Kalen Harris

From USC SID:

For the second time in three years, the South Carolina women’s golf team claimed the NCAA East Regional title. The Gamecocks led wire-to-wire and wrapped up the tournament with a final-round 291 (+3) to win by five strokes on Saturday at the Penn State Golf Course.

Carolina held a seven-shot lead heading into the round and was never threatened as it went on to post a three-day total of 873 (+9), which ties for the fifth lowest 54-hole total in school history. The win is the Gamecocks’ first team title since claiming the 2010 NCAA East Regional.

“It’s unbelievable. To come out on top in such a deep regional, we just did a phenomenal job,” South Carolina head coach Kalen Harris said. “We are lucky to come away with it. The team played so solid. They were mentally tough every day and just stayed in the present. That’s more than we can ask for, and we just need to do that going into the NCAA Championship.”

Texas A&M and Texas finished tied for second with a score of 878 (+14) to clinch two of the eight available spots for the NCAA Championships, while Alabama (879), Florida (879), Arizona State (887), Michigan State (887) and Duke (887) will also advance.

Sophomore Suzie Lee made sure the Gamecocks held on to first place by firing a career-low 68 (-4), which ties for the third lowest score by a sophomore in school history. Lee bounced back from Friday’s 83 to climb the leaderboard and finish in a tie for 41st with a score of 224 (+8). She played her best golf of the season on the front nine, shooting a 4-under 32. The highlight of her round came on the par-4 sixth when she sank her approach shot from 127 yards for eagle.

“That’s so impressive,” Harris said. “She got off to a 1-under start. Then the eagle at No. 6 got her to 3-under, and she just kept it going. I couldn’t be prouder of her for her comeback after an 83 (on Friday).”

Senior Katie Burnett carded a 1-over 73 and finished in a tie for third with a score of 216 (E). She came up three shots shy of forcing a playoff to play for her second medalist honor at the NCAA East Regional in three years. After shooting even par on the front side, she struggled at times on the back nine with three bogeys as she fell back to 2-over heading to the 18th tee box. However, she closed out the round on a positive note by making birdie on the final hole to secure the seventh top-five finish of her career, which moves her into a tie for fourth in top-five finishes all-time at South Carolina.

Junior Amanda Strang shot an even-par 72 to post a career-best NCAA Regional finish of a tie for 14th with a score of 220 (+4). After shooting a 3-over 39 on the front nine, she settled down to play her best nine holes of the tournament on the back side, recording birdies on three of her first four holes and making par the rest of the way to get back to even for the round.

Freshman Justine Dreher wrapped up an impressive NCAA Regional debut with a final-round 78 (+6). She finished the tournament in a tie for 19th with a score of 221 (+5). On the day, Dreher carded one birdie, three bogeys, two double bogeys and 13 pars. She played a key role in building Carolina’s cushion heading into the final day with rounds of 70 (-2) and 73 (+1) on the first two days.

Junior Meredith Swanson turned in an 80 (+8) to finish in a tie for 87th. She produced one birdie on the day as she sank a three-foot putt on the par-4 13th after narrowly holing out on her approach shot from the rough.

Texas A&M’s Katerina Ruzickova shot a 1-over 73 to hold on to win medalist honors with a score of 213 (-3).

The Gamecocks will now advance to the NCAA Championship for the fourth time in five years. This year’s tournament will be held May 23-26 at the Vanderbilt Legends Club in Franklin, Tenn.
South Carolina will be joined by SEC foes Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, LSU, Tennessee and Vanderbilt. The Gamecocks finished 18th at last year’s NCAA Championship.

The 30th-ranked South Carolina women’s tennis team suffered a 4-0 defeat at the hands of No. 3 Duke on Saturday in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at Ambler Tennis Stadium in Durham, N.C. Duke improved to 27-2 with the win and advanced to Athens, Ga., for the NCAA Championships, while South Carolina ended the 2012 season with a 16-9 record. The Gamecocks have competed in 18 consecutive NCAA Tournaments and won at least one round during those 18 matches.

South Carolina faltered in the doubles point, losing on courts one and three. At one, Jaklin Alawi and Dijana Stojic fell behind 4-0 to Ester Goldfeld and Mary Clayton before picking up a game. They managed to get the score to 5-2 before Goldfeld and Clayton won three straight games to close out the match with an 8-2 victory.

No. 41 South Carolina dropped a 4-0 decision to No. 30 Texas A&M in the first round of NCAA Tournament action at Marks Stadium on the campus of Southern Cal. The Gamecocks (15-12) narrowly missed on the doubles point, and the veteran Aggies (14-14) took their advantage into singles early, jumping out to commanding leads in three of the six singles matches. South Carolina fought hard in the remaining three, and Chip Cox mounted a second-set rally, but it was not enough to hold off Texas A&M.

LB Dantzler tied the game in the 9th (file photo)

Story from USC SID:

Despite a four-run rally from third ranked South Carolina in the top of the ninth inning, Georgia’s Joey Delmonico would tally a RBI base hit to left-center in the bottom of the 10th inning to lift the Bulldogs to a 6-5 win over the Gamecocks on Saturday afternoon at Foley Field. South Carolina is now 38-13 and 17-9 in the SEC with Georgia improving to 29-22 and 13-13 in league play. The rubber game of the series on Sunday is set for 2. Gametracker stats will be available during the matchup.

Trailing 5-1 entering the top of the ninth inning, the Gamecocks stormed back to tie it at 5-5 against the Bulldogs. Adam Matthews doubled with one out and advanced to third base on a passed ball to get things started for Carolina. After a base hit to left field by Tanner English scored Matthews, the game would have to be delayed by 24 minutes due to heavy rain. The tarp would be removed and Georgia would go to the bullpen for right-hander Pete Nagel. With two outs and English on third base, Joey Pankake would walk on four pitches and Evan Marzilli would be hit by a pitch to load the bases. With the tying run on base, a wild pitch from Nagel allowed English to score and cut the deficit to two runs. Georgia elected to then intentionally walk Christian Walker bringing LB Dantzler to the plate. Dantzler crushed a pitch from Nagel that went off the wall in right field for a double scoring two runners and tying the game up.

The score remained 5-5 until the bottom of the 10th when Peter Verdin led off with a single and stole second base. He then moved to third base as Colby May grounded out to the right side putting the winning run within 90 feet. That set the stage for Delmonico, who knocked a 1-1 pitch from Matt Price to left-center for a RBI single that lifted the Bulldogs to a one-run victory.

Nagel earned the win in 1.2 innings of relief allowing two runs on one hit with two walks and a strikeout. He is 1-1 on the year. Price suffered the loss and is now 4-4 for the season. He allowed one run on two hits in 1.1 innings with one walk and one strikeout.

Georgia broke ahead early with a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning. Delmonico led off with a base hit to right field and Curt Powell singled to left field giving the Bulldogs runners on the corners. Kyle Farmer put the Bulldogs ahead by two runs with a RBI double to the gap in left-center, just out of the reach of English and Marzilli in the outfield for the Gamecocks.

The Bulldogs struck for two more runs in the fourth inning and knocked South Carolina starter Jordan Montgomery from the game in the process. Levi Hyams and Verdin each singled to open the inning. That ended the day for Montgomery, as Carolina went to the pen for right-hander Evan Beal. After a sacrifice bunt by Jonathan Hester advanced both runners into scoring position, Delmonico tallied his second hit of the game with a RBI single to right field. Conor Welton drove in Verdin with a sacrifice fly to left field making it 4-0 for the Bulldogs.

South Carolina got on the scoreboard in the top of the fifth inning. Tanner English singled to left field for his second hit of the afternoon and advanced on a fielding error by Welton. With two outs, Joey Pankake knocked a RBI double down the left field line scoring English for the Gamecocks first run of the afternoon. Georgia answered with a run in the bottom half of the fifth. Brett DeLoach drew a two-out walk, Hyams singled up the middle and Verdin knocked a RBI base hit into center scoring DeLoach.

Montgomery went three-plus innings and allowed four runs on six hits with three strikeouts in his start for the Gamecocks. Georgia starter Michael Palazzone allowed one run, unearned, on six hits with no walks and seven strikeouts.

English tied a season-high in hits with a 4-for-5 day at the plate with two runs scored. Verdin was 4-for-5 with two runs scored to lead Georgia. Powell and Delmonico both had 3-for-5 days at the plate.

BOX SCORE

Michael Roth shut down the Bulldogs for seven innings (file photo)

Story from USC SID:

Senior left-handed pitcher Michael Roth hurled seven-plus scoreless innings and combined with relievers Tyler Webb and Matt Price for a five-hit shutout and third ranked South Carolina scored single runs in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings on the way to a 3-0 victory over Georgia on Friday night at Foley Field. The Gamecocks are now 38-12 and 17-8 in the SEC while the loss drops Georgia to 28-22 and 12-13 in league play.

The pitcher’s duel between Roth and Georgia sophomore left-hander Alex Wood was as good as advertised as both southpaws kept putting zeros on the scoreboard as neither team could muster much offense through the first six innings. That however changed in the seventh with a two-out solo home run by LB Dantzler that gave the Gamecocks a one-run lead. Evan Marzilli added a RBI base hit in the eighth inning and Sean Sullivan drove in the third run with a sacrifice squeeze in the ninth to complete the scoring.

Roth limited Georgia to just three hits and five walks while striking out six batters to earn the win and improve to 5-0 on the year. Price’s scoreless ninth inning with two strikeouts earned him his eighth save of the season, his seventh in league play. Wood went the distance for Georgia and allowed three runs on nine hits with no walks and six strikeouts. He is now 6-2 on the year.

Both teams threatened in the sixth inning but would come away with nothing as Roth and Wood battled to keep the game scoreless. The Gamecocks put a pair of runners on base with singles by Joey Pankake and Marzilli. Christian Walker punched would look to be the third hit of the inning up the middle but Wood, a 6-4 left-hander, snared a hard hit ball up the middle with his glove and turned a 1-6-3 double play to end the Carolina threat. Georgia would try to ride that momentum in the bottom half as Hunter Cole and Brett DeLoach each drew one-out walks and Levi Hyams knocked a bloop single just over the head of Chase Vergason to load the bases for the Bulldogs. Roth dug deep though, striking out both Peter Verdin and Heath Holder to end the Bulldogs’ scoring opportunity.

Dantzler broke the scoreless tie in the top of the seventh inning. With two outs and down 0-2 in the count, Dantzler launched a homer deep to right field that went off the top of the scoreboard at Foley Field to give the Gamecocks a 1-0 lead. Dantzler’s home run was his ninth of the season, tying him with Christian Walker for the team lead.

The Gamecocks increased the lead to 2-0 in the top of the eighth inning. Vergason reached base with a one-out single to right field. After a sacrifice by Pankake moved him into scoring position, Marzilli knocked a RBI single through the left side into right giving the Gamecocks a two-run cushion.

Carolina extended the advantage to 3-0 in the top of the ninth inning. Grayson Greiner belted a triple into the gap in right-center and scored on a perfectly executed sacrifice squeeze bunt by pinch hitter Sean Sullivan. Down to a 1-2 count, Sullivan was able to lay down a bunt down the first base line that scored Greiner. The triple for Greiner was his first triple of the season.

Carolina had nine hits for the evening. Marzilli and Dantzler were both 2-for-4 to pace the Gamecock offense. Pankake has now reached base in 10 straight games. Levi Hyams went 2-for-4 to lead Georgia at the plate.

Friday’s game was the second straight shutout of the week for the Gamecocks. South Carolina now has six shutouts for the season.

Game two of the series is scheduled for Saturday at 1 p.m.

BOX SCORE

Katie Burnett

From USC SID:

The South Carolina women’s golf team posted a second-round 294 (+6) on Friday at the Penn State Golf Course to move one step closer to claiming its second NCAA East Regional title in three years.

The 25th-ranked Gamecocks have played steady golf for both rounds to build a seven-shot lead heading into the final day with a two-round total of 582 (+6). SEC foes Alabama and Florida are in second and third, respectively, with scores of 589 (+13) and 591 (+15). The top eight teams will advance to the NCAA Championship, and South Carolina has a 17-stroke cushion to secure one of those spots.

“We played solid golf today,” South Carolina head coach Kalen Harris said. “It was a lot windier out than (Thursday). We held our position, and I’m pleased with our finish today. Building a cushion (to advance) is nice, but we’ve still got to get the job done tomorrow, watch that last putt fall and sign the scorecard. We have to stay mentally tough and stay patient and most of all stay committed on every shot that we hit.”

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Justine Dreher (Credit: USC)

From USC SID:

The South Carolina women’s golf team put together one of its best opening rounds of the season on Thursday as it posted an even-par 288 (E) to take the lead at the NCAA East Regional at the Penn State Golf Course.

The 25th-ranked Gamecocks hold a four-shot advantage over No. 2 Alabama (288). The round of 288 is tied for the 10th best 18-hole score in school history. Freshman Justine Dreher fired a 2-under 70 to lead the way and finish the day in third place, trailing Texas A&M’s Katerina Ruzickova by three strokes.

“Overall, the whole day was a success,” said South Carolina head coach Kalen Harris, who guided the team to the program’s first-ever regional title in 2010. “We had some pretty windy conditions. I like our position right now. We had a solid day and a really good finish. I’m very proud of that. We stayed very patient today.”

South Carolina battled through cold temperatures and wind gusts of up to 20 mph to erase six shots in the last four holes to get to even par.

Dreher, who is coming off a tie for 12th finish at the SEC Championship, continued her solid play with a near flawless round as she recorded only one bogey. She made the turn at even par and played her best golf of the round on the back nine, shooting a bogey-free 2-under 34. Dreher sank a long putt across the green at the par-4 16th for birdie to highlight her day and narrowly missed a birdie attempt on No. 18.

“Justine Dreher had it going all day long,” Harris said. “Believe it or not it could have been better. As Katie Burnett said, ‘I’m glad she’s on our team.’”

Burnett bounced back from a sluggish start to shoot an even-par 72 to finish the day in a tie for sixth place. The Brunswick, Ga., native was 3-over through 14 holes but she caught fire down the stretch. She hit a solid approach shot on the par-4 15th to within 10 feet of the hole and sank the putt as she birdied three of her final four holes to fight back to even par.

Junior Amanda Strang and sophomore Suzie Lee each posted a 1-over 73 to head into the clubhouse in a tie for 17th, while junior Meredith Swanson shot a 78 (+6) to finish the day in a tie for 72nd.

Strang had a strong finish similar to Burnett’s as she was 3-over through 14 holes. She birded the par-4 15th and closed out her round on a positive note with a birdie on the 18th to wrap up the round at 1-over.

Lee, who is playing in her first tournament since early March because of a surgery, didn’t show any signs of rust. After recording bogeys on the third and fourth holes, she settled down to play the rest of her round at 1-under.

The SEC holds the top three spots on the leaderboard with the Gamecocks in the lead, Alabama in second and Florida sitting in third after shooting a 294 (+6). Washington, Texas and Texas A&M are tied for fourth after each posting a 296 (+8).

The top eight teams and two individuals not on those teams will advance to the NCAA Championship, which will be held May 23-26 at the Vanderbilt Legends Club in Franklin, Tenn.

The Gamecocks are scheduled to tee off on Friday in the afternoon wave beginning at 11:50 a.m. off of hole No. 10. Carolina will remain in a pairing with Oklahoma State and Michigan State. Live scoring will be available at golfstatresults.com.

SOUTH CAROLINA RESULTS
3. Justine Dreher 70 (-2)
T6. Katie Burnett 72 (E)
T17. Amanda Strang 73 (+1)
T17. Suzie Lee 73 (+1)
T72. Meredith Swanson 78 (+6)

TEAM STANDINGS
1. South Carolina 288 (E)
2. Alabama 292 (+4)
3. Florida 294 (+6)
T4. Washington 296 (+8)
T4. Texas 296 (+8)
T4. Texas A&M 296 (+8)
7. Tulane 298 (+10)
8. Oklahoma State 299 (+11)
9. Michigan State 300 (+12)
10. UCF 301 (+13)
T11. Duke 302 (+14)
T11. Arizona 302 (+14)
T13. Maryland 303 (+15)
T13. Arizona State 303 (+15)
15. Wake Forest 304 (+16)
16. Northwestern 305 (+17)
17. Kent State 306 (+18)
T18. San Diego State 311 (+23)
T18. Augusta State 311 (+23)
T18. Chattanooga 311 (+23)
21. Campbell 313 (+25)
22. Jacksonville St. 314 (+26)
23. Long Island 324 (+36)
24. Oral Roberts 327 (+39)