ANDERSON, S.C. – Behind a tournament-record, 54-hole 865 and with all five golfers finishing among the top-11 - including the top three - and freshman Kennedy Gooding bringing home individual medalist honors, the Anderson women's golf team won the 2023 South Atlantic Conference Championship, Tuesday afternoon.
The Trojans hosted the three-day, 54-hole tournament on a par-72, 5,911-Cobb's Glen Country Club layout.
"I am so proud of the girls this week," said Anderson Head Women's Coach Denton Moore. "It's just not easy to be predicted to win and show up and win. It's also not easy to have the pressure of doing it on your home turf. But this crew not only showed up and won, they delivered a message. That message is that the SAC runs through Anderson University right now, and in my mind as their coach, it runs through Anderson for awhile. This team is deep, and they are VERY good. Most importantly, they are young. This team, and this program are not going anywhere anytime soon. If the SAC teams want to catch us or get on par with us, it's going to take a big-time effort. These girls work harder, prepare harder, and grind harder than anyone out there. As their coach, I could not be more proud than I am today. We have more steps to take, but they took task one and blistered it with ease."
The Trojans, who led Wingate by 17 shots following Sunday's opening round and built its cushion to 30 strokes after Monday's second round, dominated the tourney by finishing with a 34-stroke victory over the runner-up Bulldogs. Carson-Newman finished six 10 strokes further back in third place, while Limestone claimed fourth place. Lincoln Memorial remained in fifth place, with Tusculum moving up one spot into the sixth slot. Newberry finished seventh, with Lenoir-Rhyne and Catawba finishing in a tie for eighth place.
Coker, Mars Hill and UVA Wise rounded out the 12-team field.
"Kennedy Gooding has absolutely floored me this season," added Moore. "We needed a wheel barrel to get her awards out of Cobb's Glen today. Freshman of the Year, First-Team All-Conference, and then SAC Championship medalist! I can see All-American coming her way as well. She was absolutely fantastic this week. All-Americans Jessica Rathbone and Kennedy McGaha finished second and third and did what they always do. They are held to that standard by themselves, and they do it every single time. Kerington Lamb and Zoey Iglesias were rock solid all week. They did a great job helping each other in the rounds we needed. This was a total team effort, and I am so proud of them."
Gooding, the league's Freshman of the Year, led the three-day event wire-to-wire and captured her second tournament title of the year on the strength of her 4-under-par 212, which marked the second-lowest three-round score in tournament history.
Veteran standout Jessica Rathbone, who captured last year's individual medalist honors, finished just two shots behind Gooding and took home runner-up accolades with her 2-under 214 – which is the third-lowest 54-hole score in tournament history. AU sophomore Kennedy McGaha finished alone in third place after finishing just five shots behind Gooding and two strokes ahead of Tusculum's Nilubol Panno, who finished fourth.
Grad student Kerington Lamb finished in a tie for eighth place, alongside Wingate's Thalia Perez-Vieco, while AU sophomore Zoey Iglesias shared 11th place.
"I think they knew I wanted this one in my first year" said Moore. "They prepared a little harder, worked a little harder, and grinded a little more this week, and I am so thankful for this crew. I gave them the rest of the week to celebrate and rest. We will get going again Monday and start working towards the regionals in May. I am just so proud of this crew, and so proud of this accomplishment. There is more to be done, but for the next few days we are going to celebrate and enjoy this one. Big-time day, Go Trojans!"
With the win, the Trojans clinched an automatic berth in the 2023 NCAA South Region Championship, which will be hosted May 8-10, by North Georgia at the Chattahoochee Golf Club, with the NCAA National Championships slated for May 16-20, in Eureka, Mo.
The NCAA Tournament selections are set for Monday, May 1.
SAC All-Tournament Team
• Kennedy Gooding Anderson
• Jessica Rathbone Anderson
• Kennedy McGaha Anderson
• Nilubol Panno Tusculum
• Hailey McLaughlin Wingate
• Maeve Cummins Carson-Newman
• Pennie Osterberg Limestone
• Thalia Perez-Vieco Wingate
• Kerington Lamb Anderson
• Maria Morales Limestone
Notables
• With the win, the Trojans clinched their fourth consecutive appearance in the NCAA South Region Championship.
• The Trojans also competed in the 2019, 2021 and 2022 NCAA South Region Championships.
• AU has not finished lower than sixth in a tournament this year and owns six tournament titles heading into the NCAA Tournament.
• Gooding's three-round 212 is the second-lowest in SAC Championship history.
• AU's three-round 865 set a tournament record – eclipsing its' 886 from a year ago.
• The Trojans' second-round 288 is the second-lowest single round in SAC Championship history.
• AU's second-round 288 matched the ninth-lowest round in school history.
• Rathbone's second-round 69 matched the fourth-lowest round in SAC Championship history.
• The Trojans' third-round 294 matched their second-round 294 from last year's SAC Championship, which is now the fourth-best in tournament history.
• AU's first-round 5-under 283 set a tournament record – eclipsing Wingate's previous tournament record 293, which the Bulldogs set in 2022.
• Gooding's opening-round 6-under matched the tournament record for a single round, which was previously set by Carson-Newman's Elizabeth England in 2017.
• The Trojans' opening-round 283 eclipsed their previous SAC Tournament-best 294, which was set last year.
• Gooding's first-round 66 is a school record for AU in the SAC Tournament.
• The Trojans' first-round 283 marked the fourth-best single round in program history.
• Gooding's opening-round 66 matched the school-record, which she already shared with teammate Kerington Lamb.
• The Trojans became the first repeat champions since Newberry in 2012 and 2013.
• AU earned its second straight SAC Championship and its third SAC title in four seasons.
• The victory gave AU its sixth tournament title of the year.
• Wingate and Newberry were each seeking a league-record fifth title, with the Bulldogs last winning the 2018 championship and the Wolves claiming back-to-back titles in 2012-13.
• Carson-Newman was seeking its fourth SAC title and first championship since 2015.
• Lenoir-Rhyne was also looking for its fourth SAC title after winning the 2017 SAC title, which was its first since claiming back-to-back championships in 2003 and 2004.
• Tusculum was searching for its third title and first since winning back-to-back championships in 2000 and 2001.
• Carson-Newman's Elizabeth England previously set the single-round tournament record with a second-round 66 in 2017.
• AU's Jessica Rathbone owns the three-round tournament record with last year's 208.
1 Anderson 283 288 294 865 +1
1 Kennedy Gooding 66 75 71 212 -4
2 Jessica Rathbone 73 69 72 214 -2
3 Kennedy McGaha 72 72 73 217 +1
T 8 Kerington Lamb 72 74 78 224 +8
T 11 Zoey Iglesias 76 73 78 227 +11
Teams Scores
School Rnd 1 Rnd 2 Rnd 3 Total To Par
1 Anderson 283 288 294 865 +1
2 Wingate 300 301 298 899 +35
3 Carson-Newman 304 307 294 905 +41
4 Limestone 301 310 297 908 +44
5 LMU 306 306 317 929 +65
6 Tusculum 307 317 309 933 +69
7 Newberry 306 317 311 934 +70
8 Lenoir-Rhyne 320 320 311 951 +87
Catawba 314 319 318 951 +87
10 Coker 324 312 320 956 +92
11 Mars Hill 351 348 341 1040 +176
12 UVA Wise 345 355 343 1043 +179
