DADE CITY, Fla. – Behind a school-record, three-round 859 and paced by sophomore Kennedy McGaha's second-lowest 54-hole score (211) in school history, the Anderson women's golf team wrapped up its fall slate by winning the Saint Leo Invitational, Tuesday at the 6,112 yard, par-72 Lake Jovita Golf and Country Club.
"This was a huge win for our program," said Anderson Head Women's Coach Denton Moore. "Anytime we go to Florida it is vital that we play good. The Florida schools control our region because for the most part they only compete down there against each other. So, we have to play our best when we go down there to get the head-to-head wins to help our national ranking, and more importantly our regional ranking. It's awfully hard for me to say how proud I am of this team. They had two rounds in the first and third rounds where they had to fight for everything on every hole. We also blew away the program record in the second round. That was the easiest round of golf I have ever coached and/orwatched!"
With all eight Trojans posting at least a top-30 finish among a 12-team field that included seven squads that were ranked in last Friday's Mizuno Women's Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) Top-25 Poll, nationally seventh-ranked Anderson led third-ranked Lynn by 10 shots heading into the third round, but the double-digit advantage slipped away over the final 18 holes and turned into a harrowing one-stroke victory.
Barry finished a distant third, with 24th-ranked Florida Southern moving up two spots and finishing fourth. No. 12 Tampa claimed the fifth slot, while 11th-ranked Limestone slipped two spots into sixth place. The host Lions finished seventh, with Eckerd and No. 14 Grand Valley State finishing eighth and ninth, respectively. Palm Beach Atlantic, Embry-Riddle and Coastal Georgia finished out the field.
Lynn's Sara Ericsson (70-70-69=209) edged Tampa's Ana Maria Jimenez Rios (67-70-73=210) for individual medalist honors, with McGaha finishing alone in third place – just two strokes behind Ericsson. In the mix for her first collegiate championship, the Honea Path native matched her season-best with a first round 69, then fired a career-low 5-under 67 in the second round and finished the tournament with a career-best, three-round 211.
Sophomore Zoey Iglesias shared ninth place after carding a season-best three round 216, while junior Jessica Rathbone was just one stroke off her season-low and finished alone in 11th place with a 54-hole 217. Freshman Kennedy Gooding notched a season-low 219 for the tournament and claimed a share of 14th place.
Senior Emma Charles finished in a tie for 17th after carding a season-low, three-round 220, with grad student Kerington Lamb posting a season-low 69 in the second round and matching her season-best three round score (220) en route to a share of 19th place.
Freshman Aly Francis matched her season-low 72 in the second round and claimed a share of 25th place, with classmate Paige Paolucci catapulting 24 sports up the leaderboard into a tie for 30th place. The Blythewood native caught fire on the back nine on Tuesday – matching McGaha and Jimenez Rios for the lowest round of the tournament with a third-round 67. She carded seven birdies over the final round on Tuesday, including six straight on the back nine.
"Kennedy McGaha was awesome!" added Moore. "Third place and -5 in the field is just extremely good golf. It's why she is an All-American. Zoey Iglesias had the best performance of her Trojan career. It was outstanding. She was so laser focused all 54 holes. She birdied her last two holes that honestly may have been the difference in winning and losing. Jessica Rathbone - like Kennedy McGaha once again backed up why she in an All-American. Fantastic performance from her. Emma Charles and Kennedy Gooding were so good this week. Gooding just continues to have such a tight scoring window. She just shoots a lot of 71-75 scores and I love that. Emma executed at a high level for three days. When she is making putts you can forget about it. Aly Francis had a tough end to her third round, but she was huge for the second tournament in a row in the lineup. Her first day was crucial to our team. I am so extremely proud of Paige Paolucci. What an unreal final round of 67. I have been telling her for weeks now she is right there, just have to bust through the door and believe it. So proud of her this week. It was great to close the fall out with back-to-back wins. I am so proud of this team. Those two wins and the second-place in Tennessee gives us a ton of momentum heading into the spring. We are going to take a much-needed week off after this one. Then we will stay in the weight room until Christmas break, as well as continue to practice and focus on each player's area of needs on the course. This is the time where we will really get good individual work in with the girls and get them all ready for the spring. Again, so proud of them this week. Takes a lot to clean house in Florida, but they believed it, and believed in each other and got it done. Good time to be a Trojan!"
The Trojans are scheduled to open their spring slate at the Lady Moc Classic, Feb. 20-21, at the Grasslands Country Club in Lakeland, Fla.
1 Anderson 290 275 294 859
3 Kennedy McGaha (2) 69 67 75 211
T9 Zoey Iglesias (3) 76 69 71 216
11 Jessica Rathbone (1) 72 70 75 217
T14 Kennedy Gooding 73 74 72 219
T17 Emma Charles 72 71 77 220
T19 Kerington Lamb (4) 79 69 73 221
T25 Aly Francis (5) 73 72 78 223
T30 Paige Paolucci 80 78 67 225
Teams Scores
1 Anderson 290 275 294 859 -5
2 Lynn 286 289 285 860 -4
3 Barry 298 289 290 877 +13
4 Fla Southern 296 298 284 878 +14
5 Tampa 295 296 290 881 +17
6 Limestone 297 294 295 886 +22
7 Saint Leo 302 295 297 894 +30
8 Eckerd 301 304 292 897 +33
9 Grand Valley St. 313 299 288 900 +36
10 Palm Beach Atl. 300 308 311 919 +55
11 Embry-Riddle 311 317 311 939 +75
12 Coastal Ga. 318 330 324 972 +108
Notables
• AU claimed its second tournament championship in as many weeks.
• AU's second-round 275 bettered the previous school record by an impressive six strokes.
• Paige Paolucci's third-round 67 matched the second-best round in school history.
• Kennedy McGaha's three-round 210 equaled the second-best score in program history.
• Kennedy McGaha's first- and second-round 136 matched the lowest 36-hole score in program history.
• The Trojans' first- and second-round 565 also set a school record.
• The Trojans' first-round 290 matched the 11th-best score in program history.
• Zoey Iglesias' 54-hole 216 matched the ninth-lowest in program history.
• Kennedy McGaha's second-round 67 matched the second-best single round in school history.
• Kennedy Gooding's three-round 219 matched the 15th-best score in school history.
• Jessica Rathbone's first- and second-round 142 matched the seventh-lowest 36-hole score in program history.
• Emma Charles' first- and second-round 143 matched the 16th-lowest 36-hole score in program history.
• Zoey Iglesias, Kerington Lamb and Kennedy McGaha's 69's matched the eighth-lowest scores in program history.
