Oct. 8, 2015

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina women’s golf will travel to its third fall tournament this weekend as it gets ready to compete in the Ruth’s Chris Tar Heel Invitational in Chapel Hill, N.C. This marks the 11th-consecutive year the Gamecocks have played in the event, a 54-hole stroke play tournament featuring 18 of the top programs from throughout the country, including 13 that are ranked in Golfweek’s top 50. Duke returns as the defending champion after edging out South Carolina by two strokes in last year’s tournament.

TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
Dates: Fri., Oct. 9 – Sun., Oct. 11
Location: Chapel Hill, N.C.
Course: UNC Finley Golf Course
Format: 54-hole stroke play
The Lineup: Katelyn Dambaugh, Sarah Schmelzel, Ainhoa Olarra, Isidora Nilsson, Jia Xin Yang
The Field: Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Baylor, Duke, Kentucky, Lousiville, LSU, Michigan State, North Carolina, NC State, Oregon, Rollins, South Carolina, Tennessee, UNC Wilmington, Virginia, Wake Forest
Live Scoring: GolfStat

Tournament Notes

HISTORY AT THE TAR HEEL INVITATIONAL
Fresh off their win at the ANNIKA Invitational in 2014, the Gamecocks entered last year’s Tar Heel Invitational ranked No. 1 in the country. South Carolina posted rounds of 287-288-289 to finish even-par, tied for second out of 18 teams. Katelyn Dambaugh and Nanna Madsen led the Gamecocks, finishing 1-under for the event, tied for fifth. Mary Fran Hillow landed just outside the top 10 with a 217 (+3). The Gamecocks received a round of 69 or better by three separate individuals.

LAST TIME OUT
The Gamecocks opened with a stellar first-round score of 286 (-2) at the ANNIKA Intercollegiate in Reunion, Fla. before settling for ninth place in a field that included 12 of the top programs from throughout the country. Junior Katelyn Dambaugh led Carolina, finishing third overall at nine-under. She tied the low-18 (65) school record on Friday for the second time in her career and also matched the school record for low 54-hole score (207) over the weekend. Senior Sarah Schmelzel posted a career-best 54-hole score of 210 at the event, placing her in the top 10 individually as well in seventh. South Carolina was one of only three schools at the event with multiple top-10 finishers.

RECORDS FALLING
Carolina hopes to repeat its record-breaking 2014-15 season, which saw it finish with the second-lowest team scoring average in program history. Junior Katelyn Dambaugh, along with departing-senior Mary Fran Hillow, set the new low-18 school record last season with rounds of 65. Dambaugh’s 65 at the SEC Championship matched the SEC Championship record. She matched her career-best 65 at the 2015 ANNIKA Invitational and is currently on pace to break the school’s career scoring average record with a mark of 73.43. Senior Sarah Schmelzel (74.52) also sits in the top five on South Carolina’s career scoring average list. Her 54-hole score of 210 at the 2015 ANNIKA Invitational ranks sixth on the school’s all-time list.

UP NEXT FOR THE GAMECOCKS
South Carolina continues the fall season at the 14th annual Landfall Tradition, in Wilmington, N.C. The event, hosted by UNC Wilmington, takes place Fri., Oct. 23 – Sun., Oct. 25, at the Country Club of Landfall Dye Course. Eighteen teams are set to compete and include South Carolina, UNCW, North Carolina, NC State, Wake Forest, Virginia, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, Notre Dame, Alabama, Clemson, Oklahoma State, Central Florida, Kentucky and Elon. The Gamecocks finished in a tie for third in last year’s event.