MONROE, N.C. – Turning in the third best round of the week in their final round of action at the Jerry Surratt Memorial Intercollegiate at Stonebridge Golf Club, the Anderson University women's golf team took home a second-place finish, just one stroke off the winner, with junior Kennedy McGaha (Honea Path, S.C.) picking up an All-Tournament nod with her fifth-place finish.
"Honestly, this was just a crazy week," said Director of Golf/Head Women's Coach Denton Moore. "The course was smothered and soaked from all the rain, causing us to play lift, clean and place everywhere which is always interesting. With that said, we really had an uphill climb from frequent errors in the opening round that piled up and put us in a big hole against some very good teams, including Wingate on the home course."
The Trojans finished the tournament 17-over as they got better each round. After firing an opening round of 299 (+11), the Trojans were able to post rounds of 293 (+5) and 289 (+1) to solidify their second-place finish. Wingate finished 16-over to finish atop the leaderboard while Findlay finished third at 18-over.
"I am extremely proud of the way we bounced back the next two rounds and clawed our way back into the lead with about nine holes to go. Ultimately, we fell one shot short, but our errors in the first round proved to be the difference. We did get a top-five win over Findlay which is always nice, but it hurt to lose to a conference foe like Wingate, but you must tip your hat to them as they hung in there all week and closed strong to win by one. It's a sour taste to be just one stroke off the win, but it's another second and we are now 89-4-1 on the year and I'm so proud of these girls as they continue to grind in our preparation for the postseason."
McGaha was consistent throughout the week, turning in cards of 74-71-72 to finish just one-over for the tournament and taking fifth. Competing individually, sophomore Paige Paolucci (Blythewood, S.C.) paced the week with rounds of 72-72-74 to finish just one stroke outside of an All-Tournament finish at two-over in sixth.
"K Mac was again outstanding this week with another top-5 finish and All-Tournament team honor. She is having a career year and should bring home a ton of hardware at years end. Paige in her individual performance had one of her best career finishes. She was awesome this week and will be back in the lineup for Kentucky."
Senior Jessica Rathbone (Montpelier, Va.) tied the team low round of the week in her final round, shooting 74-75-71 on the week to finish tied for ninth in the field. Sophomore Aly Francis (Stockbridge, Ga.) improved each round of the week, firing rounds of 78-74-72 to finish tied for 13th. Sophomore
Kennedy Gooding (Lexington, S.C.) fell slightly off the pace in her second round, but recovered well in the final round, shooting 73-78-74 in the tournament to finish in a tie for 18th. Junior Zoey Iglesias (Port St. Lucie, Fla.) took home a tie for 21st on the week, carding rounds of 79-73-74 while freshman Yvette Gorden (Montgomery, Ala.) shot even-par in her final round of the week to finish tied for 32nd with rounds of 78-79-72.
"Jess, Zoey, Aly and KG were all great in different rounds, and really helped close the deal in this runner-up finish," continued Moore. "Jess and Aly really closed well in the last two rounds. Yvette shot the career low collegiate round this week and had one of the best tournaments of her young career. She is learning so much as has such a bright future."
"Again, really proud of the girls, they have been awesome all year. We must regroup quickly and then head to Kentucky this weekend for another heavyweight battle with Findlay and Indianapolis at Findlay's event. We have to keep the pedal down and keep our focus on the postseason goals we have. Go Trojans!"
The Trojans return to action in a week as they travel to Richmond, Ky. to take part in the Findlay Spring Invite on March 18-19 at the Boone's Trace National Golf Club.
