HARTSVILLE, S.C. - For the fourth time this season, the no. 17/21 Carson-Newman women's golf team heads to the Palmetto State for the 2022 SAC Women's Championship.
The Eagles will compete at the Hartsville Country Club in Hartsville, South Carolina. The three day tournament begins on Sunday, Apr. 3, with all three rounds beginning at 8:30 A.M.
As usual, the South Atlantic Conference is stacked, led by no. 4/4 Limestone and no. 5/6 Anderson. No. 17/19 Wingate is also a tough challenge for the Eagles, with the Bulldogs recording one event win this season.
"We had some high expectations this season and they've achieved those," says Director of Golf Randy Wylie. "This team plays hard, plays for each other and will look to do that this week. If they can shoot around the low 70s, they'll do well and compete for a championship."
The Palmetto State has been kind to the Eagles this season. Carson-Newman competed three times in the state of South Carolina, with two of those tournaments being held in the lowcountry at the Low Tide Intercollegiate in Charleston and the Battle at Hilton Head on Hilton Head Island. The Eagles shot ten-over on the day to card a second round score of 298 and finished the two day tournament with a total score of 26-over, winning their second straight championship in the Lowcountry by three strokes over Wingate with a final score of 602.
C-N finished inside the top-10 at all three tournaments in South Carolina this year, their lowest finish being most recently at the Lady Bearcat Invitational in Greenwood, S.C. Hannah Holland carded an even-par 72 in the final round to finish the week with a four-over 148 and finish fifth overall. Holland carded three birdies on her first five holes of the final round, shooting one-under on the front nine.
As a team, the Eagles finished seventh, shooting a 20-over 308 for the second straight round, finishing with a 40-over 616 at the Greenwood Country Club. C-N finished above host Lander and SAC foes Tusculum, Queens, Coker, and Catawba.
"One of our challenges is bermuda greens," says Wylie. "But most of the courses down toward the lower part of SC have that type of grass so we have had some experience on it this season and have been successful."
Both Maeve Cummins and Ellie Haughton were named first-team All-SAC for the 2021-22 season.
This season, Cummins has recorded four top-ten finishes for the Eagles, shooting an average score of a three-over 74.8. Her sixth-place finish at the Battle at Hilton Head helped the Eagles win the event championship for the second straight year. Cummins carded her first career hole in one at the Lady Bearcat Invitational last week, en route to a 14th place finish.
Cummins currently sits at 30th overall in the Golfstat Divsion-II individual rankings.
Haughton has excelled this season, with five top-10 finishes. Haughton finished third at the 2022 Bobby Nichols Intercollegiate, finishing above several Division-I athletes and guiding the Eagles to a second-place finish. Haughton became just the sixth woman in Bobby Nichols history to shoot a 147, 36-hole score, thanks to a career low, one-under 71 score in the first round. Her fifth-place finish at the Battle at Hilton Head was also key in guiding the Eagles to the event championship.
Haughton sits at 45th in the Golfstat individual rankings, shooting an average three-over par score of 75.2 this season.
"Ellie, Maeve, and Hannah Holland have all worked hard this season and have played really well," says Wylie. "If they have a bad day, they rebound well. Caroline Nemes does that and can go really low. She'll continue to get better and has already shown she can compete at the highest level."
The Eagles get underway on Sunday, Apr. 3, at 8:30 AM. Fans can follow along with live stats here and updates via Twitter at @cn_eagles.
