Dambaugh leads USC women to second-straight NCAA Regional title

For the second-straight season and the fourth time in the last seven years, the South Carolina women’s golf team finished atop the leaderboard at an NCAA Regional.

The No. 24 Gamecocks posted a final-round 290 (+2) on Saturday to earn a share of the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional title with a three-day total of 857 (-7). No. 5 Florida converted a birdie on its final hole of the tournament, and fired a 277 (-11) in round three to rally from a 13-stroke deficit and match South Carolina’s 54-hole total at University Club.

Junior Katelyn Dambaugh powered the Gamecocks to victory, matching the program’s top 54-hole individual score (207, -9) on the way to her first career medalist honors. The Goose Creek native tallied a tournament-best 16 birdies and finished under par in all three rounds.

The Gamecocks finished four strokes off the school 54-hole record. Three golfers finished par or better for South Carolina on Saturday, including senior Sarah Schmelzel, who had a birdie putt on No. 17 to help secure the win. With the victory, the Gamecocks earned a spot in the 24-team field at the NCAA Championships, set for May 20-25 at Eugene Country Club in Eugene, Ore. No. 13 Washington, No. 4 Duke, No. 20 Oregon and BYU also qualified from the Baton Rouge Regional.

Dambaugh becomes the 16th player in program history to earned medalist honors, and she is the third Gamecock to accomplish the feat at an NCAA postseason event. All four of South Carolina’s NCAA Regional victories have come under Anderson.

Dambaugh carded a final-round 71 (-1), with all three of her birdies coming on the front nine. The junior finished her week ranked second in par-4 scoring and third in par-3 scoring, and her performance marked her third-straight top-three finish.

Schmelzel finished in a tie for 12th following her final-round 72 (E). The Phoenix, Ariz., native collected three birdies and played her last nine holes at 1-under (35) to end her week with a 216 (E). Schmelzel has placed in the top-15 at the NCAA regionals in each of the last two seasons.

Freshman Marion Veysseyre (T19), one of three South Carolina golfers making their NCAA postseason debut this week, was the other Gamecock to garner a top-20 finish. She totaled a career-best 219 (+3) and finished par or better in two of her three rounds.

Sophomore Ainhoa Olarra and freshman Isidora Nilsson both ended their week just outside of the top-25 for the Gamecocks. Olarra (29th) posted a 77 (+5) on day three to finish with a 222 (+6), while Nilsson (T30) turned in her best 54-hole performance ever, a 7-over 223.

This story was originally published May 7, 2016 at 7:27 PM with the headline "Dambaugh leads USC women to second-straight NCAA Regional title."