Gamecocks Dominant in Season-Opening Win at ANNIKA Intercollegiate

LAKE ELMO, Minn. — South Carolina went wire-to-wire on Wednesday in a dominant, seven-shot win at the 2021 ANNIKA Intercollegiate. The Gamecocks shot 284 (-4) in the final round to post a final 54-hole tally of 850 (-14).

“This team never let down the entire week,” head coach Kalen Anderson said. “I’m very proud of their fight and discipline, especially in this elite field. We just had a fun week competing and need to focus on keeping this mentality.”
 
True freshman Hannah Darling had an impressive debut earning runner-up medalist honors individually. She made seven birdies and fired another 66 (-6) to finish with a 54-hole score of 205 (-11), one shot behind Ole Miss’ Julia Johnson. The highly-touted Darling led the field this week with 17 birdies and in par-4 scoring average (3.80, -6). Her score of 205 is T-6^th lowest 54-hole mark in program history. Darling carded just four bogeys the entire tournament.
 
It was a strong field of competition this week as all 11 of the 12 teams competed in the 2021 NCAA Championship at Grayhawk Golf Club. Five teams this week advanced to NCAA Match Play a season ago, including eventual NCAA Champion, Ole Miss.
 
Today marked the 18^th career win for Anderson in her 15 seasons at South Carolina.
 
Redshirt senior transfer Tai Anudit had a nice bounce back round shooting 71 (-1) to T-18^th in her debut as a Gamecock. True freshman Louise Rydqvist was solid in round three with a 72 (E). Junior Mathilde Claisse was the final counting score with a 75 (+3). All three players finished in the top-20. Junior transfer Justine Fournand came into the day T-11^th at 1-under for the tournament through 36 holes but had a tough final round with an 86 (+14).
 
Like Anudit Darling, Fournand and Rydqvist, new assistant coach Michael Roters was also making his Gamecock debut this week.
 
South Carolina will be off the remainder of the month before teeing it up again at the Windy City Collegiate Classic (Oct. 4-5) in Chicago.
 
2021 ANNIKA Intercollegiate Final Leaderboard
1. South Carolina – 850 (-14)
2. Duke – 857 (-7)
3. Wake Forest – 859 (-5)
4. Alabama – 863 (-1)
5. Texas – 864 (E)
6. Arizona – 866 (+2)
7. Southern Cal – 867 (+3)
8. Arizona State – 869 (+5)
9. Ole Miss – 871 (+7)
10. UCLA – 882 (+18)
11. LSU – 885 (+21)
12. Minnesota – 902 (+38)
 
2021 ANNIKA Intercollegiate Final Gamecock Leaderboard
2. Hannah Darling – 205 (-11)
T11. Tai Anudit – 217 (+1)  
T20. Mathilde Claisse – 218 (+2)  
T20. Louise Rydqvist – 218 (+2)
T51. Justine Fournand – 229 (+13)
 
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