April 29, 2016

By Brian Hand (Spurs and Feathers)

South Carolina head women’s golf coach Kalen Anderson really likes the way her team is playing entering NCAA regionals.

“You look at our last couple of events (as an example),” Anderson said. “Bryan Park (Bryan National Collegiate) we played extremely well. Into SECs, we just hung in there. We didn’t necessarily have the greatest first day, but they hung in there and they fight and they know how to get the job done in the end. And that’s what I feel really, really good about.”

Anderson particularly is pleased with the consistency at 1-3 in her lineup.

“If you look at our season, this is probably the best that we’ve been playing all year, and we have the leadership of the three between Katelyn (Dambaugh) and Sarah (Schmelzel) and Ainhoa (Olarra) that are really plugging us along. We’re just trying to get those last two spots in a contributing manner, and hopefully going to help us out, but I feel really good about where we are.”

One of the big reasons that South Carolina is where it is right now is the play of junior Katelyn Dambaugh, who is putting together another All-America season after earning Golfweek Honorable Mention accolades last year.

This year, Dambaugh is 12th in all of NCAA Division I with a 71.89 stroke average, and she feels she is currently playing the best golf of her Gamecock career. But as you would expect for a golfer of her caliber, she also wants more.

“Right now, I do so far with the consistency,” Dambaugh said. “The last couple of years, I’ve played well. I’ve had some really low rounds, but I have not been able to do that consistently tournament to tournament, or even all three rounds of a tournament. Finishing top-10 in every event this spring, and a couple top-5s, I’ve just really seen that consistency come around, so this is the best I’ve been so far.”

South Carolina garnered its 18th straight NCAA postseason berth to advance to the Baton Rouge Regional that will be contested May 5-7 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The Gamecocks are the sixth-seed in the Baton Rouge Regional.

The 24th-ranked Gamecocks are making their 23rd overall NCAA appearance overall, and they will be looking for their seventh straight NCAA Championships appearance.

The top-6 teams from each region will advance to the NCAA Championships, which will be played May 20-25 at the Eugene Country Club in Eugene, Oregon.

South Carolina is also looking for its second straight regional victory and fourth since 2010. Last year, the then second-ranked Gamecocks won the NCAA East Regional at the Lonnie Poole Golf Course in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Anderson knows that experience could factor in immensely in this year’s Baton Rouge Regional.

“Just confidence and that experience is so critical at this point of the season,” Anderson said. “We’re not moving into foreign territory. We’re somewhere where we’re comfortable, and it’s a lot of pressure and it’s a lot of excitement, but it’s something that they’ve handled well.”

In the past the Gamecocks have played at the regional site the University Club, but none on the current team have ever played the course.

“They’ve made some changes,” Anderson said. “It’s generally pretty forgiving off the tee and the green complexes are complex green complexes. You’ve got to be in the right spots, and you’ve got to leave yourself in the right spots. It’s a little bit similar to Concession where we played last year (at NCAA Championships) where you can get some difficult breaks and things like that even when you hit some good shots. We’re certainly going to have to explore it when we get there, but the fact that at least I’ve been there and we know what the golf course is about is definitely helpful. There’s just going to be some planning around the greens, that’s for sure.”

It’s a busy time in general though for the Gamecocks with the team preparing for finals at the University of South Carolina as well as the regional.

“We’re excited to get to LSU and get down there and get on the greens,” Anderson said. “I think it’s going to be a good golf course for us. The field, I kind of like where we stand in it. I know the girls are getting ready to end all of their finals, so it’s been a busy week for us. We’re just trying to get rested and prepared. We’re just excited to get down there and play some golf.”