HICKORY, N.C. – Behind a tournament-record three-round score, the Anderson women's golf team won its first-ever South Atlantic Conference Championship, Tuesday at the 6,065-yard, par-72 Lake Hickory Country Club.
The Trojans, who opened Tuesday's final round with a two-stroke lead over both Lenoir-Rhyne and Wingate after posting a SAC Tournament-record 298 during Monday's second round, equaled that score on Tuesday and finished with a conference tournament record 907, which bettered Newberry's three-round score of 919 during the Wolves' tournament title run in 2012.
Anderson won by four strokes over runner-up Lenoir-Rhyne and by seven shots over defending champion Wingate, while Carson-Newman finished fourth. Coker claimed the fifth slot, with Newberry finishing sixth. Tusculum, Lincoln Memorial, Catawba, Queens and Mars Hill rounded out the 11-team field.
Carson-Newman's Maeve Cummins won individual medalist honors by three shots over Wingate's Diana McDonald, with Lenoir-Rhyne's Megan Robb and Abbey Hartsell tying for fourth – five strokes behind Cummins.
AU senior Tiffany Elam and junior Kate Hill each equaled the fourth-best three-round totals in tournament history and finished in a tie for fifth place, with sophomore Anna Freeman and freshman Victoria Hall finishing in a tie for 15th place. Freshman Kerington Lamb rounded out the Trojan contingent in a tie for 35th.
With the victory, the Trojans captured the league's automatic bid to next month's NCAA South Region Tournament.
The NCAA regional rankings are scheduled to be released weekly on Thursdays through April 17, with the NCAA D-II Tournament selections scheduled to be unveiled on Monday, April 29.
NCAA Regional advisory committees will recommend regional selections to the Division II Women's Golf Committee, with 12 teams and six individuals, not on those teams, competing in each of the four regions (Central, East, South and West) in the NCAA Division II Tournament.
The 54-hole South Region Championship will be hosted by Lee University at the Cleveland (Tenn.) Country Club, May 6-8.
The NCAA Division II National Championships are slated for May 13-18 at the PGA National Resort in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
All-Tournament Teams
First Team
Maeve Cummins, Carson-Newman
Diana McDonald, Wingate
Megan Robb, Lenoir-Rhyne
Abbey Hartsell, Lenoir-Rhyne
Tiffany Elam, Anderson
Kate Hill, Anderson
Second Team
Nabila Inak, Newberry
Ainee O'Connor, Lenoir-Rhyne
Alyssa Campbell, Coker
Lise Malherbe, Lincoln Memorial
Anderson 311 298 298 907 +43 1st
Tiffany Elam 80 70 75 225 +9 t-5th
Kate Hill 79 74 72 225 +9 t-5th
Anna Freeman 79 77 75 231 +15 t-15th
Victoria Hall 78 77 76 231 +15 t-15th
Kerington Lamb 75 77 88 240 +24 t-35th
Fin. Team Scores Total Par
1. Anderson 311 298 298 907 +43
2. Lenoir-Rhyne 300 311 300 911 +47
3. Wingate 301 310 303 914 +50
4. Carson-Newman 311 303 309 923 +59
5. Coker 310 306 310 926 +62
6. Newberry 320 314 301 935 +71
7. Tusculum 316 307 318 941 +77
8. Lincoln Memorial 318 317 310 945 +81
9. Catawba 315 324 319 958 +94
10. Queens 321 324 319 964 +100
11. Mars Hill 336 336 342 1014 +150