CLEVELAND, Tenn. – The Anderson University women's golf team wrapped up its' first-ever appearance in the NCAA Division II Women's Golf South Region Championship by moving up one spot and finishing 11th, while freshman Victoria Hall earned a berth in next week's NCAA National Championships at the PGA National Resort in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
Lee University hosted the three-day, 54-hole tournament at the par 72, 5,957-yard Cleveland (Tenn.) Country Club.
Battling among a 12-team field where every team was ranked in the top-25 nationally and included four of the top-10 schools in the country, eighth-ranked Lynn held off Limestone to claim the team title by six strokes. Top-ranked Barry finished two strokes further back in third, with Florida Tech - which led following Monday's opening round – claiming fifth place. Nova Southeastern finished fifth, while Saint Leo dropped four spots and finished in sixth place.
Tampa and Lee shared seventh place, with Florida Southern, Rollins, Anderson and Flagler rounding out the field.
Lynn's Helen Kreuzer (73-69-72=214) claimed individual medalist honors by two strokes over Limestone's Pilar Martinez. Top-ranked Tilda Larson, was three shots off the pace and finished third.
Hall, who was tied for 27th following Monday's opening round, vaulted 10 spots into a five-way tie for 17th on Tuesday. She fired a 1-under-par 71 on Wednesday and finished in a four-way tie for seventh place as one of only four players to card a below-par score on the day. Classmate Kerington Lamb claimed a share of 45th place, with sophomore Anna Freeman capturing a share of 54th place. Junior Kate Hill and senior Tiffany Elam wrapped up the three-day event tied for 60th place.
The top four teams (Lynn, Limestone, Barry and Florida Tech) along with Hall, St. Leo's Isabel Nesteus and Izzy Lawrence, and Tampa's Sofia Cadavid each advanced to the finals, with the NCAA Division II National Championships set for May 14-18.
AU closed out one of its most successful campaigns in program history after earning an automatic bid to the regional championship by claiming their first-ever conference title. Along the way, the Trojans set a school record by posting a 287 in the final round of the LeeAnn Noble Memorial, which was hosted by North Georgia in mid-October. AU notched five tournament victories during 2018-19 and posted a SAC Tournament-record 298 in early April.
Head Coach Danny Neal, who was named SAC Coach of the Year, saw Elam, Hill, Hall and Freeman capture all-conference accolades at the close of the season, with Elam and Hill going on to garner SAC All-Tournament honors, as well.
11 Anderson 310 309 305 924
T7 Victoria Hall 76 74 71 221
T45 Kerington Lamb 77 82 75 234
T54 Anna Freeman 78 81 79 238
T60 Tiffany Elam 83 79 80 242
T60 Kate Hill 79 75 88 242
Team Scores
1. Lynn 301 290 293 884 +20
2. Limestone 298 299 293 890 +26
3. Barry 304 294 294 892 +28
4. Florida Tech 294 306 299 899 +35
5. Nova SE 297 307 297 901 +37
6. Saint Leo 295 299 312 906 +42
T7. Tampa 308 296 306 910 +46
T7. Lee 307 307 296 910 +46
9. Florida Southern 298 307 310 915 +51
10. Rollins 303 313 301 917 +53
11. Anderson 310 309 305 924 +60
12. Flagler College 314 304 309 927 +63