GAINESVILLE, Ga. – With junior Jessica Rathbone and sophomore Zoey Iglesias each finishing in a deadlock for sixth place, the Anderson women's golf team earned a berth in next week's NCAA National Championship by finishing as runners-up, Wednesday at the 2023 NCAA Division II Women's Golf South Region Championship.
North Georgia hosted the 54-hole championship on a par 72, 5,922-yard Chattahoochee Golf Club layout.
"I am just so proud of this team," said Anderson Head Women's Coach Denton Moore. "It has been a special year – the best in program history to my knowledge. These girls have had this goal all year, and now it's done. We are going to the Natty! It's hard to explain how hard it is to have a goal of this magnitude, the pressure of it and what it takes to get here. But these eight young ladies have fought and sacrificed all year. Their reward is going to the biggest stage in D2 women's golf and playing for the national title. I'm so grateful for all eight of them and their effort. It's been a historical season, and now we get to add to it."
Nationally top-ranked Lynn claimed the title by a dozen shots over the Trojans, and with just four strokes separating second place from fifth place in the talented field that included 11 of the top-20 teams in the nation – and including four squads ranked among the top-10 - AU began the day precariously in second place – eight shots behind the Knights and a pair of strokes in front of then-third place Tampa.
But the Trojans held off challenges from both Nova Southeastern, which finished third, and the Spartans down the stretch. Tampa wrapped up the three-day event tied with Limestone for fourth place, while Lee saw its opportunity to move on to the National Championships slip away after sliding from fourth into sixth place.
Lander and Rollins remained seventh and eighth, respectively, with Barry claiming the ninth slot. Wingate, Flagler and UNC Pembroke finished out the 12-team field.
Tampa's Ana Maria Jimenez Rios (74-71-72—217) held on for a two-stroke victory in the battle for individual medalist honors, with Wingate's Hailey McLaughlin (76-70-73—219) – who was in 17th place following Monday's opening round – finishing second. Limestone's Maria Morales (72-76-73—221) and Lynn's Isabelle Schlick (74-7374-221) shared third place, while Nova Southeastern's Haruka Muta (72-74-76—222) finished alone in fifth place.
Iglesias jumped up four spots to finished tied for sixth place, alongside Rathbone and Lynn's Adriana Iribarren (72-77-74—223), who shared the lead after Monday's opening round.
AU grad student Kerington Lamb shared 24th place, with sophomore Kennedy McGaha wrapping up the tourney tied for 29th place. Freshman Kennedy Gooding claimed a share of 45th place in her first-ever regional appearance.
"It wasn't easy," added Moore. "Nothing was easy this week. Today was our worst round of the season I believe, or close to it. The conditions were just brutal. I think the scores from some of the best teams in the country reflect that. Jessica Rathbone and Zoey Iglesias were very special this week. They were very consistent. Top 10 performances here in this field is elite. I can't say enough about Kerington Lamb. I am going to miss her dearly next year. She is just always there, always consistent and knows how to operate. K Mac and KG took turns each day helping bring this home for us. This was a complete team effort for sure. This was a stressful week for sure, but the end result was exactly what we came for. We punched our ticket to the Natty, and we are off to Missouri! Love this program, love these girls. Go Trojans!"
The top five teams – AU, Lynn, Tampa, Nova Southeastern and Limestone - along with Wingate's Hailey McLaughlin and Eckerd's Amelie Alcantara
now move on to the NCAA Division II National Championships, which are slated for Tuesday-Saturday (May 16-20) at the Fox Run Golf Club in Eureka, Mo.
They will join the top six teams in the east, the four top squads from the west region and the top three teams in the central along with the top two individuals from each region, with the University of Missouri – St. Louis serving as host.
Notables
• Rathbone and Iglesias' three-round 223s matched AU's third-lowest score in NCAA Regional Tournament history.
• AU's 54-hole 902 equaled the second-lowest score in its NCAA Regional Tournament history.
• The Trojans' second-round 301 marked the fourth-lowest score in their NCAA Regional Tournament history.
• AU's third-round 304 marked the Trojans' fifth-lowest score in their NCAA Regional Tournament history.
• Anderson, which finished fourth a year ago, earned its second consecutive appearance on the national stage.
• The Trojans' first-round 9-over-par 297 marked the third-lowest score in AU's NCAA Regional Tournament history.
• Rathbone's opening-round 1-over 73 matched the seventh-best round in AU's NCAA Regional Tournament history.
• Iglesias' first- and third-round 2-over 74s matched the 10th-best rounds in AU's NCAA Regional Tournament history.
• Lamb's three-round 229 matched her score from last year's NCAA South Regional – and matched AU's eighth-lowest score in NCAA Regional Tournament history.
• Lynn has now won two straight South Region Championships and is a two-time national champion.
• Nova Southeastern has won four national championships.
• Rollins has captured six national titles.
• Lee was making its sixth regional appearance since 2016.
• Limestone finished last year as regional runners-up, as well as national runners-up.
2 Anderson 297 301 304 902
T6 Jessica Rathbone 73 75 75 223
T6 Zoey Iglesias 74 75 74 223
T24 Kerington Lamb 75 76 78 229
T29 Kennedy McGaha 75 78 77 230
T45 Kennedy Gooding 80 75 82 237
Teams Scores
1 Lynn 297 293 300 890 +26
2 Anderson 297 301 304 902 +38
3 Nova Southeastern 314 298 291 903 +39
T4 Tampa 300 299 307 906 +42
T4 Limestone 304 309 293 906 +42
6 Lee 309 302 304 915 +51
7 Lander 310 311 299 920 +56
8 Rollins 312 305 304 921 +57
9 Barry 314 307 302 923 +59
10 Wingate 314 310 306 930 +66
11 Flagler 319 311 314 944 +80
12 UNC Pembroke 313 329 321 963 +99
