LEXINGTON, Ky. – In their first appearance in the Bluegrass, the nationally fifth-ranked Anderson women's golf team saw all five players finish among the top-14, with the Trojans capturing second place following a one-hole playoff at the Findlay Spring Invitational, Tuesday at the University Club of Kentucky.
The Oilers hosted the two-day, 54-hole event on the par 72, 6,048-yard Big Blue Course.
"I'm really excited about the way we played this week," said Anderson Associate Head Coach Denton Moore. "We played a lot of solid golf. The girls were well prepared and hit good shot after good shot. I'm just really disappointed in the last few holes. That was a tournament where I felt we outplayed everyone. But, we have to finish better and clean up a few big holes. It's so hard to be disappointed in a second-place finish in college golf, but this one was one of those times. The girls played too good this week to not win. We gave away 6-8 shots on the last four holes just around the green. We are going to continue to get in these situations, and when these girls win, there will be no stopping them. I'm really proud of them for tying for first, and they did have a good week - we just have to close better."
The Trojans, who were bidding for their second championship of the year, held a tenuous one-stroke lead over the seventh-ranked Oilers heading into Tuesday's final round, with Findlay making up the difference and forcing a playoff to decide first place. The two squads played the ninth hole, with Findlay edging AU for the title.
No. 12 Grand Valley State finished in third place, while 29th-ranked Missouri – St. Louis and Tiffin finished tied for fourth. Northwood claimed the sixth slot, while Wayne State finished seventh. Saginaw Valley and Ferris State finished eighth and ninth, respectively, while Walsh finished 10th.
Trevecca Nazarene, Ashland, Northern Michigan, Malone, Ohio Dominican, Maryville, Davenport and UT Permian Basin finished out the 18-team field.
Findlay's Kristina Kniesly carded a three-round, 1-over 217 to capture individual medalist honors by two strokes over teammate Gabby Woods. AU freshman Kennedy McGaha finished three shots off the pace in third place, with the Oiler's Jill Schmitmeyer claiming fourth place. AU senior Victoria Hall finished in a tie for fifth place, alongside UMSL's Tove Brunell.
Sophomore Jessica Rathbone was just one shot further back in seventh place, with junior Emma Charles finishing alone in 12th place. Senior Kerington Lamb wrapped the two-day tournament in a three-way tie for 14th.
"Kennedy (McGaha) is having a phenomenal freshman campaign, and that continued this week," added Moore. "She is just a tremendous asset to our program, and it's scary to think of how good she is going to become. Victoria (Hall) had probably her best performance of the year this week. She was a rock in the second and third round. Really proud of her for her top-5 performance. Kerington, Jess, and Emma were all rock solid. It was a great team effort this week, and we are so close. It's time to really work the next two weeks and get ready for the SAC Championship. The goal is to win there and not leave our postseason lives in the hands of the committee as far as the NCAA tournament goes. That said, I think we are in, and looking forward to a great postseason run with this group of fantastic ladies!"
Following a two-week break, the Trojans will compete at the South Atlantic Conference Championship, which is scheduled for April 3-5, at the Hartsville Country Club in Hartsville, S.C.
NOTABLES
• The Trojans wrapped up the 2021-22 regular season with five runner-up performances.
• The Trojans and Oilers each posted the low round of the tournament (294).
• AU's first- and second-round 294s matched the 12th-lowest rounds in program history and the eighth-best rounds this year.
• The two-round 588 is the seventh-best round in school history.
• McGaha's opening round 70 marked her fourth-lowest score of the year and matched the 11th best round in program history.
• Hall's second-round 72 matched her lowest round of the year.
1 Anderson 294 294 300 888
3 Kennedy McGaha 70 77 73 220
T5 Victoria Hall 76 72 74 222
7 Jessica Rathbone 75 73 75 223
12 Emma Charles 75 73 78 226
T14 Kerington Lamb 74 76 78 228
3 Team Scores
T1 Anderson 294 294 300 888 +24
T1 Findlay 295 294 299 888 +24
3 Grand Valley State 303 308 297 908 +44
T4 Missouri - St. Louis 308 304 306 918 +54
T4 Tiffin 310 305 303 918 +54
6 Northwood (MI) 318 314 318 950 +86
7 Wayne State MI 325 317 315 957 +93
8 Saginaw Valley 325 325 314 964 +100
9 Ferris State 327 321 320 968 +104
10 Walsh 329 325 318 972 +108
11 Trevecca Nazarene 330 318 330 978 +114
12 Ashland 334 324 323 981 +117
13 Northern Michigan 329 325 334 988 +124
14 Maryville 339 334 322 995 +131
15 Malone 331 335 330 996 +132
16 Ohio Dominican 329 344 325 998 +134
17 Davenport 336 339 333 1008 +144
18 UT Permian Basin 340 346 339 1025 +161
