Carroll leads Jaguars to third straight Southland Conference Championship

Justin Gray | Sports editor 

The Augusta University women’s golf team won its third straight Southland Conference Championship on April 15-17 in New Braunfels, Texas, by a whopping 67 strokes.  

The Jaguars came into the final round with a 53-stroke lead, and they finished the job, shooting 3 over par as a team.  

Winning three conference championships in a row is not a small feat, but the Lady Jaguars made it look easy, shooting a 7-over-par score in the three-round tournament. This was the largest margin of victory of the three titles.  

Finishing first for the individual part of the tournament was the Jaguars’ Kennedy Carroll, as she led the entire tournament. She finished 6 under par and nine strokes ahead of the second-place finishers, Ellen Nicholas of Incarnate Word and AU’s Napabhach Boon-In.  

Carroll shot 69, 67 and 71 for the 54-hole event.

Two more Jaguars finished in the top six in Victoria Zheng and Daniela Burgos. Zheng finished 8 over par and Burgos finished 13 over par.  

The Jaguars will now start their preparation for the NCAA regionals, which will begin on May 6 and last through May 8. The host is to be determined. In order to make it to the national championship tournament, they will have to finish in the top five in their regional. 

A year ago, the Jaguars traveled to Athens, Ga., to play in the regional, where they advanced to play at Arizona State University for the NCAA championships.  

Coach Caroline Haase-Hegg and her staff will do everything they can to have their players ready to go.  

It is the 11th time in program history that AU has advanced to the regionals—six times under Haase-Hegg, who took her team to the nationals last year.

 Contact Justin Gray at jusgray@augusta.edu.

Augusta University’s Kennedy Carroll took home individual medalist honors with a 54-hole total of 207 and led her team to its third straight Southland championship. At the top of the page, the Jaguars’ Napabhach Boon-In holds the SC championship trophy. (photos by Louis Kloss)