Anderson, Four Gamecocks Honored by SEC

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Head coach Kalen Anderson has been named SEC Co-Coach of the Year and South Carolina had a program record four players named All-SEC as the league office announced its postseason awards on Thursday morning.   
 
It’s been a historic season for the third-ranked Gamecock squad as the team notched a school record five wins in eight regular season events. Carolina punched its ticket to the NCAA Championship for the 10^th time in 15 seasons under Anderson yesterday, finishing T-2^nd at the NCAA Tallahassee Regional.
 
It marks the 10^th NCAA Championship appearance in 15 seasons under Anderson. The program had appeared in the NCAA Championship a total of eight times since 1980 before she took over as head coach in the spring of 2008.
 
Anderson has now won SEC Coach of the Year three times (2015, 2021, 2022). Kristi Coggins (1999) is the only other head coach to earn the honor.
 
Standout freshman Hannah Darling earned First Team All-SEC honors to highlight Carolina’s all-league selections. She’s the 11^th first team selection under Anderson. The Midlothian, Scotland, native leads the team in scoring average (72.59) and top-five finishes (5). In 10 stroke play starts, she’s finished in the top-20 eight times. Her scoring average is the second lowest in program history by a freshman, trailing only First Team All-American Pauline Roussin-Bouchard, who is currently playing on the LPGA. She joins Roussin-Bouchard as the only freshmen in program history to be named First Team All-SEC. Darling, who is currently ranked No. 8 in the Golfstat Player Rankings and No. 12 in WAGR, will play in the Curtis Cup (June 10-12) and the Arnold Palmer Cup (July 1-3) this summer. She also was named to the All-SEC Freshman squad.
 
Graduate transfer Tai Anudit, junior Mathilde Claisse and freshman Louise Rydqvist were all named Second Team All-SEC. Anudit, who transferred in from Kennesaw State, has five top-20 finishes this season. Claisse, a three-year starter for the Gamecocks, has six top-20 finishes. Rydqvist, who was also named All-Freshman alongside Darling, has a pair of top-five finishes and ranks second on the team in scoring average (73.62) and top-10 finishes (4). Like Darling, Rydqvist has been consistent with eight top-20 finishes in 10 stroke play starts this season. It’s the first time in program history Carolina has multiple players on the All-Freshman squad since joining the league in 1992. Rydqvist was also named to the SEC Community Service Team.
 
First round action at Grayhawk Golf Club gets underway on Friday (May 20) next week in Scottsdale. It’s the second consecutive year the club has hosted the National Championship. Twenty-four teams are in the field. Teams will play 54-holes with a cut to the top-15 and the top-nine individuals for the final 18 holes of stroke play on Monday (May 23). The top eight teams will advance to the NCAA Match Play Quarterfinals on Tuesday.
 
2022 SEC WOMEN”S GOLF AWARDS
 
FIRST TEAM ALL-SEC
Ingrid Lindblad, LSU
Polly Mack, Alabama
Julia Lopez Ramirez, Mississippi State
Kajal Mistry, Arkansas
Hannah Darling, South Carolina
Benedetta Moresco, Alabama
Chiara Tamburlini, Ole Miss
Blanca Fernández García-Poggio, Texas A&M
 
SECOND TEAM ALL-SEC
Megan Schofill, Auburn
Annabell Fuller, Florida
Maisie Filler, Florida
Anna Foster, Auburn
Mathilde Claisse, South Carolina
Louise Rydqvist, South Carolina
Carla Tejedo, LSU
Tai Anudit, South Carolina
 
CO-COACHES OF THE YEAR
Garrett Runion, LSU
Kalen Anderson, South Carolina
 
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Ingrid Lindblad, LSU
 
SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Benedetta Moresco, Alabama
 
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Julia Lopez Ramirez, Mississippi State
 
ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
Louise Rydqvist, South Carolina
Hannah Darling, South Carolina
Elsa Svensson, LSU
Julia Lopez Ramirez, Mississippi State
Adela Cernousek, Texas A&M
Natacha Host Husted, Ole Miss
Isabella van der Biest, Alabamaq
Bailey Davis, Tennessee
Natasha Kiel, Vanderbilt
LoraLie Cowart, Georgia
 
COMMUNITY SERVICE TEAM
Carolina Caminoli, Alabama
Ela Anacona, Arkansas
Ashley-Sinclair, Auburn
Clara Manzalini, Florida
Caroline Craig, Georgia
Laney Frye, Kentucky
Alden Wallace, LSU
Ellen Hutchinson-Kay, Ole Miss
Abbey Daniel, Mississippi State
Noelle Beijer, Missouri
Louise Rydqvist, South Carolina
Mikayla Bardwell, Tennessee
Brooke Tyree, Texas A&M
Jayna Choi, Vanderbilt
 
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