LAKE ELMO, Minn. (Sept. 6, 2026) – South Carolina women’s golf will open the 2026-27 campaign at a familiar site, competing in the ANNIKA Intercollegiate for the sixth consecutive season and the 12th time in the last 13 years. South Carolina has won the event four times, while a Gamecock individual has captured the title each of the last three editions.

Junior All-American Eila Galitsky, recently named to the ANNIKA Award Preseason Watch List, will hold the top spot in the South Carolina lineup. The Thailand native recorded her second collegiate victory last year after winning the 2025 ANNIKA Intercollegiate with a score of 207 (-9). Galitsky currently ranks No. 11 in the latest World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR) heading into the season opener.

Senior All-American Vairana Heck holds the No. 2 slot in the lineup. Heck, currently ranked No. 87 in the WAGR, is coming off her best collegiate season in 2025-26 after posting a scoring average of 71.86 to rank 13th all-time in school history and the third best average by a junior in program history. Heck is followed by Swedish senior Alicia Olsson who is in her second full season in a Gamecock uniform. In her first campaign with the Gamecocks, Olsson appeared in six events with one top-10 finish.

The Australian duo of Molly McLean and Amelia Harris, both hailing from Melbourne, will round out the lineup for South Carolina. McLean is coming off a freshman season in which she appeared in eight events with a scoring average of 73.75 over 24 competitive rounds. Harris is a true freshman and currently ranked No. 66 in the latest WAGR. Harris was recently named a Golf Channel Preseason All-American Honorable Mention on Aug. 31.

Yet again, the field is loaded for the 2026 ANNIKA Intercollegiate, highlighted by Southern California who enters the week ranked No. 2 in both the Golfweek and Golf Channel preseason Top 30. In fact, eight of the 12 teams are ranked inside the Top 30 in both polls, including South Carolina who sits No. 10 in Golf Channel and No. 15 in Golfweek. The defending ANNIKA Intercollegiate champions, Wake Forest, slide in the rankings at No. 6 (Golfweek) and No. 7 (Golf Channel).

First round action for South Carolina gets underway at 11:25 a.m. (ET) on Monday with Harris being the first to tee off for the Gamecocks on hole 10. Carolina will be paired with Houston and Missouri for the opening 18 holes.

2026 ANNIKA Intercollegiate Gamecock Lineup
1. Eila Galitsky
2. Vairana Heck
3. Alicia Olsson
4. Molly McLean
5. Amelia Harris

2026 Annika Intercollegiate Field (Golfweek/Golf Channel Preseason Ranks)
Auburn (No. 8/9)
Houston
Kansas State
Minnesota
Missouri
North Carolina (No. 26/28)
Oregon (No. 12/11)
South Carolina (No. 15/10)
Southern California (No. 2/2)
UCLA (No. 11/16)
Virginia (No. 19/22)
Wake Forest (No. 6/7)