USC Women 2nd After NCAA Regional First Round

BATON ROUGE, La. (USC SID) — Women’s golfers Marion Veysseyre and Katelyn Dambaugh each carded an opening-round 70 (-2) to push the No. 24 Gamecocks near the top of the leaderboard at the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional on Thursday. Sixth-seeded South Carolina sits in second place and just four strokes off the lead after posting a 290 (+2) on day one of the 54-hole event at University Club.

Washington leads the 18-team field with a one-round total of 286 (-2), while Oregon (292, +4), Florida (293, +5) and Houston (295, +7) round out the top-five. The Cougars’ Leonie Harm and the Huskies’ Ying Luo boast the individual lead at 3-under 69 for the tournament, as they hold a one-stroke advantage over Veysseyre and Dambaugh. South Carolina and Washington are the only schools with multiple golfers in the top-three.

Veysseyre’s first-round performance marked the best 18-hole score of the freshman’s career. After opening with a bogey, the Lachapelle-Auzac, France, native settled into her round and recorded two pars before tallying her first birdie of the day on the par-4 fourth. She posted a front-nine 35 (-1) following another birdie on No. 9 and briefly grabbed the individual lead (-3) after back-to-back birdies on No. 14 and 15. Veysseyre concluded her day with a tap-in par on No. 18.

Dambaugh made the turn at even (36) before collecting a handful of birdies over her final nine holes. The junior quickly recovered from bogeys on No. 10 and 11, notching birdies on No. 12, 13 and 14. She earned a par on the par-3 16^th before closing her round with two-straight birdies, the last of which came on a long, downhill putt on No. 18.  Dambaugh led the Gamecocks with six birdies on Thursday.

Freshman Isidora Nilsson posted a solid round in her postseason debut, shooting a 3-over 75 to end day one in a tie for 32^nd place. The Hilton Head Island, S.C., native rebounded from three early bogeys and turned in a front-nine 37 (+1) after registering her second birdie of the day on the par-3 eighth. Her final birdie on Thursday came on No. 16.

Sarah Schmelzel also opened her NCAA postseason with a 75 (+3). The senior, who placed just outside of the top-10 at last year’s regional, battled back after posting a front-nine 40 (+4), notching birdies on No. 14 and 17. She played her final six holes at 2-under and recorded just one bogey on her back nine.

Sophomore Ainhoa Olarra fired a 4-over 76 to end round one in a tie for 42^nd place. She recorded 15 pars on day one, including nine-straight to begin her round, and the San Sebastian, Spain, native was one of four Gamecocks to end with a par.

SOUTH CAROLINA RESULTS

T3. Katelyn Dambaugh 70 (-2)

T3. Marion Veysseyre 70 (-2)

T32. Isidora Nilsson 75 (+3)

T32. Sarah Schmelzel 75 (+3)

T42. Ainhoa Olarra 76 (+4)

TEAM STANDINGS

1. Washington 286 (-2)
2. South Carolina 290 (+2)
3. Oregon 292 (+4)
4. Florida 293 (+5)
5. Houston 295 (+7)
6. Arizona State 296 (+8)

T7. Duke 298 (+10)

T7. Brigham Young 298 (+10)

9. LSU 299 (+11)
10. East Carolina 301 (+13)
11. North Carolina State 307 (+19)
12. Harvard 308 (+20)
13. Augusta 311 (+23)
14. Wichita State 312 (+24)
15. New Mexico 313 (+25)
16. Denver 315 (+27)

T17. Fairleigh Dickinson 322 (+34)

T17. North Florida 322 (+34)

QUOTING HEAD COACH KALEN ANDERSON

“We had a really good day out there, and we played well from top to bottom. Marion really stood out today, and Katelyn made five birdies on the back nine. We’re in a good position, and we just need to keep up the same game plan. We’re obviously where we want to be, and it was definitely a good start to our week.”

ROUND CHANGER

Junior Katelyn Dambaugh made her move down the stretch of round one, tallying birdies on five of her last seven holes. Her six birdies on Thursday ranked second in the field.

NOTABLES

• South Carolina’s 290 (+2) was its second-lowest round of the spring and its best 18-hole performance of the postseason.
• Thursday marked the second-straight round that multiple South Carolina golfers finished under par. Three Gamecocks broke par on the final day of the SEC Championship.
• Freshman Isidora Nilsson’s 75 (+3) was the second-lowest round of her career and her best 18-hole total of 2016. Nilsson ranked second in the field in par-3 scoring (2.50) on Thursday.
• Junior Katelyn Dambaugh and freshman Marion Veysseyre are both third in par-4 scoring (3.90) through one round.

UP NEXT

The Gamecocks resume play at the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional on Friday morning. South Carolina will once again be paired with Washington and Oregon, and tee times for the second round at University Club can be found on Golfstat.com.