CLEVELAND, Tenn. – Junior Jessica Rathbone made up a one-shot deficit on the final hole to force a playoff and won individual medalist honors at Lee's City with Spirit Fall Classic by birdying the first tie-breaker, while the sixth-ranked Anderson women's golf team moved up one spot and finished in second place, Tuesday afternoon at the Cleveland Country Club.
"I was really proud of the effort today," said Anderson Head Women's Coach Denton Moore. "The girls really grinded all day and all five of them were in it all day, which makes coaches happy. You don't ever want a player to let it get away to where you are dependent on four players. So, very proud of that effort. I told them at the beginning of the week, if we could shoot 300 each round we would win. We just fell a little short of that and it cost us the win. However, early in the year, on a tough track, we will gladly take a second and some big regional wins."
The 13-team field, which included six teams in the latest Women's Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) Top-25, competed on a par-72, 5,957-yard layout.
Heading into Tuesday's final round, the Trojans trailed eventual winner and 11th-ranked Limestone by eight shots and the host Flames by a pair of strokes, but they passed ninth-ranked Lee over the final 18 holes and made up all but two strokes of the eight-shot deficit to the Saints by posting the lowest round of the day. Lee finished one shot behind the Trojans in third place, while 20th-ranked Lander finished in the fourth slot. No. 24 Carson-Newman slipped one spot and finished in fifth place, with Montevallo claiming sixth place.
Lincoln Memorial and West Georgia finished seventh and eighth, respectively, while West Florida, Columbus State, Shorter, North Georgia and Union rounded out the field.
Rathbone (70-71-76=217), who matched the ninth-best three-round score in school history, led Lee's Supuschaya Srichantamit (69-73-75=217) by one shot following Monday's first two rounds and increased her lead to two strokes at the turn on Tuesday. But a double bogey on 11 with Srichantamit reaching par, then birdying the 14th hole nearly proved costly for the Montpelier, Va. native. Rathbone went on to reach par on three of the final four holes, while Srichantamit bogeyed the 15th, 16th and 18th, setting up the playoff.
Rathbone capped her rally by carding a 4 on the par-5, 507-yard 10th hole, while Srichantamit recorded a five. Rathbone had birdied the 10th hole once and reached par twice during regulation, while Srichantamit had also recorded a birdie on 10 once during regulation.
Limestone's Pennie Osterberg (76-73-75=224) who competed as an individual, moved up four spots to finish alone in third place, with Carson-Newman's Maeve Cummins (76-72-77=225) and Columbus State's Beryl Giletti (75-72-78=225=147) shared fourth place.
AU senior Emma Charles moved up six spots to finish in a tie for 20th place, alongside sophomore Zoey Iglesias, who vaulted up 13 spots. Freshman Aly Francis remained in a tie for 23rd place, with Kennedy McGaha climbing up 18 spots into a tie for 27th place. The freshman duo of Kennedy Gooding and Paige Paolucci finished tied for 29th and tied for 33rd, respectively, with grad student Kerington Lamb claiming a share of 36th place.
"We needed this," added Moore. "We needed this wake up call. All we have heard is how good we are. This was a good gut-check for the girls, and they responded well in rounds two and three. Really proud of Jess. She played elite golf all week and put this team on her back. She hit maybe the best shot I have seen in my life in the playoff. She hit a stone-cold, ice-in-the-veins, 3-wood on to 30 ft. The other girl had laid, and Jess chose to win it right then and there. Just an awesome performance from an All American. We will regroup this week, work even harder on our short game and then head Achasta for UNG's event. I am looking forward to getting back out there with them soon! I can feel the pieces starting come together."
Following of two-week layoff, the Trojans will get back in action at North Georgia's 9th Annual LeeAnn Noble Memorial, Oct. 10-11. The Nighthawks will host the tourney at the Achasta Golf Club in Dahlonega.
Notables
• Rathbone matched the ninth-best 54-hole score in school history.
• The Trojans posted the 13th-best 54-hole score in program history.
• Cleveland Country Club is where former standout Victoria Hall (as a freshman in 2019) became the first golfer in program history to earn a berth in the NCAA National Championships, which were held at the PGA National Resort in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
• Cleveland Country Club is also where current standout Emma Charles became just the second golfer in school history to make an appearance on the national stage by claiming a spot in the NCAA Division II National Championships at TPC Michigan in Dearborn, Mich.
• Jessica Rathbone's two-round 141 matched the fourth-lowest round in program history.
• Rathbone's first-round 70 matched the 16th-lowest round in program history.
2 Anderson 309 300 300 909
1 Jessica Rathbone (1) 70 71 76 217
T20 Emma Charles (3) 76 80 76 232
T20 Zoey Iglesias (4) 80 78 74 232
T23 Aly Francis 77 78 78 233
T27 Kennedy McGaha (2) 84 76 74 234
T29 Kennedy Gooding (5) 83 75 77 235
T33 Paige Paolucci 79 81 76 236
T36 Kerington Lamb 80 77 80 237
Teams Scores
1 Limestone 306 295 306 907 +43
2 Anderson 309 300 300 909 +45
3 Lee 301 302 307 910 +46
4 Lander 308 310 309 927 +63
5 Carson-Newman 301 311 316 928 +64
6 Montevallo 311 308 314 933 +69
7 Lincoln Memorial 326 305 305 936 +72
8 West Georgia 310 312 315 937 +73
9 West Florida 317 315 310 942 +78
10 Columbus State 313 305 325 943 +79
11 Shorter 315 321 317 953 +89
12 North Georgia 324 317 326 967 +103
13 Union 331 322 334 987 +123
