 19th hole Go did everything she needed and finished off Manzalini to seal the 3-1-1 win for the Gamecocks. 

“A very exciting day for the Gamecocks,” head coach Kalen Anderson said after her team advanced. “Mathilde and Pauline did an excellent job starting us off with a couple wins in tight matches. Then Paula and Lois anchored us really well in tight matches with opponents going on birdie runs. They hung in there and fought under the pressure to get us the win. It was a really good day and we’re excited to play in the championship round tomorrow.”

It’s the top two seeds in the final round as the No. 2 Gamecocks clash with No. 1 Ole Miss. Due to inclement weather the start of Wednesday’s final round has moved up to 8:30 a.m. ET, with the Golf Channel coverage getting underway at 11:30 a.m. ET. 

2020 East Lake Cup Semifinal Results

Pauline Roussin-Bouchard (SC) def. Annabell Fuller (UF), 1-UP
Mathilde Claisse (SC) def. Marina Escobar Domingo (UF), 1-UP
Addison Baggarly (UF) def. Pimnipa Panthong (SC), 2&1
Lois Kaye Go (SC) def. Clara Manzalini (UF), 19 holes
Paula Kirner (SC) tied Maisie Filler (UF)