ROCK HILL, S.C. – On the eve of the South Atlantic Conference Women's Golf Championship, senior Tiffany Elam has been named First-Team All-Conference, while junior Kate Hill, sophomore Anna Freeman and freshman Victoria Hall have captured Second-Team All-SAC honors. In addition, Danny Neal was named SAC Coach of the Year, as announced by the league office, Friday morning.
Elam, who captured second-team honors as a sophomore, competed in all eight tournaments for the Trojans and owns a team-low 75.76 unadjusted stroke average on the year. The Alpharetta, Ga., native's best round of the season was a 3-under-par 69 during the final round of North Georgia's LeeAnn Noble Memorial in mid-October. Elam finished in the top-20 in every tournament and claimed six top-10 finishes, while winning the Coker Invitational two weeks ago. She finished the regular season on a strong note, as she paced the Trojans in each of the last three tourneys.
Hill continues to build on her resume after being named the 2017 SAC Freshman of the Year and she captured second-team all-conference accolades last season. The native of Clemson, S.C., is second on the team with a 76.35 unadjusted stroke average through 17 rounds this season and claimed six top-10 finishes, including taking home individual medalist honors at the AU Invitational last September. Hill fired a season-low 68 during the second round of the AU Invitational and followed up four weeks later with a 69 in the final round of the Patsy Rendleman Invitational.
Hall, a freshman from Moore, S.C., posted three top-10 finishes during the season, including back-to-back fourth-place showings at the Illinois Springfield Island Getaway and the Battle at Hilton Head. She notched a 77.06 unadjusted stroke average through 17 rounds and fired a season-low 72 during the final round at Hilton Head.
This mark's Freeman's second consecutive all-conference accolade after earning SAC Freshman of the Year honors a year ago. She posted six-top 20 finishes during the regular season and owns a 76.88 unadjusted stroke average heading into the SAC Championship. A native of Aiken, S.C., Freeman led the Trojans at both the LeeAnn Noble Memorial and the Illinois Springfield Island Getaway last October.
Neal, who was also the 2008 Conference Carolinas Women's Coach of the Year has guided an impressive 22 women's golfers to all-conference accolades, with Katie Eskew earning South Atlantic Conference Freshman of the Year honors in 2011, followed by Hill two seasons ago and Freeman a year ago. Under Neal's leadership, the Trojans swept the 2004 CVAC conference tournament championships, claiming both the men's and women's titles at Foxfire Country Club in Pinehurst, N.C. Anderson's Kathryn Adkins, the 2004 CVAC Women's Player of the Year, won medalist honors in that inaugural tournament.
The 2019 SAC Women's Golf Championship will be hosted by Lenoir-Rhyne, Sunday – Tuesday, at Lake Hickory Country Club in Hickory, N.C.
2019 SAC WOMEN'S GOLF ALL-CONFERENCE
First Team All-Conference
Mind Puangcharoen, Wingate
Lise Malherbe, Lincoln Memorial
Abbey Hartsell, Lenoir-Rhyne
Tiffany Elam, Anderson
Kaley Barts, Catawba
Second Team All-Conference
Maeve Cummins, Carson-Newman
Kate Hill, Anderson
Alyssa Campbell, Coker
Victoria Hall, Anderson
Megan Robb, Lenoir-Rhyne
Anna Freeman, Anderson
Honorable Mention All-Conference
Katie Tomassoni, Tusculum
Taylor Lance, Newberry
Nabila Inak, Newberry
Sarah Coltrane, Catawba
Freshman of the Year
Maeve Cummins, Carson-Newman
Golfer of the Year
Mind Puangcharoen, Wingate
Coach of the Year
Danny Neal, Anderson