ANDERSON, S.C. – Following a year that included a first-place finish and five runner-up performances among some of the toughest fields in the nation, the nationally fifth-ranked Anderson women's golf team is set to compete at the 2022 South Atlantic Conference Championship.

The three-day, 54-hole tournament begins Sunday morning and concludes Tuesday afternoon at the Hartsville Country Club in Hartsville, S.C., over a par-72, 5,896 yard course. Tee times will begin at 8:30 a.m. all three days, with 18-holes being played each day.

The Trojans won the 2019 SAC Championship and finished tied for second at last year's tournament, alongside Wingate, with both teams finishing behind Limestone, who claimed the title in their first year of eligibility after moving over from Conference Carolinas.

With the pandemic canceling the 2020 SAC Championship, the event has produced six different champions over the past seven seasons, with Limestone hoping to become the first repeat title-winner since Newberry won back-to-back conference crowns in 2012 and 2013. The Wolves and Wingate have each claimed four SAC titles, with Lenoir-Rhyne and Carson-Newman each taking home the hardware on three occasions.

Limestone's No. 4 ranking in Golfstat's top-50 squads nationally is tops in the league, with the Trojans just behind at No. 5. Wingate is No. 17, while Carson-Newman was tabbed 21st in the latest ranking. Lenoir-Rhyne was No. 27, with Lincoln Memorial at 47th, and Tusculum (56th) falling just outside the top-50 among the competitive South Atlantic Conference squads.

The Trojans and Saints have gone head-to-head in five tournaments this year, with AU out-dueling Limestone on two occasions – at the South Region Preview and at the Lady Moc Classic.

Behind a then-tournament-record three-round score (907), the Trojans claimed their first-ever South Atlantic Conference Championship in 2019, winning by four strokes over runner-up Lenoir-Rhyne and by seven shots over defending champion Wingate. The Saints eclipsed AU's tournament record with a three-round 901 to claim the championship by 24 strokes a year ago. The Trojans' two rounds of 298 during the 2019 title run mark the second-lowest in league history, behind Limestone's third-round 295 a year ago.

AU's Tiffany Elam and Kate Hill each equaled the fourth-best three-round totals (225) in tournament history and finished in a tie for fifth place in 2019, with Anna Freeman and Victoria Hall finishing in a tie for 15th place. Kerington Lamb rounded out the Trojan contingent in a tie for 35th. With that victory, the Trojans captured the league's automatic bid to the NCAA South Region Tournament.

Jessica Rathbone's three-round, 11-over-par 227 led the Trojans to a tie for second place at last year's championship, with the Montpelier. Va., native claiming First-Team All-Tournament honors in her first SAC Championship appearance. Victoria Hall carded her second-best three-round score of the year and captured Second-Team All-SAC accolades after carding a three-round 230 and sharing seventh place. Freeman shared 11th place a year ago, with Emma Charles finishing just three strokes further back in a tie for 14th place. Kerington Lamb finished in a tie for 21st.

Hill's third-place finish in 2018, along with Rathbone's tie for third place in 2021, stand as the highest individual finishes by a Trojan women's golfer at the SAC Championship.

The Trojans have finished no lower than fourth this season, while winning the Patsy Rendleman Invitational in October and finishing as runners-up at the South Region Preview, Flagler's Fall Slam, Florida Southern's Lady Moc Classic, Missouri – St. Louis' Emerald Coast Classic and at the Findlay Spring Invitational.

During the 2021-22 campaign, the team has posted the four lowest 54-hole tournament scores in program history, including a school-record 867 at the LeeAnn Noble Memorial in mid-October, with the third-round 282 marking a single-round school record. Current team members own or share the top 16 54-hole scores on school history, 15 of the top 16 36-hole scores and eight of the top 12 single-round scores in school history.

Rathbone, a sophomore who was named First-Team All-SAC less than 24 hours ago, was a Second-Team All-American (WGCA) after earning First-Team All-SAC recognition last season. She posted AU's next lowest three-round SAC Tournament score (227) a year ago - behind Hill and Elam's 225s during the 2019 tournament.

The Montpelier, Va., native, paced an extraordinarily-balanced Trojan squad with a 73.52 unadjusted stroke average after firing a season-low 69 in the third round of the South Region Preview on the way to a runner-up finish and carding a pair of 70s during the fall. Rathbone also finished as runner-up at Flagler's Fall Slam and finished lower than 14th just once during the year. Heading into the postseason, she is ranked 18th nationally by Golfstat.

SAC Freshman of the Year and Second-Team honoree, Kennedy McGaha, is ranked 33rd by Golfstat and boasts a 74.24 unadjusted stroke average that includes a round of 68 (LeeAnn Noble Memorial), along with a pair of 69s – at the LeeAnn Noble Memorial and at the Lady Moc Classic. McGaha has eight top-20 finishes on the year, including three in the top-10, hasn't finished lower than 19th.

Hall, a senior, is ranked 68th by Golfstat, captured all-conference honors for the third straight season on Friday and owns a 74.86 unadjusted stroke average through eight tournaments, while posting six top-20 finishes this year.

Hall equaled the Trojans' fourth-lowest round ever (74) at the SAC Championship a year ago, with her three-round 230 marking the fifth-best performance in program history at the SAC Championship. In 2019, the Moore, S.C., native became the first golfer in school history to make an appearance on the national stage in the NCAA National Championships.

Lamb, another senior who brought home Third-Team All-SAC honors, closed out the regular season on a strong note and enters the postseason fourth on the team with a 74.89 unadjusted stroke average, while firing a school record 66 in the third round of the Lady Moc Classic on the way to a runner-up finish five weeks ago. The Easley native reached even-par in three of her seven tournaments this season, while posting a pair of 70s during the year and is ranked 62nd nationally by Golfstat.

Zoey Iglesias, ranked 88th by Golfstat, owns a 75.31 stroke average and has finished no lower than 32nd during a stellar freshman campaign. The Port St. Lucie, Fla., native earned Third-Team All-SAC recognition and fired the team's second-lowest round of the year with a 67 in the second round of the Patsy Rendleman Invitational and has notched four top-25 performances this year, including bringing home third place at the Rendleman.

Charles, who as a sophomore last year became the second golfer in school history to compete in the NCAA National Championships recorded a 75.81 scoring average during the regular season and fired a season-low 69 and a 71 at the LeeAnn Noble Memorial to go along with 71s in the first round of the year at the South Region Preview and at the Emerald Coast Classic. A Hartsville native, Charles owns five top-25 performances en route to a 75.81 stroke average.

Freeman, an Aiken native, owns AU's second-best score for low-round at the SAC Championships, with a 72 in last year's tourney. She owns a 76.80 scoring average after recording a season-low 71 last month at the Lady Moc Classic. The Aiken. S.C., native has finished among the top-25 in four of her six tournaments this season. Freeman, a former South Atlantic Conference Freshman of the Year (2018), also earned Honorable Mention All-SAC accolades in 2019.

Wingate is seeking a league-record fifth title after winning the 2018 championship, with Newberry, which is ranked 79th nationally, also looking for a fifth championship after winning back-to-back titles in 2012-13.

Carson-Newman is seeking its fourth SAC title and first championship since 2015. Lenoir-Rhyne won the 2017 SAC title, which was its first since claiming back-to-back championships in 2003 and 2004. Tusculum is looking for its third title and first since winning back-to-back championships in 2000 and 2001.

Live scoring will be available for all three rounds through Birdiefire.com.