Team will face 8 SEC teams ranked in the top 25
Coming off two grueling weeks, the South Carolina’s women’s golf team is gearing up for one of the biggest tournaments of the season.
After finishing second in the Bryan National Collegiate Invitational and winning the PING ASU Invitational, the team is gearing up for the SEC championship this weekend in Birmingham, Ala.
The team is building momentum after multiple top-two finishes the past two weeks and look to carry that over to the tournament.
“We won at Arizona State in a really deep field, so I think we are confident, but it all starts at zero this week,” head coach Kalen Harris said. “We’ve given them some rest, and we are back out to focus on practice, and they are ready to go. I think rest was key to this week after coming back from two intense weeks of play.”
Two weeks ago, the Gamecocks traveled across the country to compete in Tempe, Ariz. Harris noted that she let her team rest this week in preparation for the tournament.
“Coming off those two hard weeks, it’s about resting them and keeping them excited about the game, so they can focus and compete,” Harris said. “To get them back and get them refreshed was the key this week. They know what to do when they get out there.”
At the PING ASU Invitational, the Gamecocks beat eight top-25 teams, including three teams ranked ahead of them. Now, the team will face six SEC teams ranked in the top-25.
“We’ve played really deep fields all year, and that’s helped prepare us for the postseason,” Harris said. “That’s the purpose behind me putting us in strong fields all year. That’s the great part about being in the SEC is playing against the best. Playing in the SEC is all about the depth, and it prepares you for the competition in the regional championship and at the national championship.”
Other than focusing on rest, Harris said the team didn’t plan to change its strategy this weekend.
“We’re not really changing anything,” Harris said. “But we are focusing on our short game and our scoring game and making sure we are in the right mind frame to go out there and compete and grind and do what we need to do to contend.”
Harris is expecting big things from her group in the SEC championship, saying that her team has put the pieces together.
“They are really hard-working. They bought in to what our coaching staff stands for, and they are a great group of individuals on and off the golf course,” she said. “They believe in what they are doing and what we are doing. With all those pieces combined, we’ve put it together this year.”