Augusta defends Southland Conference Tournament crown by one shot
By Joshua Picklesimer | Sports writer
The Augusta University women’s golf team successfully defended its Southland Conference title on Wednesday, April 19, at the HIll Country Resort Golf Club in San Antonio, Texas, winning in a nail-biter.
AU won with a total score of 910, or 46 over par for the tournament. The second-place team, the University of the Incarnate Word had a score of 911 for 47 over par.
Led by freshman Mirabel Ting, the Jaguars shot a third-round 298. Ting finished second in the individual race. She shot a final-round 75 for a 222 total. That was three shots behind Incarnate Word’s Alex Giles, who also shot 75 but had a three-shot lead at the start of the day. Ting had shot 76 in round one and a 71 in round two.
The AU golfer caught Giles at one point on the back nine, but the AU freshman bogeyed Nos. 11, 17 and 18.
Augusta started the final round five shots off the lead. In addition to Ting, the Jaguars got a quality round from Napabhach Boon-In, who had a 74 and finished in sixth place in the championship at 228.
Jaguar freshman Victoria Zheng finished tied for 14th place at 236 after an 83. She tied with teammate Kennedy Carroll, who a final-round 78 for a 236 total.
AU Coach Caroline Haase-Hegg was satisfied with the second straight league title, but she knows there are challenges ahead.
“We have a lot to work on,” . This was a challenging course that exposed a lot of weaknesses,” said Haase-Hegg, in her eighth year as the Jaguar coach. “We’ll enjoy this for a couple days, but then it’s time to work. This is a talented group that plays well under pressure. I think we can surprise a lot of people at regionals.”
The Jaguars were behind most of the tournament and had to come back on Wednesday in the third round.
Incarnate Word shot a 304 on the final day. The Cardinals had Lily Hirst finish third, and their next two golfers, Ellen Nicholas and Mar Garcia, finished tied for seventh and in 16th place, respectively.
“It’s been great to win both of our Southland conference tournaments, but this one felt sweeter,” said Haase-Hegg, who played her collegiate golf at Purdue. “We struggled for the first two and a half rounds, but the team really stepped up at the end and showed how talented this group is.”
AU advances to the NCAA Division I regionals on May 8-10. Those regionals will be played in Athens, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., Pullman, Wash., Raleigh, N.C., San Antonio, and Westfield, Ind. The national championship tournament will be played in Scottsdale, Ariz., on May 19-24.
Kennedy Carroll shows her iron play en route to a final-round 78. At the top of the page, Mirabel Ting briefly led on the back nine but ended up the runner-up in the individual race. (photos by Vashaun Newman, special to the Bell Ringer)
The Augusta University women’s golf team celebrates with the hardware the Jaguars won in San Antonio, Texas, at the Southland Conference Championship. Front row (L to R): Mirabel Ting, Daniela Ortega. Back row: Victoria Zheng, Chiara Sola, Napabhach Boon-In, Kennedy Carroll, Assistant Coach Oliver Rubenstein and Coach Caroline Haase-Hegg. (photo courtesy of the Southland Conference)
