ANDERSON, S.C. – Following a stellar fall campaign, the Anderson University women's golf team is set to tee off the spring season when the Trojans travel to Kiawah Island, S.C., for this weekend's two-day Barton Invitational.

Head Coach Danny Neal, who is in his 15th season at the helm of the Trojan golf program, saw his squad win the AU Invitational last fall for the first time in program history and the team built on the success by finishing third in two more tournaments. During the Patsy Rendleman Invitational in mid-October, the Trojans posted the program's best round since joining the South Atlantic Conference in 2010 with a 300 in the second round of the event.

There are five upperclassmen among six letterwinners on the roster from a year ago, but junior Makalyn Poole and senior Morgan Webb are expected to miss the spring campaign after suffering injuries.

"Our challenge will be to overcome the injuries," Neal says.

Despite dealing with a short-handed roster, Neal added "I'm excited about getting [the season] started. We had a pretty good fall season and our finishes were encouraging. Having Makalyn and Morgan out will put more pressure on the top four players, but we should still be competitive. I don't know if we'll be able to stay in the top-50 in the Golfstat national rankings, but we have enough good players to compete and get it done."

Sophomore Kate Hill led the team in all four fall tournaments, while pacing the Trojans with a 76.13 stroke average in eight rounds. The Clemson, S.C., native claimed second at the AU Invitational last September and book-ended the fall slate by finishing sixth at the Newberry College Invitational in late October. She was named SAC Freshman of the Year a season ago and fired a career-best 72 in the opening round of the Illinois-Springfield Island Getaway.

Junior Tiffany Elam notched a 79.00 stroke average during the fall season, while finishing in a tie for fifth at the AU Invitational and shared 10th place at the Newberry Invitational. The Alpharetta, Ga., native led the team in four tournaments last year en route to garnering Second-Team All-South Atlantic Conference honors.

Freshman Anna Freeman captured a pair of top-10 finishes during the fall, including a share of seventh place at the AU Invitational and tied for 10th at Newberry. A native of Aiken, S.C., Freeman posted a season-low round of 75 in the second round of the 2017 Patsy Rendleman Invitational.

Junior Samantha Ellison captured 10th place at the AU Invitational last fall and notched a season-best 79 at the Flagler Fall Slam, while senior Riley Lovorn shared seventh place at the AU Invitational and followed up with a 20th-place showing at the Patsy Rendleman Invitational. Lovorn posted a pair of 75s during the fall season and recorded an 80.88 stroke average in four tournaments.

"There will be a really strong field at Barton this weekend," added Neal. "I expect competitive fields in every tournament we'll play in, but I expect us to make good showings."

Following the Barton Invitational, the Trojans are slated to compete at the Converse College Spring Invitational at the Carolina Country Club. AU won the 2016 Converse Invitational, while edging runner-up Queens by one stroke and third-place Wingate by three shots.

The Trojans will compete at the Pfeiffer Invitational at Hilton Head Lakes after a two-week layoff and will be looking to play well there for the second straight year after claiming sixth place a season ago.

In a prelude to the South Atlantic Conference Championships, Neal slated the Trojans to compete in the Sunoco Campbell Oil Classic for the first time, March 26-27. UNC Pembroke's two-day event features 54 holes at the River Landing Country Club in Wallace, N.C.

"We haven't played in many 54-hole events, so I'm excited to see how we do in that one," said Neal.

The SAC Championships, which will be hosted by Newberry at the Members Club at Woodcreek in Columbia, S.C., is a three-day, 54-hole event, as well.

"That's why we picked up that Newberry event in the fall," noted Neal. "So we could get familiar with the course. Our conference will be very strong, so it will a challenge."

At the end of the fall campaign, the Trojans were ranked 57th in the nation by Golfstat, while Wingate paced the conference at No. 14. Carson-Newman was 32nd, while Lenoir-Rhyne was just behind at No. 33. Queens held the 40th spot, with Tusculum at No. 43 and Lincoln Memorial was in the 51st slot.

Neal, who is cautiously optimistic, added "consistence will be the key, as it always is in golf. "We have an advantage - our team has a great attitude and their camaraderie is good. They are a very close-knit group and that's a huge strength of our team, especially considering all the travel we have. They play consistently better golf than teams in the past and that's a product of the recruiting we've been able to do the last couple of years due to [Assistant Coach] Denton [Moore] helping out tremendously and additional scholarships.

The Barton Invitational is being hosted by the Bulldogs, Saturday and Sunday at the Kiawah Island Resort's Oak Point course.

Hill carded a two-day 7-over-par 151 to pace the Trojans to a fourth-place finish a year ago. She finished in a tie for third, while Poole finished 12th and Elam tied for 37th. Lovorn finishing in a seven-way tie for 50th place.