ANDERSON, S.C. – After finishing second at last week's NCAA Women's Golf South Region Championships in Gainesville, Ga., the Anderson women's golf team is set to make its second-straight appearance on the national stage among 18 teams at the 2023 NCAA Division II Women's Golf National Championships.
The Championships will be hosted by the University of Missouri – St. Louis in Eureka, Mo., Tuesday - Saturday, on a par-72, 6,187 yard Fox Run Golf Club layout and will consist of both team and individual competition conducted concurrently. Eighteen (18) teams and eight (8) individuals will compete for team and individual championships over 54 holes and championship head-to-head medal play format.
The top three teams in the central region, top six teams in the east region, top five teams in the south region and the top four teams in the west region, along with the top two individuals not with a team have advanced to the championships for a total of 98 participants.
Following 54 holes of stroke play, an individual champion will be declared along with finishers 2-10 on Thursday.
The top eight teams after 54 holes of play will then be placed into a bracket and seeded based on 54-hole scores, with the team quarterfinal and semifinal rounds on Friday and the finals occurring on Saturday.
AU, which is in the midst of its fourth consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament and second straight appearance as a team on the national stage, earned four tournament championships this year, including its third South Atlantic Conference Championship title in four years, and posted a pair of runner-up performances against top-notch competition in 2022-23.
During the 2022-23 campaign, the team has posted or equaled seven of the lowest 11 three-round scores in program history, including a school-record 859 at the Saint Leo Invitational in mid-October, with the second-round 275 marking a single-round school record. This squad has posted the two lowest single-round scores and has set or matched eight of the nine lowest 18-hole scores in program history.
Current team members own or share the top-12 three-round scores on record.
Fourteen of the 18 teams competing in Eureka, including 12 of the nation's top-15 squads, are ranked in Golfstat's Top-30. Alongside the No. 5 Trojans, nationally top-ranked Lynn, second-ranked Dallas Baptist, No. 3 Nova Southeastern, No. 4 Findlay, sixth-ranked Henderson State, West Texas A&M (7th), No. 8 Cal State San Marcos, 10th-ranked Tampa, No. 11 Indianapolis, 13th-ranked Cal State East Bay, No. 15 Limestone, 27th-ranked Tiffin and No. 28 Grand Valley State will all converge in the eastern half of the Show Me State to determine the next national champion.
Findlay is the reigning national champion, while Dallas Baptist claimed the 2021 title and Indianapolis is seeking its third title in eight years and Lynn won back-to-back championships (2013 & 2014).
Twenty-two of the top-30 golfers in the nation, including six of the top-10, are in Eureka, including Lynn's Maria Hoyos (No. 1) and Sara Ericsson (No. 2), along with Nova Southeastern's Olivia Gronborg (No. 4) and Ellen Andersson (No. 10). Dallas Baptist's Olivia Mitchell (No. 7), Julia Garcia (No. 12) and Jordan Karrh (No. 13) will also be competing, alongside Eckerd's Amelie Alcantara (No. 9) and UMSL's Tove Brunell (No. 11).
AU's Kennedy McGaha and Jessica Rathbone are tabbed 24th and 25th, respectively in the latest Golfstat rankings.
Anderson's Victoria Hall became the first golfer in school history – men's or women's - to make an appearance on the national stage and finished in a tie for 72nd place at the 2019 NCAA National Championships. Two seasons ago, Emma Charles became just the second golfer in school history to earn a berth in the NCAA National Championships and claimed a share of 55th place.
Last year's squad became the first team to make an appearance at the NCAA National Championships and reached the final four, while finishing as the consensus No. 4-ranked team in America – by both Golfstat and the WGCA.
Paced by Rathbone, the Trojans finished second behind top-ranked and defending national champion Dallas Baptist following 54 holes of stroke play a year ago and moved on to medal match play where they defeated Lynn, 3-2, in the quarterfinals, but Limestone edged the Trojans, 3-1-1, in the semifinals.
McGaha, the 2023 AU Female Athlete of the Year, captured First-Team All-Conference honors in late March and owns a 74.00 adjusted stroke average after notching a pair of runner-up finishes – at the LeeAnn Noble Memorial and the Findlay Spring Invite – while recording six top-11 finishes this year, including five in the top three.
The 2022 SAC Freshman of the Year and Second-Team All-America honoree from a year ago carded the third-lowest three-round score in program history with a 211 at the St. Leo Invitational and matched the fifth-best score in school history with a 214 at the DBU Classic, while finished lower than 25th just three times in nine tournaments. McGaha posted a season-low 5-under 67 in the second round of St. Leo Invitational, while firing a 3-under 69 on three occasions.
Rathbone, who took home individual medalist honors at last year's SAC Championship and finished as runner-up this year, was named the 2023 SAC Golfer of the Year. The Montpelier, Va., native, is a two-time All-American and has captured First-Team All-Conference accolades in all three of her collegiate seasons and owns or has matched five of the top-10 single-round scores in program history. Her third-round 67 and second-round 69 in last year's SAC Championship mark two of AU's top three rounds in SAC Championship history, while her three-round 208 a year ago set a new benchmark for the tournament.
She holds a 73.30 stroke average after recording a season-low 4-under 68 in the final round of the season-opening DBU Classic and firing a 3-under 69 on two occasions. Rathbone won the City with Spirit Classic, while notching nine total top-15 finishes, including four in the top-4. She was named SAC Golfer of the Week in early October and didn't finish lower than 25th in any tourney, while entering the NCAA Championship fresh off a sixth-place finish in the South Regional.
Grad student Kerington Lamb, who captured Second-Team All-SAC honors, enters the NCAA National Championships with a 74.92 stroke average. A native of Easley, Lamb is currently ranked 40th nationally by Golfstat and shares the single-round school record with her 66 in the third round of last year's Lady Moc Classic. She carded a season-low 3-under 69 in the second round of the St. Leo Invitational and in the third round of this year's Lady Moc Classic, while posting seven top-20 finishes on the year.
First-Team All-SAC honoree, Zoey Iglesias, who is ranked 46th nationally by Golfstat, owns a 74.50 stroke average after notching nine top-20 finishes this year, including a pair of top-5 finishes and a runner-up performance at the Lady Bearcat Classic. She fired a season-low 3-under 69 in the second round of the St. Leo Invitational and twice matched the 10th-best three-round score in program history with a 216 at the St. Leo Invitational and at the Lady Bearcat Classic.
Lexington, S.C., native, Kennedy Gooding is ranked 62nd nationally by Golfstat and owns a 74.54 adjusted stroke average. She is the second Trojan in as many years to earn SAC Freshman of the Year accolades and led the three-day South Atlantic Conference Tournament from beginning to end, while capturing 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. She captured SAC Golfer of the Week recognition in early March after winning the Low Tide Intercollegiate by equaling the school record with a 6-under-par 66 in the second round. Gooding set the school record with a 54-hole 203 at the Low Tide and posted seven total finishes inside the top-31, with her first-round 66 setting a school record for AU in the SAC Tournament.
Another freshman, Paige Paolucci, has a 74.90 adjusted stroke average and was named Third-Team All-SAC in late March. She is ranked 43rd nationally by Golfstat after finishing as runner-up to Gooding at the Low Tide Intercollegiate by matching the 10th-best three-round score in program history with a 216 in Mt. Pleasant and matching the third-lowest round in school history by firing a 5-under 67 in the final round of the St Leo Invitational. The Blythewood native finished no lower than 33rd over five tournaments, while sharing fifth place at the Lady Bearcat Invitational.
Live scoring will be available for all rounds, with tee times set for 9 a.m. (eastern) each morning.
LIVE STATS - Stroke Play (Tuesday-Thursday)
LIVE STATS – Medal Match Play (Friday-Saturday)
