Women’s Golf fires season-best 299 on Day 1 of SAC Championships

GREENVILLE, S.C. – The Catawba College women's golf team teed off the South Atlantic Conference Championships with the third-best round against par in program history, slotting tied for fourth place in team standings through the first 18 holes on Sunday.

Rachel Carlson, ranked in the region's top-100 list by Clippd, remained dominant with an even-par 72 as the Bradenton, Fla. logged 36s on the front and back nines. Joining Carlson in the Top 10 at seventh place, Sara Kristinsdottir entered the front nine at one-over before firing two birdies to tally her first career par round.

Mary-Paige King finished just one shot outside the top-10 list, shooting a 73 (+1) as one of five players tied for 12th. Hannah Waddell and Taya Buxton had nearly-identical opening rounds, carding 40-42 and 42-40, respectively, to take a share of 40th place at 82 strokes (+10).

The Catawba Indians logged their first sub-300 round of the season and tallied the program's lowest first round at the SAC Championships with 299 strokes. The 11-over-par performance matches the third-best round score vs. par all-time and is the finest 18-hole outing since the 2019-20 season.

Entering as the nation's top-ranked Division II program, Anderson is off to a strong start in its chase to a fourth-straight conference title at 283 (-5) with a seven-shot lead. Wingate's Noelia Adkins paces the individual standings with a four-under 68, while AU has three top-five players in Kennedy McGaha (69, -3), Kennedy Gooding (71, -1) and Aly Francis (71, -1).

Hoping to avoid rain showers in the morning, the second round begins at noon tomorrow with Catawba's squad opening play at 1:30 p.m.