Anderson Wins SEC Coach of the Year, Four Gamecocks All-SEC

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Head coach Kalen Anderson has been named 2024 SEC Coach of the Year as the league announced its women’s golf awards on Wednesday afternoon. It’s the fourth time (2015, 2021, 2022, 2024) Anderson has received the prestigious honor from one of collegiate golf’s best and deepest conferences.

It was another outstanding season for the Gamecocks, as the team won four times against one of the toughest schedules in the country. Carolina is currently ranked No. 2 in the latest Clippd Team Rankings and earned its fourth consecutive No. 1 seed for the NCAA Division 1 Women’s Golf Championship. The Gamecocks will open play at the Auburn Regional next Monday seeking the program’s 21^st trip to the NCAA Championship, 14 of which have come under Anderson’s tutelage.

Four Gamecocks earned All-SEC honors, which ties a program record set in 2022. Junior All-Americans Hannah Darling and Louise Rydqvist were named First Team All-SEC as Carolina was the only program in the league to have multiple players on the first team. Sophomore Mia Sandtorv Lussand and freshman Vairana Heck were named Second Team All-SEC with Heck also earning a spot on the SEC All-Freshman squad.

It’s the third time Darling has earned First Team All-SEC honors as she joins Gamecock Hall of Famers Kristy McPherson (2001, 2002, 2003) and Siew Ai Lim (1994, 1995, 1996) as the only players in program history to accomplish the feat. Darling, who is ranked No. 19 in the latest Clippd Player Rankings and No. 17 in the latest World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR), has put together another fine season with a 71.21 scoring average and six top-20 finishes in eight stroke play starts. She picked up her first career victory in a loaded field at the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate back in March. The Midlothian, Scotland, native’s career scoring average of 72.00 is the lowest in program history.

Rydqvist earns All-SEC honors for the second time in her career with her first appearance on the first team. The Värnamo, Sweden, native is having the best season of her career to date and leads the team with a 70.78 scoring average, seven top-20 finishes in eight stroke play starts and four top-five finishes including runner-up medalist honors at the SEC Championship at Pelican Golf Club just 3 weeks ago. She is ranked No. 10 in the latest Clippd Player Rankings and No. 42 in the latest World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR). Rydqvist picked up her first career win in the season-opening ANNIKA Intercollegiate back in September which earned her a sponsor exemption into an LPGA event in November which she made the cut in. In 23 rounds played this season, Rydqvist has shot par or better an impressive 17 times, which leads the team. She is also 7-0-1 in match play this season. Rydqvist was  named to the SEC Community Service Team for the second time in her three years in Garnet and Black after leading the team in service hours this season.

Both Darling and Rydqvist made the cut at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur and were recently selected to represent Team International in the 2024 Arnold Palmer Cup this summer.

Sandtorv Lussand, who was a member of the all-freshman team last season, picks up her first All-SEC honors. She has a 72.48 scoring average with five top-20 finishes, including three top-10s, in eight stroke play starts. Sandtorv Lussand’s 13 rounds of par or better are second on the team. The Bergen, Norway, native has finished in the top-20 at the SEC Championship the last two seasons.

Heck has had a standout first season on campus with a 72.22 scoring average and five top-20 finishes in eight stroke play starts. She T-17^th at the SEC Championship in her debut at the coveted event. Heck’s 10 rounds of par or better are third on the team. She finished in the top-10 in two of the team’s victories this season at the ANNIKA Intercollegiate (T-9^th) and the San Diego State Classic (T-10^th).

The Gamecocks have had a player on the SEC All-Freshman Team for six-straight seasons.

2024 SEC Women’s Golf Awards

FIRST TEAM ALL-SEC

Julia Lopez Ramirez, Mississippi State

Ingrid Lindblad, LSU

Adela Cernousek, Texas A&M

Louise Rydqvist, South Carolina

Hannah Darling, South Carolina

Maisie Filler, Florida

Maria José Marin, Arkansas

Laney Frye, Kentucky

SECOND TEAM ALL-SEC

Caitlyn Macnab, Ole Miss

Casey Weidenfeld, Auburn

Anna Davis, Auburn

Megan Schofill, Auburn

Latanna Stone, LSU

Tillie Claggett, Vanderbilt

Vairana Heck, South Carolina

Cayetana Fernández García-Poggio, Texas A&M

Mia Sandtorv Lussand, South Carolina

COACH OF THE YEAR

Kalen Anderson, South Carolina

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Julia Lopez Ramirez, Mississippi State

Ingrid Lindblad, LSU

SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR

Louise Rydqvist, South Carolina

FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR

Maria José Marin, Arkansas

ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM

Avery Weed, Mississippi State

Maria José Marin, Arkansas

Cayetana Fernández García-Poggio, Texas A&M

Anna Davis, Auburn

Inès Archer, Florida

Vairana Heck, South Carolina

Savannah DeBock, Georgia

Ava Merrill, Vanderbilt

COMMUNITY SERVICE TEAM

Harriet Lockley, Alabama

Reagan Zibilski, Arkansas

Ashley-Sinclair Curtis, Auburn

Karoline Tuttle, Florida

Caterina Don, Georgia

Marissa Wenzler, Kentucky

Taylor Riley, LSU

Andrea Lignell, Ole Miss

Ana Pina Ortega, Mississippi State

Addie Dobson, Missouri

Louise Rydqvist, South Carolina

Kayla Holden, Tennessee

Sky Sudberry, Texas A&M

Celina Sattelkau, Vanderbilt

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