LEXINGTON, Ky. – With two players finishing second and third individually and with three more claiming spots among the top 18, the Anderson women's golf team won the Findlay Spring Invite, which was hosted by the Oilers at the University Club of Kentucky Big Blue Course and wrapped up Tuesday afternoon.
The two-day, 54-hole tournament featured a 6,048 yard, par-72 layout.
"I am so proud of this win," said Anderson Head Women's Coach Denton Moore. "It wasn't our prettiest golf, wasn't our best golf, but it was absolutely our gutsiest golf we have played since I have coached here. The conditions were brutal. It was cold and windy every second of every day! We were down 10 shots heading into the last nine holes. The last nine at UK Club is so difficult. The wind kept picking up stronger and stronger and the girls kept grinding out par after par. We got in a couple birdies and mounted one of the best comebacks I have ever been a part of."
The Trojans claimed their fourth tournament title of the year by six shots over the sixth-ranked and host Oilers, while Missouri – St. Louis finished in third place. Tiffin finished just one stroke further back in fourth place, with Limestone and Ferris State finishing fifth and sixth, respectively. Grand Valley State remained seventh, while Illinois-Springfield finished in the eighth slot.
Walsh finished ninth, with Ohio Dominican claiming the 10th spot. Ohio Dominican, Saginaw Valley, Northern Michigan, Davenport, Northwood, Trevecca Nazarene, Lewis and Purdue-Northwest finished out the 18-team field.
Tiffin's Lisa Marie Schumacher held on to win individual medalist honors by four strokes over AU sophomore Kennedy McGaha and by six shots over Kennedy Gooding. UMSL's Tove Brunell and Findlay's Jill Schmitmeyer shared fourth place – seven shots behind Schumacher.
Anderson junior Jessica Rathbone finished alone in 14th place, with grad student Kerington Lamb moving up three spots and sharing 15th place. Sophomore Zoey Iglesias claimed 18th place, with senior Emma Charles finishing in a four-way tie for 30th place.
"Kennedy McGaha was so good on the greens this week," added Moore. "She handled the speed well and was exactly what I always expect her to be - an All- American. It was a great runner-up finish for her. Kennedy Gooding was unreal for the second week in a row. She made very few mistakes and brought home her second top-3 in a row. She has a crazy bright future here. I love her scoring window and how she handles herself on the course. Jessica Rathbone had a tough second round, but she bounced back like All-Americans do in the last round when we needed her the most. She did not have her best golf today, but man, she just kept grinding and it was the difference. Kerington Lamb was absolutely unreal this week. Each round I thought it was going to get away from her, but she just kept battling over and over and came through for us round after round. She is so valuable to this team, and just such a great leader in her fifth year. Zoey Iglesias continues to have her best year here. She was so huge for us in the first two rounds for us, and got it done big when we had to have her. I am just so proud of this team. This win took a massive effort and some serious guts. This was a great win, and I couldn't be happier! Go Trojans!"
AU will wrap up the regular season at Lander's Bearcat Classic next week before continuing their quest for a second straight SAC title at Cobb's Glen Country Club, April 2-4.
Notables
• The Trojans earned their second straight championship and fourth tournament title of the year.
• AU's three-round 888 matched the 10th-best 54-hole score in program history.
• The Trojans' second- and third-round 588 was the seventh-best 36-hole score in school history.
Anderson 300 297 291 888
2 Kennedy McGaha (1) 74 75 70 219
3 Kennedy Gooding (5) 75 73 73 221
14 Jessica Rathbone (2) 73 80 74 227
T15 Kerington Lamb (4) 79 75 74 228
18 Zoey Iglesias (3) 78 74 78 230
T30 Emma Charles 79 77 80 236
Teams Scores
1 Anderson 300 297 291 888 +24
2 Findlay 302 296 296 894 +30
3 Missouri-St. Louis 305 314 303 922 +58
4 Tiffin 299 310 314 923 +59
5 Limestone 316 301 311 928 +64
6 Ferris State 319 303 307 929 +65
7 Grand Valley St. 315 313 302 930 +66
8 Ill.-Springfield 322 314 319 955 +91
9 Walsh 320 324 319 963 +99
10 Ohio Dominican 327 315 330 972 +108
11 Maryville 344 315 316 975 +111
12 Saginaw Valley 325 336 318 979 +115
13 Northern Mich. 330 320 331 981 +117
14 Davenport 335 328 319 982 +118
15 Northwood (MI) 329 328 330 987 +123
T16 Trevecca Nazarene 351 328 325 1004 +140
T16 Lewis 333 334 337 1004 +140
18 Purdue-Northwest 364 369 341 1074 +210
