Hopes were high, and the stage was set as the Furman women’s golf team traveled down to Hilton Head, S.C. to not only defend its Southern Conference Championship but to compete for a fourth straight title. Head coach Jeff Hull took six golfers to compete, though only four accounted for the team’s overall score.
Having proven themselves throughout the year, fifth-year Anna Morgan and freshman Audrey Ryu were slotted in the first two spots. Following them, Hull went with experience when placing junior Alise Knudson at the three spot and senior Caroline Crumrine at the four. Beyond that, Hull brought along sophomore Liza Lapeyre and freshman Kelsi Mauzy for more tournament experience. Lapeyre shared time on the course with Mauzy, who played on days two and three.
The first day of play saw the Dins come out hot, positioning themselves in a good spot for the title defense. Morgan fired a two-under-par round, including three consecutive birdies on holes 10-12. Crumrine stepped up with a solid round score of 76 with 12 pars on her scorecard. Furman’s fierce start, however, was matched by East Tennessee State, who came out swinging and led the Paladins by two strokes at the end of the day.
Furman felt the pressure on day two as Morgan finished with a three-over-par round of 75. The Dins were tightly packed together on the day two leaderboard as Crumrine matched Morgan’s 75, while Ryu and Knudson both came in with 77. Mauzy, on the other hand, had her best day on day two, notching a solid 75. With the scores slightly on the higher side, the Paladins found themselves in a bit of a hole. The Dins had some ground to make up on day three if a four-peat were to happen.
The fight for a SoCon Championship was on as the ladies teed off on Tuesday, April 16 for the final round of play. Going into the day, Furman trailed ETSU and Samford, and Anna Morgan was just one back in the individual rankings. While the Dins remained in contention during the early part of the day, the back nine got the best of them as a slew of bogeys pushed the team title further away from their grasp.
Though the team title looked less and less likely, Anna Morgan’s chances for the individual title were rapidly increasing. After a solid 37 on the front nine, she was tied with two others for the individual lead. She then proceeded to have perhaps one of the best back nines of her Furman career by rolling in four birdies en route to a stellar back nine 32 and a 69 on the day. This score was enough for Morgan to secure the SoCon individual championship by two strokes. Furman collectively finished third, 10 strokes behind Samford and 23 strokes behind tournament champions, ETSU.
As Morgan prepares to graduate, Hull knows what it takes to compile a conference championship roster and will have his eyes set on returning to the top. The young talent on Furman’s roster looks promising, and it will be up to them to fill the shoes of the graduates and continue the excellence of Furman women’s golf heading into the next season.
