HARTSVILLE, S.C. – With South Atlantic Conference Freshman of the Year, Kennedy McGaha, and First-Team All-SAC honoree Jessica Rathbone matching the sixth- and eighth-lowest rounds, respectively, in SAC Championship history, the Anderson women's golf team is in first place following opening-round action at the 2022 SAC Championship, Sunday at the Hartsville Country Club.
Coker is hosting the three-day, 54-hole tournament over a par-72, 5,896 yard course.
The nationally fifth-ranked Trojans, who are bidding for their second title in three seasons after winning the 2019 championship, lead fourth-ranked Limestone by three shots heading into Monday's second round. The Saints are looking to become the first repeat title-winner since Newberry won back-to-back conference crowns in 2012 and 2013.
Wingate, which is ranked 17th nationally, is four shots further back in third place, while No. 47 Lincoln Memorial is fourth and No. 21 Carson-Newman is in fifth place. Catawba and Newberry are sixth and seventh, respectively, while Coker and Queens share eighth place.
Tusculum, Lenoir-Rhyne, Mars Hill and UVA Wise round out the 13-team field.
Limestone's Taylor Oberparleiter fired a 2-under 70 and leads McGaha by one shot and Rathbone by two strokes in the chase for individual medalist honors. Wingate's Maddison Gorman and LMU's Rachel Mathieson are tied for fourth, one shot behind Rathbone.
McGaha carded a pair of birdies, while recording three eagles on the day - the par-4 fourth hole and two of the course's four par-5s (the par-5 11th hole and the par-5 18th hole) en route to a 1-under-par 71. Rathbone, a two-time First-Team All-SAC honoree, reached par on a dozen holes, while posting three birdies on her way to an even-par 72.
Senior Victoria Hall, a three-time all-conference honoree, posted four birdies and shares 11th place after carding a 4-over-par 76 on the day. Junior Emma Charles carded five birdies, including three on the back nine, with the Hartsville native finishing the opening round with a 5-over-par 77. She shares 13th place with senior Kerington Lamb, who reached par on 13 holes and also posted a 5-over 77 on the day.
"We started off a bit slow giving away some shots but finished better to shoot the 296 today," said Anderson Director of Golf and SAC Coach of the Year, Danny Neal. "That was good enough for a three-shot lead over Limestone, but we will definitely need to play better tomorrow to keep the lead - as I'm sure Limestone will play better. Kennedy (McGaha) and Jess (Rathbone) led our team with scores of 71 and 72 respectively. Those are strong rounds as the greens were running very fast. Hopefully, we can clean up a couple of things and improve on our first round score."
Monday's second round is scheduled for an 8:30 a.m. start, with the Trojans slated to begin teeing off at 11:30 a.m.
NOTABLES
• The opening-round 296 marks the second-lowest round in SAC Championship history - behind just Limestone's 295 in the 2021 Championship's third round.
• The opening-round 296 marks AU's lowest round at the SAC Tournament in school history - besting the Trojans' 298 in both the second and third rounds of the 2019 SAC Championship.
• The first round 296 matched AU's ninth-best round of the season and matched the 17th-best round in program history.
• McGaha's 1-under-par 71 marks the 6th-best round in SAC Tournament history.
• Rathbone's even-par 72 matches the eighth-lowest round in SAC Tournament history.
• McGaha's 1-under-par 71 marks AU's 2nd-best round ever in the SAC Tournament.
• Rathbone's even-par 72 matches AU's 3rd-best round ever in the SAC Tournament.
• Former standout Kate Hill's third-place finish in 2018, along with Rathbone's tie for third last year, stand as the highest individual finishes by a Trojan women's golfer at the SAC Championship.
• The event has produced six different champions over the past seven seasons.
• Newberry and Wingate have each claimed four SAC titles, with Lenoir-Rhyne and Carson-Newman each taking home the hardware on three occasions. Tusculum is looking for its third title and first since winning back-to-back championships in 2000 and 2001.
1 Anderson 296 296 +8
2 Kennedy McGaha 71 71 -1
3 Jessica Rathbone 72 72 E
T 11 Victoria Hall 76 76 +4
T 13 Kerington Lamb 77 77 +5
T 13 Emma Charles 77 77 +5
Pos. School Rnd 1 Total To Par
1 Anderson 296 296 +8
2 Limestone 299 299 +11
3 Wingate 303 303 +15
4 Lincoln Memorial 307 307 +19
5 Carson Newman 310 310 +22
6 Catawba 315 315 +27
7 Newberry 317 317 +29
8 Coker 318 318 +30
Queens 318 318 +30
10 Tusculum 320 320 +32
11 Lenoir-Rhyne 321 321 +33
12 Mars Hill 343 343 +55
13 Virginia-Wise 365 365 +77
