LAKELAND, Fla. -- Making their first foray into the championship portion of their schedule as the top ranked team in the country, the No. 1 Anderson University women's golf team held up to that standard as they took 1st place among a loaded field at the 2025 Lady Moc Classic, hosted by Florida Southern.

The field featured 12 of the top-25 teams in the county and of the 18 teams competing, only one wasn't ranked in the top-50. Anderson topped the leader board with a 588 (+12) over the two-round competition. No. 8 Lynn finished just one stroke behind them while No. 4 Flager, No. 2 Wingate, and No. 5 Dallas Baptist rounded out the top five finishes. This is the first time that the Trojans have bested DBU in tournament play, and did so by nine strokes.

"This week was very special," commented director of golf Denton Moore. "I feel like I say that a lot about this crew, but this one was really special. As a coach, this is my favorite tournament we play in, and it's arguably the toughest field in all of college golf. This golf course is a very stiff test, and the conditions this week made it even tougher. The greens were faster than anything we had seen all year, it rained all day Monday, it was super windy today, and yet these girls found the guts to go get it done again. I am just so proud of them."

"We have been back a little over a month. The weather has been awful and we have had very few good days of practice. We just have been able to get in the good reps. But, again, this team, and this culture isn't built on excuses. They just won the biggest regular season tournament in program history."

Junior Kennedy Gooding (Lexington, S.C.) finished the highest on the leader board for the Trojans and she finished sixth a +1, rebounding from an opening round 75 to shoot 70 in the second round. Senior Zoey Iglesias (Port St. Lucie, Fla.) did a similar turnaround, firing a 75 in the opening round and a 71 in the second to finish eighth in the field at +2.

"Zoey had the best week of her career. She stepped up so big this week. She has been working hard that I have ever seen her work, and it paid off in a big way this week. I just can't say how proud of her I am. Kennedy Gooding just continues to show why she is one of the best players in the country. She dug down deep this week. She did not have her best stuff, and still found a way to finish in the top-10 of the most elite field we will play all year."

Senior Kennedy McGaha (Honea Path, S.C.) posted a pair of 74's on the week to finish in 14th place on the individual leader board, followed closely behind by junior Aly Francis (Stockbridge, Ga.) who bettered her round of 75 in the opening round to a 74 in the second, placing 17th in the field.

"KMac, I mean what do you say? She is the AU Golf GOAT. She does it week in, week out and has for four years. Aly Francis continues to have the best year of her career. She was so composed this week and just willed the ball into the hole."

Junior Paige Paolucci (Blythewood, S.C.) rounded out the team finishers for the Trojans, 41st on the leader board while freshman Olivia Pellerin (Greenville, S.C.) and Peyton O'Brien (Salem, S.C.) finished 56th and 93rd, respectively.

"Paige also continues to have the best year of her career. I always know what I am going to get from here, 100% effort until the last hole. Olivia player a heck of a round today (+1) and her and Peyton got som valuable experience in the individual slots this week. The future is extremely bright with those two."

"Again, I just can't say enough about how gutsy this effort was. This team is special. We had nowhere near our best stuff this week, and they still made it happen against the best field in the country. So thankful for this crew! We are going to celebrate tonight in Florida, and head home tomorrow. I can't wait to get back to work with the group and keep the train rolling! God Bless and Go Trojans!"

Anderson returns to the course in two weeks when they make the trip up to Monroe, N.C. to take part in the Surratt Memorial Intercollegiate, hosted by Wingate University on March 10-11.