No. 1 South Carolina women’s golf team will look to continue its good play when heading to Hilton Head Island this weekend for the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate.
A few weeks ago, the top-ranked Gamecocks traveled to Florida for the Florida State Match-Up and were fairly successful overall. South Carolina finished in first during days one and two of the event, but a rough final day of competition dropped the Gamecocks to a fourth-place finish overall.
“We got off to a decent start. It wasn’t exactly how we wanted to start the year,” South Carolina head coach Kalen Harris said. “We were going in there looking to win the event, but Furman came back and had a good last day, and we struggled on the back nine.”
Due to a somewhat slow start, the Gamecocks have been working on having better and more complete showings. With their practice, the Gamecocks feel more prepared going into this weekend.
Although South Carolina didn’t get the results they were hoping for, the Florida tournament still added to the team’s recent success. The Gamecocks’ fourth-place finish was their 12th-straight finish in the top five of a tournament, and the Gamecocks remain No. 1 in the country.
The Gamecocks are looking forward to traveling to Hilton Head this weekend. The Darius Rucker Intercollegiate is something that both the South Carolina players and coaches are enthusiastic about. The tournament has always been a fun atmosphere, and Darius Rucker plays a big factor in that.
“What [Darius Rucker] does for USC, for golf — he’s a great ambassador to both,” Harris said. “He’s just an excitement to have and helps draw teams in.”
South Carolina will face strong competition this weekend. Seventeen of the top teams around the country will be there competing, including 12 teams in the top 20 of Golfstat.com’s rankings.
The lineup for the Gamecocks this weekend includes senior Justine Dreher, junior Sarah Schmelzel, junior Mary Fran Hillow, sophomore Katelyn Dambaugh and sophomore Jia Xin Yang, with freshman Ainhoa Olarra playing as their individual.
South Carolina hopes that their strong lineup will be successful against the tough competition.
“It’s a lot of patience this week, and really staying out of our own way,” Harris said. "We just need to be patient, be accepting, and go play our Gamecock golf. If we can do that we’ll have a very successful week.”