Sports, The Vanguard

Women’s Golf Headed to NCAA Regional for the First Time

By: Nolan Kolita | Contributing Writer

South Alabama Women’s Golf won their second Sun Belt Conference Championship, the first since 1997, Wednesday, April 17. With the championship win, the Jags secured a spot in the NCAA regional, their first in program history.

The team finished with a season-low combined score of 877 at the LPGA International – Hills Course in Daytona Beach Florida.

Notable performances included Sophomores Siti Shaari and Caroline Berge shooting their best 54-hole totals of the season. Shaari and Berge were also named to the All-Tournament team after their record outing.

Shaari also led the Jags with 10 birdies and 36 holes played at even-par. Berge claimed her second top-five finish on the season going even on par-3 and par-4 holes, tying for first and fifth overall, respectively, and had eight birdies.

Sophomore Julie Hovland tied for second in the field with an average of 4.83 (-2) on par-5 holes and had seven birdies, she was 1-under-par playing on the back nine Wednesday.

Senior MacKenzie Peyton finished in the top 20 for birdies (6). All five Jaguars recorded multiple birdies, Senior Lexi Worell had five during the tournament while Peyton and Shaari went back-to-back.

The Jaguars finish with five total top-five finishes on the season, two of those being first place finishes at the UT Arlington Invitational and the conference tournament.

Head Coach Matt Luther led the Jags to a conference championship in his fourth season with the program.

“I’m exhausted,” coach Matt Luther said after winning the conference tournament. “It’s been a long season. I’m ecstatic for our student-athletes. They worked their tails off and it’s been fun to watch today. It was a blast this week.”

When speaking about the NCAA regional bid Luther said “It’s huge. It’s exciting. It’s what we work for and we want to get out and keep playing. We’ve got class in the morning and practice on Friday, so it’s the life of a student-athlete.”

The Jaguars will compete in an NCAA regional tournament, their regional match location will be announced on April 24th.