ANDERSON, S.C. – With all five golfers among the top-10 and freshman Kennedy Gooding continuing to lead the field, the Anderson women's golf team widened its lead to 30 shots, following second-round action at the 2023 South Atlantic Conference Championship on Monday.
Anderson is hosting the three-day, 54-hole tournament at Cobb's Glen Country Club on a par-72, 5,911-yard layout.
"Today was another day of rock-solid golf from the girls," said Anderson Head Women's Coach Denton Moore. "The pins were a good bit harder, and the conditions were colder and wetter. They handled the conditions very well today. I thought the course and conditions were probably 10 shots harder today. The girls got off to another great start today and really just cruised along. We had a little bit of a bumpy finish, but overall it was another great day."
The Trojans, who led Wingate by 17 shots following Sunday's opening round, built its cushion to 30 strokes over the Bulldogs, with Limestone and Carson-Newman 10 strokes further back and sharing the third slot. Lincoln Memorial is in fifth place, while Newberry occupies the sixth slot. Tusculum and Catawba remained in seventh and eighth place, respectively, while Coker is ninth entering Tuesday's final round. Lenoir-Rhyne slipped one spot into 10th place, with Mars Hill and UVA Wise finishing out the 12-team field.
AU freshman Kennedy Gooding remains at the top of the individual leaderboard - one shot in front in front of junior Jessica Rathbone - who carded four birdies on the day. AU sophomore Kennedy McGaha moved up one spot and is alone in third place after posting her second straight even-par 72. Grad student Kerington Lamb is two strokes further back in fourth place, with Tusculum's Nilubol Panno and Limestone's Pennie Osterberg, along with Wingate's Hailey McLaughlin all three tied for fourth place and trailing Lamb by one shot.
Wingate's Thalia Perez-Vieco is alone in eighth place, with Carson-Newman's Maave Cummins and AU sophomore Zoey Iglesias tied for ninth place. is in a three-way tie for 15th place.
"Jessica Rathbone was really special today" added Moore. "She only made one bogey on the toughest day in the toughest conditions. But, that's what All- American leaders do. Kennedy McGaha was extremely good today, as well. She was very consistent. It was nice to have those two doing what they always do as All-Americans. Zoey Iglesias had a really good day. She was so consistent in tough conditions. She made 15 pars today, and that is exactly what we needed. KK and KG were solid again today. We just had another very consistent day, and that is why we are leading. We are in great shape to bring home our second straight SAC Championship tomorrow. If the girls come out with the same focus and grit that they have the last two days, I feel very confident in their ability to close the deal. I am so proud of this crew the first two days. Now it's time to go finish. Go Trojans!"
Wednesday's final round is slated to begin at 8:30 a.m., with AU scheduled to begin teeing off at 9:15 a.m.
Notables
• The Trojans' second-round 288 is the second-lowest single round in SAC Championship history.
• AU's second-round 288 matches the ninth-lowest round in school history.
• Rathbone's second-round 69 matches the fourth-lowest round in SAC Championship history.
• Gooding's 36-hole 141 matches the eighth-best two-round score in school history
• Rathbone's two-round 142 matches the 11th-lowest 36-hole score in school history.
• AU's first-round 5-under 283 set a tournament record – eclipsing Wingate's previous tournament record 293, which the Bulldogs set in 2022.
• Gooding's opening-round 6-under matched the tournament record for a single round, which was previously set by Carson-Newman's Elizabeth England in 2017.
• The Trojans' opening-round 283 eclipsed their previous SAC Tournament-best 294, which was set last year.
• Gooding's first-round 66 is a school record for AU in the SAC Tournament.
• The Trojans' first-round 283 marked the fourth-best single round in program history.
• Gooding's opening-round 66 matched the school-record, which she already shared with teammate Kerington Lamb.
• The Trojans are bidding to become the first repeat champions since Newberry in 2012 and 2013.
• AU is vying for its second straight SAC Championship and its third SAC title in four seasons.
• With a win, the Trojans would clinch their fourth consecutive appearance in the NCAA South Region Championship.
• A victory would give AU its sixth tournament title of the year.
• Wingate and Newberry are each seeking a league-record fifth title, with the Bulldogs last winning the 2018 championship and the Wolves claiming back-to-back titles in 2012-13.
• Carson-Newman is seeking its fourth SAC title and first championship since 2015.
• Lenoir-Rhyne is also looking for its fourth SAC title after winning the 2017 SAC title, which was its first since claiming back-to-back championships in 2003 and 2004.
• Tusculum is searching for its third title and first since winning back-to-back championships in 2000 and 2001.
• The Trojans own the top team score for all three rounds after firing an 886 last year.
• Carson-Newman's Elizabeth England previously set the single-round tournament record with a second-round 66 in 2017.
• AU's Jessica Rathbone owns the three-round tournament record with last year's 208.
1 Anderson 283 288 571 -5
1 Kennedy Gooding 66 75 141 -3
2 Jessica Rathbone 73 69 142 -2
3 Kennedy McGaha 72 72 144 E
4 Kerington Lamb 72 74 146 +2
T9 Zoey Iglesias 76 73 149 +5
Teams Scores
1 Anderson 283 288 571 -5
2 Wingate 300 301 601 +25
3 Carson-Newman 304 307 611 +35
Limestone 301 310 611 +35
5 LMU 306 306 612 +36
6 Newberry 306 317 623 +47
7 Tusculum 307 317 624 +48
8 Catawba 314 319 633 +57
9 Coker 324 312 636 +60
10 Lenoir-Rhyne 320 320 640 +64
11 Mars Hill 351 348 699 +123
12 UVA Wise 345 355 700 +124
