ROCK HILL, S.C. – Junior Kennedy McGaha was selected as the 2024 South Atlantic Conference Women's Golfer of the Year, while head coach Denton Moore was named the league's Coach of the Year as voted on by the women's golf head coaches, the SAC office announced today. Senior Jessica Rathbone (Montpelier, Va.), sophomore Aly Francis (Stockbridge, Ga.), sophomore Kennedy Gooding (Lexington, S.C.), junior Zoey Iglesias (Port St. Lucie, Fla.) and sophomore Paige Paolucci (Blythewood, S.C.) were each tabbed to the All-Conference teams as well.
McGaha has been one of the most accomplished golfers in the league since she set foot on campus. A junior from Honea Path, S.C., was the league's Freshman of the Year in 2022 and a 2023 First Team All-Conference selection. McGaha is ranked No. 14 in the country in the latest Clippd National Rankings and No. 4 in the region. Her adjusted average for the year is 72.70 and she has six top-10 finishes, five top-5 finishes and one medalist honor on the season. She is the second straight golfer from Anderson to win SAC Golfer of the Year honors.
Moore earns back-to-back SAC Coach of the Year accolades. In his second season at the helm, he has Anderson ranked No. 7 in the Clippd national poll. The Trojans finished in the top four as a team in all but one tournament on the season. Anderson ranked as high as No. 4 in the national poll this year and Moore has his team in contention for a second straight SAC Championship.
Rathbone joined McGaha as a First-Team selection as she currently sits No. 55 in the country and No. 27 in the region. She has been a consistent scorer for the Trojans throughout the season, posting a 73.70 adjusted average while tuning in 8 Top-20, 7 Top-10 and 1 Top-5 finish on the season. Gooding, Francis and Iglesias were named to the Second-Team. Gooding currently sits No. 52 in the country and No. 24 in the region with her 73.70 scoring average while posting a pair of Top-5 finishes this year. Francis sits No 67 in the nation at the moment and No. 33 in the south region as she also posted a pair of Top-5 finishes. Iglesias currently ranks No. 57 in the nation and No. 29 in the region with an adjusted scoring average of 73.80.
Paolucci earned her Third-Team honor in her sophomore campaign, currently ranked No. 75 in the country and No. 37 in the region. Her adjusted scoring average of 74.40 helped her to 4 Top-20 finishes and 3 Top-10 finishes this year.
The Trojans now look to the week ahead as they travel to Salisbury, N.C. to take part in the three-day South Atlantic Conference Championships, kicking off on Sunday, April 14.
