LAKELAND, Fla. – Posting the best round of the tournament among all teams on the final day of action, the Anderson University women's golf team turned in a second-place finish at the Lady Moc Golf Classic, hosted by Florida Southern at the Grasslands Golf and Country Club on February 19-20.
The Trojans improved every round throughout the week, kicking the tournament off with a 301 (+13) as a team in the opening round before finishing out day one of action with a 297 (+9) to sit in fourth after two rounds. Anderson then posted the best round of the week by three-strokes with a 288 (E) to jump up two places and finish just four shots off the tournament winners in top-ranked Nova Southeastern.
"Hard to explain how proud of this team I am!" said head coach Denton Moore. "This was a huge comeback. I know it fell just short of winning, but second in this field is huge. This is a national championship type field. We had 10 wins against top-25 teams, and only lost to the top team in the country. These girls continue to show they belong in the top-3 nationally no matter what the rankings say."
The Black and Gold were paced by senior Jessica Rathbone (Montpelier, Va.) who finished tied for fourth place in the event shooting a trio of 73's (+1) to finish three-over for the tournament. Junior Kennedy McGaha (Honea Path, S.C.) rebounded from a bit of a rocky start in the opening round (77) to post back-to-back even par rounds of 72 and finish in a tie for eighth at five-over.
"Jessica and Kennedy (McGaha) look and played exactly like the All-Americans they are. They were so clean all week and carried us home in the final round."
Sophomores Kennedy Gooding (Lexington, S.C.) and Aly Francis (Stockbridge, Ga.) were each able to finish in a tie for 21st on the week. Gooding was able to drop her score through each round from an opening round 78 (+6), a second round 75 (+3) and an even par final round of 72 to finish nine-over. Francis had a slight hiccup in the second round after posting a 75 (+3) to open the tournament, she carded a second round of 79 (+7) before rebounding with the lone under-par score of the week for the Trojans with a 71 (-1) in the third round.
Sophomore Paige Paolucci (Blythewood, S.C.) rounded out the five designated scorers on the week for the Trojans as she turned in a 42nd place finish after turning in round of 76 (+4), 77 (+5) and 78 (+6). Junior Zoey Iglesias (Port St. Lucie, Fla.) and freshman Yvette Gorden (Montgomery, Ala.) competed as individuals in the tournament with Iglesias turning in a fantastic week as she carded two rounds of 75 (+3) before rounding out the week with a 72 (E), finishing tied for 11th at six-over. Gorden finished in a tie for 63rd on the week after turning in rounds of 77 (+5), 75 (+3) and 84 (+12).
"Kennedy (Gooding), Aly and Paige continue to show why they are the greatest recruiting class in AU history. In year two they just continue to get better and better. Zoey got back to her All-American form and looked awesome this week. Yvette was really solid in the first two rounds and continues to grow and get incredible experience. I'm so proud of our team!"
"I can't thank Austin Castles, our head men's coach, enough for helping bring this home for us," continued Moore. "He has been so valuable for us on the road and the girls absolutely love him. We will keep working over the next couple of weeks including spring break. We will head up to Wingate's event in three weeks and from there we will really start locking in for the postseason run. This event should lock us in already, but we want our resume to be unquestioned. So proud of this effort. Go Trojans!"
The women's golf team returns to action on March 11-12 as they travel to the Stonebridge Golf Club in Monroe, N.C. to take part in the Jerry Surratt Memorial, hosted by Wingate.
