HARTSVILLE, S.C. – The no.17/21 Carson-Newman Eagles finished third at the 2022 SAC Women's Golf Championships, their highest finish at the event since 2016.
As a team, the Eagles carded a nine-under 297 final round score on Tuesday, the lowest single round score for the program in SAC Tournament history. The convocation recorded a 299 third-round score at the 2021 edition of the SAC Women's Golf Championship.
For the week, the Eagles finished in third-place as a team with a three-round score of a 45-over 909, the lowest team three-round score for the orange and blue in tournament history. C-N finished one-stroke above no. 4/4 Limestone after the Saints shot a 21-over 309 in the final round.
Carson-Newman finished the tournament with the second-best score on par threes, averaging a score of 3.38 and shooting 15-over on the shortest holes. On par fours, the Eagles had the third-best score of the week, shooting and average score of 4.31 and 31-over. The convocation's 20 collective birdies were third-most of the field.
"We improved every single day this week," says Director of Golf Randy Wylie. "We were able to come from behind and finish above a nationally ranked Limestone on the final day for a solid top-three finish. It's also great to see both Maeve and Hannah rebound after a tough start to both finish inside the top-five. Now we will wait and see what the committee decides for the postseason."
No. 5/6 Anderson won the SAC women's golf championship with a three-round 22-over score of 886, winning the tournament by nine strokes.
Individually, the Eagles were led Maeve Cummins recorded her second career top-five finish at the SAC Women's Golf Championships, finishing fourth at this year's tournament
The Waringstown, Northern Ireland native shot a one-over 73 in the final round of the tournament to finish the week with an overall score of a five-over 221. She finishes the championship tournament one stroke behind SAC Freshman of the Year Kennady McGaha of Anderson. Jessica Rathbone of Anderson won the individual title with an impressive eight-under three-round 208 score.
Cummins' success throughout the week can be attributed to her performance on par fours. The senior finished with the seventh-best score on those holes, shooting four-over and averaging a 4.20 score. She was also exceptional on par fives, going three-under for the tournament on the longest holes at the Hartsville Country Club with an average score of 4.62, seventh-best in the field.
Cummins also carded six birdies this week, tying her for sixth-most in the field.
Teammate and birthday girl Hannah Holland finished right behind Cummins in a tie for fifth with Hailey McLaughlin and Jessica Brown of Wingate. The elder of the two Holland sisters carded a two-over 74 in her final round of play, recording three straight birdies on the ninth, tenth and eleventh holes. Holland finishes the week with a nine-over, 225 three round score, beating her previous career-best three round score by eleven strokes.
The Sale Creek, Tenn. native finished with the fourth-best score on par fours, shooting three-over on the week for an average score of 4.15. Holland's eight birdies tie her with three other competitors for the most for the entire tournament.
Ellie Haughton jumped nine more spots up the leaderboard in the final round, thanks to a final round two-over 74 score. The Lincolnshire, England native finished the tournament tied for 16th with Megan Robb of Lenoir-Rhyne and Nilubol Panno of Tusculum with a three-round 15-over 231 score.
Haughton found success on par threes in Hartsville this week, shooting two-over with an average score of 3.25. Her 21 pars tie her with eight other competitors for ninth-most in the tournament.
Caroline Nemes rounds out the scoring for the Eagles, moving up twelve spots to a five-way tie for 31st. The freshman recorded a four-over 76 in the final round, finishing the tournament with a 22-over 238. That mark is just two strokes higher than Nemes career best three-round score.
Ashley Holland fell ten spots on the final day of the tournament, finishing tied for 44th with Alice Sylven of Catawba. Holland shot an eleven-over 83 in the final round and a 28-over 244 for the tournament.
#CNWG records their highest finish at the SAC Championship since 2016, finishing third after a nine-over 297 final round@CumminsMaeve finishes fourth while @hholland08 finishes tied for fifth pic.twitter.com/bjer5eKhqx
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) April 5, 2022
Carson-Newman, who currently sit at tenth in the NCAA Southeast Regional rankings, will await their postseason fate. The participants in the 2022 NCAA Southeast Regional will be announced on ncaa.com on Monday, Apr. 25. Fans can stay up-to-date with all of the happenings with the Carson-Newman women's golf team at cneagles.com.
