DENTON, Texas – A school-record 281 in the third round lifted the third-ranked Anderson women's golf team five spots in Tuesday's final round, as the Trojans finished sixth at the Dallas Baptist Classic, which was hosted by the Patriots on a par-72, 6152-yard Robson Ranch Wildhorse Golf Club layout.
"I am really proud of the way the girls played today," said Anderson Head Women's Coach Denton Moore. "Anytime you break the program record, it's a good day. That doesn't mean it was a good tournament, but it was a great day. We have to be more consistent than we were this week. We can't expect to bail ourselves out with program-record rounds in the last round every week. We have to putt better. We will be working hard on our short game before we head to Tennessee next week. With that said, today showed how special this team can be and what they are capable of when they are clicking. I'm really excited about this team this year. As this team starts to gel and come together, I believe we have another special run in us."
Four of the top-10 squads in the nation and ten teams in the Mizuno Women's Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) Preseason Top-25, competed in the two-day, 54-hole tournament. Thirteenth-ranked Henderson State overcame a five-shot deficit and came out on top by four shots over No. 4 Lynn, which led following Monday's first two rounds. Top-ranked Dallas Baptist moved up five spots and finished in a tie for third place, alongside No. 14 Saint Leo. No. 11-ranked Indianapolis finished fifth, with the Trojans jumping from 11th into sixth place. No. 12 Tampa fell from fourth into seventh place, while Missouri – St. Louis claimed the eighth slot.
St. Mary's finished in 10th place, with UT-Tyler and Midwestern State finishing 10th and 11th, respectively. Oklahoma Christian, Arkansas Tech, North Georgia, Barry and Central Oklahoma finished out the 16-team field.
Lynn's Maria Hoyos (68-65-71=204) led wire-to-wire in capturing individual medalist honors by two shots over UMSL's Tove Brunell (70-67-69=206). St. Leo's Elena Verticchio (69-68-71=208) finished two shots further back in third place.
Sophomore Kennedy McGaha moved up six spots and finished in 11th place, while junior Jessica Rathbone vaulted up 33 spots to gain a share of 25th place. Freshman Kennedy Gooding climbed nine spots and finished in a tie for 36th place, with senior Emma Charles claiming a share of the 42nd spot. Sophomore Zoey Iglesias moved up 25 spots and wrapped up the three-round tourney in a share of 42nd place, alongside Charles.
"Kennedy McGaha and Jessica Rathbone did what you expect all Americans to do on the final day," added Moore. "They dominated. Kennedy had the low round of the day and Jess the second-lowest round of the day. That was a huge jolt to the team. They combined to -7, and that's how you start climbing leaderboards. Kennedy Gooding did not look like a freshman this week. On that stage, against that field, she wasn't intimidated. She played such unbelievable consistent golf. If she makes any putts this week, she would have finished in the top 10. Plus-6 through three rounds here though was ultra-impressive and she has such a bright future here as a Trojan. I am so proud of Zoey Iglesias. I have been waiting on her to break out. She had a great qualifier, and then got better here each round. She has worked really hard and it's starting to show. Emma Charles was huge for us yesterday, and although not her best, she grinded the entire round. I'm really proud of this group. Not exactly where we wanted to finish, but we did pick up a couple of big regional wins over Tampa and Barry. Anytime we can get one on the Florida schools, it helps. We are going to work hard on short game this week, and then head to Tennessee and look for a more consistent performance."
Anderson will get back in action on Monday at Lee's City with Spirit Fall Classic in Cleveland, Tenn.
6 Anderson 296 294 281 871
11 Kennedy McGaha 74 71 69 214
T25 Jessica Rathbone 77 74 68 219
T36 Kennedy Gooding 74 75 73 222
T42 Emma Charles 71 75 77 223
T42 Zoey Iglesias 78 74 71 223
Team Scores
1 Henderson State 285 290 283 858 -6
2 Lynn 285 285 292 862 -2
T3 DBU 294 292 279 865 +1
T3 Saint Leo 291 285 289 865 +1
5 Indianapolis 290 293 287 870 +6
6 Anderson 296 294 281 871 +7
7 Tampa 296 286 293 875 +11
8 Missouri - St. Louis 293 291 292 876 +12
9 St. Mary's 296 291 292 879 +15
10 UT Tyler 293 293 294 880 +16
11 Midwestern State 287 296 298 881 +17
12 Oklahoma Christian 296 297 290 883 +19
13 Arkansas Tech 297 294 297 888 +24
14 North Georgia 298 294 298 890 +26
15 Barry 289 305 301 895 +31
16 Central Oklahoma 299 303 312 927 +63
Notables
• The Trojans' third-round 281 set a school record for a 54-hole tournament.
• McGaha's 54-hole 214 marked the third-lowest 54-hole score in program history.
• Rathbone's three-round 219 matched the 11th-lowest 54-hole score in school history.
• Kennedy Gooding's 54-hole 222 matched the 17th-lowest 54-hole score in program history.
• Rathbone's third-round 68 matched the 4th-lowest 18-hole score in school history.
• McGaha's third-round 69 matched the 7th-lowest 18-hole score in school history.
• The Trojans' three-round 871 marked the second-lowest in school history.
• AU's second and third-round 575 marked the second-lowest 36-hole score in program history.
• The first and second-round 590 matched the 10th-best three-round score in school history.
• McGaha eagled the par-5, 462-yard 17th hole in the second round.
• AU's second-round 294 matched the 13th-best round in program history.
• The Trojans' first-round 296 matched the 20th lowest round in school history.
