HICKORY, N.C. – With freshman Alejandro de Castro leading wire-to-wire and senior Reece Coleman along with junior Calahan Keever finishing as co-runners-up, the Anderson men's golf team left little doubt en route to winning the program's first-ever South Atlantic Conference Championship in convincing fashion, Tuesday afternoon.
Lenoir-Rhyne hosted the 54-hole, three-day tournament at the par-72, 6,605-yard Lake Hickory Country Club.
"So excited for this men's team!" said Anderson Director of Golf Danny Neal. "Seven wins in a single year with the last one being the SAC Championship! And what a special event for Dro! Winning the SAC Championship low medalist as a freshman! Great play by Reece and Cal tying for runner-up. Solid contributions from Daniel and Simon. What a team effort! Has been all year! I couldn't be prouder of this group! Now it's on to regionals!"
After leading by six shots on Sunday and building its margin to 14 strokes following Monday's second round, the Black and Gold juggernaut won its seventh title of the year by 23 shots over runner-up Lenoir-Rhyne.
Newberry jumped four spots and claimed third place, while Lincoln Memorial moved from sixth and finished fourth, with Tusculum falling from third into fifth place. Limestone claimed sixth place, while Carson-Newman and Coker finished seventh and eighth, respectively. Wingate, Catawba, Mars Hill and
UVA Wise rounded out the 12-team field.
De Castro held on to his three-shot lead to capture his first career championship, with Coleman and Keever finishing close behind. Sophomore Simon Wright continued his climb up the leaderboard and finished with a share of 34th place and junior Daniel Coker also moved up and finished in a tie for 41st place.
With the win, the nationally top-ranked Trojans clinched an automatic berth in the 2023 NCAA Southeast Region Championship, which will be hosted, May 11-13, by Nova Southeastern at the Grande Oaks Golf Club in Davie, Fla., with the NCAA National Championships slated for May 22-26, in Warren, Ohio
The NCAA Tournament selections are set for Friday, April 28.
Notables
• The SAC Championship marks AU's second conference title in program history – the Trojan also captured the 2004 Carolinas-Virginia (CVAC) Championship.
• The Trojans' 54-hole 845 marked the second-lowest score in SAC Tournament history.
• AU's three-round 845 marked the Trojans' lowest score ever in the SAC Tournament.
• AU will make its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since back-to-back appearances in 2007-08.
• The Trojans' first- and second-round 280s marked a program-best for a conference tournament and matched the eighth-lowest round in program history.
• Alejandro de Castro's first-round 67 matched AU's second-best round in a conference tournament.
• Calahan Keever's opening-round 69 matched AU's fifth-lowest round in a conference tournament.
• Reece Coleman's first-round 70 matched AU's seventh-best round in a conference tournament.
• AU's highest finish since joining the SAC had been a fourth-place showing in 2012.
• De Castro's three-round 207 set the program record for a SAC Tournament appearance.
• Calahan Keever owns the second-lowest score for a SAC Tournament appearance with a 54-hole 209 last season.
• Coleman and Keever's three-round 210s tie for the third-lowest scores for a SAC Tournament appearance.
• Former standout Jake Miller owns the fifth-best (AU) score for a SAC Tournament appearance with a 54-hole 212 in 2018.
• The event has now produced seven different champions over the past 12 years.
• No. 13 Lincoln Memorial was seeking its fifth overall championship and second in three seasons,
• Carson-Newman was searching for its fifth SAC Championship and first since winning back-to-back conference crowns in 2017 and 2018.
• Newberry and Catawba have each taken home the hardware on three occasions.
• Presbyterian claimed the tourney championship a record seven times before moving to NCAA D-I status, while Elon won the event five times (1990-1994).
1 Anderson 280 280 285 845 -19
1 Alejandro de Castro 67 68 72 207 -9
T 2 Calahan Keever 69 71 70 210 -6
T 2 Reece Coleman 70 68 72 210 -6
T 34 Simon Wright 74 78 75 227 +11
T 41 Daniel Coker 87 73 71 231 +15
Teams Rnd 1 Rnd 2 Rnd 3 Total To Par
1 Anderson 280 280 285 845 -19
2 Lenoir-Rhyne 286 288 294 868 +4
3 Newberry 301 292 281 874 +10
4 Lincoln Memorial 297 290 289 876 +12
5 Tusculum 288 294 295 877 +13
6 Limestone 294 292 292 878 +14
7 Carson-Newman 296 289 295 880 +16
8 Coker 293 301 300 894 +30
9 Wingate 301 301 299 901 +37
10 Catawba 304 311 319 934 +70
11 Mars Hill 328 338 311 977 +113
12 UVA Wise 328 324 329 981 +117
