GULFPORT, Fla. – Hitting the road to the Sunshine State for the first time this season, the nationally second-ranked Anderson University women's golf team took home a fifth-place finish in another loaded field of some of the best talent in the region and nation.
Wingate again topped the team leader board while Flager, Eckerd and Nova Southeastern occupied the other spots ahead of the Black and Gold.
"It's been a tough couple of weeks to open the season," said Director of Golf Denton Moore. "Last week we putted poorly in Cleveland. This week, we were able to clean that up but then really struggled with ball striking. Both golf courses were extremely difficult, and both events were elite national fields. When you combine those two things, you just can't play the way we did."
Freshman Olivia Roberts (Chesnee, S.C.) again paced the Trojans in the five scorers for the week, posting a ninth-place finish on the week with a +6 scoreline, most of which came in the final round. Senior Claudia Hastings (Liverpool, England) had the best week for the Trojans, turning in a +3 performance as an individual to finish in fourth place on the leader board.
"Olivia Roberts has been excellent in her first two starts as a freshman. Third place last week and ninth this week is extremely impressive. She reminds me exactly of Kennedy McGaha and Kennedy Gooding as freshman. She isn't scared of the moment, she isn't scared to play with big guns, and her short game is high level."
"I'm really proud of Claudia Hastings this week. That was a rock solid fourth-place finish in a strong field. We could have certainly used that in the starting five."
Senior Kennedy Gooding (Lexington, S.C.) turned in a tenth-place finish in the tournament, carding +7 on the week. Sophomore Olivia Pellerin (Greenville, S.C.) posted a 20th place finish while seniors Aly Francis (Stockbridge, Ga.) and Paige Paolucci (Blythewood, S.C.) turned in 31st and 45th place finishes. Individually, freshman Lilly McDermott (Yorktown, Va.) wrapped up the tournament in 38th.
"KG was really good this week as well. She had a solid top 10 finish and was back to her consistent All-American game this week. Olivia Pellerin was solid in her first ever start in the lineup. Her opening round of 71 was particularly special. That golf course just did not yield many red numbers."
"We have a couple of weeks off before heading to Georgia in early October. We are going to keep cleaning things up and getting back to Trojan golf. We have a very deep team, and we just have to keep trying to find the right pieces for our lineup. This team is very good, and we will be just fine."
The Trojans return to action on October 13 as they make the trip to Achasta Golf Club and Dahlonega, Ga. to take part in the LeeAnn Noble Memorial. The tournament has been a bright spot for the Black and Gold for many years.
