South-Carolina
The fault(s) in our state: The geological forces that cause SC’s earthquakes, explained
COLUMBIA — You might have missed it, but the Midlands was hit by yet another earthquake this week.
The Magnitude 2.1 earthquake struck just about two miles west of Irmo on March 19, according to a preliminary report by the U.S. Geological Survey. It was a “blink and you’ll miss it” temblor, as earthquakes of that size typically just spur minor disruptions — like causing suspended objects to swing — according to the USGS.
Over the past several years, the Midlands has experienced a higher-than-normal (at least from a human perspective) level of seismic activity, The Post and Courier has previously reported.
The March 19 quake is just one of the many earthquakes the Palmetto State experiences every year.
South Carolina is bisected by a number of fault lines that cause those temblors. Those formations are the lingering scars of seismic activities that slammed continents together, raised the Appalachians from the Earth and created the Atlantic Ocean.
And those wounds are far from healed.
“Once you form a fault, it never truly disappears,” said Steven Jaume, a professor of geology and seismology at the College of Charleston.
“ If you break anything, you can glue it back together,” Jaume explained. “But unless you happen to have glue that’s stronger than the original material, it’s gonna break in the same place that broke the first time.”
An earthquake hit near Lake Murray on March 19, 2026, making it the sixth recorded earthquake in the area in less than two months.
The coastal plain has historically been the most earthquake-active part of the state, according to the S.C. Department of Natural Resources. Much of that activity — including the 1886 earthquake, one of the deadliest natural disasters to strike South Carolina — has been clustered around the Summerville area.
The faults that run under the coast and Midlands are “inferred” faults. That means they require special equipment and techniques to detect, Jaume said, as the coastal plain’s sediments cover up most of the visual surface indicators.
“We usually can’t see them directly,” he explained.
“ In 1886, we don’t know exactly what moved because it did not break the Earth’s surface,” he added. “And if it doesn’t break the Earth’s surface, you can’t put your finger directly on it.”
Age is another major difference between coastal faults and their Upstate cousins, Jaume said. Many of the Upstate faults were formed when North America and Africa collided hundreds of millions of years ago, forcing the Appalachians skyward. As the two continents drifted apart, opening the Atlantic Ocean, newer fault lines began to form.
“We think the (younger faults) are being reactivated now underneath the Charleston area,” Jaume said.
The most recent temblor to strike the coastal area was a Magnitude 2 which occurred a few dozen miles offshore of McClellanville on March 13. It was the first offshore quake to hit the state in at least 20 years, according to a DNR database.
As to the Midlands swarm? It’s actually two distinct clusters — one centered in the Elgin area, and the other by Lake Murray. Jaume said both the Elgin and Lake Murray clusters appear to be the reactivation of a fault line. The March 19 quake was part of the Lake Murray cluster.
He added that it is possible for man-made reservoirs to spur earthquake activity, but that doesn’t appear to be the case with Lake Murray, which was constructed in the late 1920s. But that trend, called “Reservoir-induced Seismicity” has been documented at Lake Monticello, which was built for the VC Summer Nuclear Power Station.
“ When they put that one in, they had thousands of micro-earthquakes following the filling of that lake,” Jaume said. “And they periodically have swarms. There was one in fall of ‘21 and fall of ‘23.”
South Carolina’s fault lines fall into three categories. Strike-slip faults occur when plates move horizontally to one another. A thrust fault occurs when the plate above the fault slides up and over another. A standard fault causes the plate above the fault to slide lower than the opposing one.
All that separated Connor Doyal from the biggest win of his amateur golfing career was 5 feet of perfectly manicured green on Hole No. 18 at Naples National Golf Club. That plus a super-sized case of the yips.
“My hands were shaking uncontrollably,” said the 26-year-old mid-amateur from Charleston, South Carolina. “But I’ve had some moments like this before, and I think I’ve just learned to let it happen and not fight it. I knew it wasn’t going to be the best stroke of my life, but in the moment, I just had to trust myself to make the putt.”
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Just as he had for much of the third and final round of the 30th annual Terra Cotta Invitational, Doyal delivered, dropping in the putt to win the event by one stroke over 17-year-old junior golfer Dawson Lew of Toronto, Canada.
Connor Doyal, a 26-year-old mid-amateur golfer from Charleston, S.C., celebrates with the trophy after winning the 30th annual Terra Cotta Invitational on Saturday, April 18, 2026.
Doyal, who entered the day two shots behind co-leaders Giuseppe Puebla of Royal Palm Beach and University of Florida senior Parker Bell, shot 5-under 67 to finish 12-under, two shots off the low-scoring record for the 54-hole tournament.
“Honestly, I just hit the ball fantastic start to finish,” Doyal said. “I hit a ton of greens and then the putter started heating up. I woke up feeling good this morning, and I knew I had it in me.
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“Coming down the stretch, I had to battle. I’m just glad it’s over. I mean, the heart rate is still extremely high right now.”
Doyal had seven birdies in his final round, the best of which came on the par-4 No. 14. He used his six-iron to blast his second shot 220 yards to within inches of the cup, setting up a short putt that gave him a one-shot lead over Bell.
Doyal followed with a birdie on No. 15 to up his lead to two strokes, but made things interesting by shorting a putt on No. 17 for bogey.
Playing in a group just ahead of Doyel, Lew missed a 35-foot try for birdie on the par-5 No. 18 a smidge left to finish at 11-under after a final round 68.
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Clinging to that one-shot lead on No. 18, an admittedly amped-up Doyal nearly overshot the green on his third shot from about 80 yards out, the ball settling on the back fringe. He followed with a deft chip, setting up his tournament-winning putt.
“It was a little bit nervy there, but I wouldn’t want it any other way,” Doyal said. “I’m always going to be able to look back at that up and down on 18 and be like I have what it takes when the pressure is on.”
Widely regarded as one of the best amateur events for junior golfers in the country, the Terra Cotta’s field included nearly the entirety of the top 25 in the Rolex American Junior Golf rankings. That included Luke Colton of Frisco, Texas, who was gunning for an unprecedented third consecutive Terra Cotta championship. The 18-year-old Vanderbilt commit came up short in his quest, finishing 3-under and in a tie for 21st place.
“I started off pretty bad, just kind of had a weird first day,” said Colton, who opened with a 2-over 74. “Nothing was going my way. But I was pretty happy with the way I ended it.”
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Colton said the Terra Cotta is one of his favorite events of the season.
“You’ve got a great field and obviously an amazing course,” he said. “I think that’s why everybody wants to come and play at this tournament.”
Another top junior was a late and unreported entry to the Terra Cotta. Charlie Woods, son of golfing great Tiger Woods, got off to a rough start with an opening round 79, but shot a 3-under 69 in the final round to finish in a tie for 42nd place with a 3-over 219.
Among the five Naples-area competitors, former Gulf Coast High School standout and current University of Florida golfer Noah Kent had the best showing. The 20-year-old finished with a 2-over 218 for the tournament, placing him in a tie for 34th. The other local entrants were Spencer Ives (220), Brian Bassett (222), Jack Ryan Donovan (224), and Kaden Latrielle (229).
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Contact Sports Reporter Dan DeLuca at ddeluca@usatodayco.com. For the best sports coverage in Southwest Florida, follow @newspresssports and @ndnprepzone on Instagram.
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Connor Doyal wins Florida amateur event, Charlie Woods ties for 42nd
Columbia, Mo. — The South Carolina softball team (25-21, 4-13) dropped the second game of its series at Missouri (24-23, 7-10) 5-0 Saturday night (Apr. 18).
Kai Byars led the Gamecocks with a pair of doubles on the night. It was her second multi-hit game of the season and her first game with multiple extra base hits.
The Tigers scored a run in the third inning without the aid of a hit. They would extend the lead and add four more in the fourth.
Carolina’s best opportunity for a run came in third. Byars doubled to lead off the inning and Shae Anderson followed with a bunt single. A double play on a potential sacrifice fly ended the rally.
Emma Friedel (8-4) took the loss, allowing one run on no hits in 3 1-3 innings. She struck out six and walked three.
The rubber game of the series will be tomorrow at 2 p.m. ET.
Audi Crooks on being in the transfer portal
USAT’s Sam Cardona-Norberg catches up with college basketball star Audi Crooks, who is still looking for her next team.
Sports Seriously
Jordan Lee entered the transfer portal after a breakout season at Texas and the junior guard isn’t going too far. She’s staying in the Southeastern Conference.
Lee announced on Instagram Friday that she’s transferring to South Carolina to play for Dawn Staley after spending the first two years of her collegiate career at Texas under Vic Schaefer. Lee captioned her Instagram post, which featured a video montage of her visit to Columbia, South Carolina, “Feeling cocky.”
Lee was one of four players from Texas to enter the transfer portal after the Longhorns’ second consecutive trip to the Final Four ended in a devastating loss to UCLA. She was named to the All-Region team in the Fort Worth 3 bracket in this year’s NCAA Tournament following her Sweet 16 and Elite Eight performance, where she recorded 22 points, six assists, three rebounds and four steals while also providing strong defense.
After being limited to five starts her freshman year, Lee slid into the starting lineup last season and started a career-high 38 games. She also averaged career highs in points (13.2), assists (2.5), rebounds (2.5), steals (1.5), field-goal percentage (42%) and free-throw percentage (75%), while shooting 34% from 3-point range.
Texas’ Aaliyah Crump, Justice Carlton and Aaliyah Moore also entered the transfer portal. On Friday, Crump announced she’s transferring to Duke, citing her connection with head coach Kara Lawson.
“For me, choosing Duke University goes far beyond one sentence. The moment I connected with Kara Lawson and her coaching staff, I knew I was exactly where I belonged,” said Crump, who averaged 7.9 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game her freshman season at Texas.
Crump continued: “Their dedication and vision for the program is truly special, and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to be a part of it. The connection Coach Lawson and I have built is one of a kind, and I fully trust in her plan for the success of this program. I can’t wait to be coached by genuine people who support my growth not only as a basketball player, but as a person as well.”
Three-time All-American Madison Booker and junior starting forward Breya Cunningham are expected to return to Texas.
Contributing: Mitchell Northam
Reach USA TODAY National Women’s Sports Reporter Cydney Henderson at chenderson@gannett.com and follow her on X at @CydHenderson.
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