Cummins Top Medalist, No. 24/25 Eagles fourth at SAC Championship
HICKORY, N.C. – Four days removed from being named the Freshman of the Year, Maeve Cummins took the South Atlantic Conference tournament crown with a three-over outing to help No. 24/25 Carson-Newman solidify a fourth-place finish on Tuesday at the Lake Hickory Country Club.
HICKORY, N.C. – Four days removed from being named the Freshman of the Year, Maeve Cummins took the South Atlantic Conference tournament crown with a three-over outing to help No. 24/25 Carson-Newman solidify a fourth-place finish on Tuesday at the Lake Hickory Country Club.
Cummins (Waringstown, Northern Ireland) notched her second win of the season in the event. She is the third Eagle to win the tournament MVP crown in program history and the first since Elizabeth England in 2017.
With the win, she becomes the third player in SAC history to win the individual title in the same year as becoming the conference's Freshman of the Year. The last one to do it was Wingate's Ashley Denton in 2008.
The Eagles shot a collective 309 in the final round to go 59-over for the tournament with a 923 total, 16 shots out of first. They carded the second-most par shots at 109 while being second on par-3s with a 3.20 clip.
The fourth-place finish is the best outing the Eagles have had since being the runners-up in 2016. They have now finished in the top five in 10 of their 11 seasons in the league with three fourth-place finishes.
"We saw glimpses of great golf, but unfortunately too many big numbers, too," Carson-Newman coach Suzanne Strudwick said. "Such a strong and gritty performance by Maeve to win. This is a fantastic result. She has capped off her freshman year with an amazing win. I'm hoping this is good enough for regionals."
Cummins was even for a second-consecutive round on Tuesday, giving her a three-over finish for the event with a 219. She carded a pair of bogeys and birdies on the day to give her the win. Her 219 totals core is the third-best total scored at the tournament in SAC history. She was the best par-5 shooter with a three-under clip of 4.75 and shot the most par shots at 42.
The freshman also made the All-Tournament team with her win.
Lone individual Anna Davenport (Roswell, Ga.) had her best round of the tournament with a two-over 74 on Tuesday, boosting her total to a 15-over 231 that was good enough for a tie at 15th on the leaderboard.
One shot behind the senior was Reagan Kinnie (Murfreesboro, Tenn.), sitting alone at 18th with a 16-over showing in the event. She was four-over heading into the turn with three bogeys, a double bogey and a birdie. In the back nine, she added on two more bogeys to shoot an eight-over round of 80 to close out the week.
Shooting her highest round of the tournament on Tuesday was Jayla Sims (Soddy Daisy, Tenn.) with an 81, giving her a three-round total of 237 at 21-over to tie for 29th. She was even out the gate before an eight-hole sequence that saw six bogeys, a double bogey and a birdie, putting her at seven-over heading into the turn. The sophomore added on a double bogey on her last hole of the day for a nine-over day.
Sharing 29th with Sims was Taylor Hayes (Lake Ozark, Mo.), also carding a three-round total of 237. She tallied five bogeys and a double bogey with just one birdie. The senior tied for first on par-3 scoring with an even 3.00 clip on such holes.
Three shots behind Sims was Rachel Watts (Newport, Tenn.), who went 24-over for the event after carding a 79 on Tuesday to land in a tie for 35th with a 240 total. The junior was on par for 11 holes while shooting bogeys on the rest.
Anderson won the tournament with a 907 total at 43-over. Lenoir-Rhyne trailed by four shots to be the runner-up while Wingate took third at +50.
Cummins won the tournament by three strokes with Wingate's Diana McDonald the runner-up at six-over. Lenoir-Rhyne had a pair of Bears tie for third at eight-over in Abbey Hartsell and Megan Robb.
The Eagles now await their NCAA South Regional fate. Two more rankings will be released before the regional field is announced on April 29. That tournament will take place from May 6-8 at the Cleveland Country Club in Cleveland, Tenn.
|
Carson-Newman |
311 |
303 |
309 |
923 |
+59 |
4th |
|
75 |
72 |
72 |
219 |
+3 |
1st |
|
|
77 |
80 |
74 |
231 |
+15 |
T-15th |
|
|
79 |
73 |
80 |
232 |
+16 |
18th |
|
|
79 |
77 |
81 |
237 |
+21 |
T-29th |
|
|
78 |
81 |
+6 |
237 |
+21 |
T-29th |
|
|
79 |
82 |
79 |
240 |
+24 |
T-35th |
