ANNIKA Intercollegiate: South Carolina goes Wire-To-Wire for the win

The South Carolina Gamecocks put on an impressive all-around performance at the ANNIKA Intercollegiate at Royal Golf Club in Lake Elmo, Minn.

South Carolina Junior All-American Louise Rydqvist picked up her first collegiate victory, serving as co-champion with Phoebe Brinker of Duke, Lottie Woad of Florida State, and Kiara Romero of Oregon.

Rydqvist shot a career-best 54-hole score of 8-under with rounds of 66-72-70. In the final round, she shot 2-under 70 and recorded three birdies and an eagle.

Rydqvist is the second Gamecock to win the ANNIKA Intercollegiate and the first since All-American Justine Dreher in 2014.

New this year, Rydqvist earns a sponsor exemption into The ANNIKA, a premiere stop on the LPGA Tour. The annual tournament takes place outside of Tampa at Pelican Golf Club, which is set to host the SEC Championship for the first time in late April.

Carolina fended off No. 11 Oregon and No. 2 Wake Forest, the defending NCAA Champion, for the team crown. Oregon finished in solo second place at 23-under, and Wake Forest finished in solo third place at 22-under.

It marks the third time the Gamecocks have won the prestigious event (2014, 2021, 2023) since its inception in 2014. It was a loaded field this week as the Gamecocks took down 10 top-25 teams and five ranked in the top 10 from the Mizuno WGCA Coaches poll.