The top ranked Anderson Trojans opened play in the South Atlantic Championship and played up to their ranking as the top NCAA DII team in the country.

The Trojans hold a seven shot lead over third ranked Wingate after the opening round of the conference tournament at The Preserve at Verdae in Greenville

Noela Adkins from Wingate shot a 4-under par 68 to hold the individual lead, but the rest of the top of the leader board is full of Trojans.

Anderson’s Kennedy McGaha is in second place, a shot behind the leader.

Lincoln Memorial’s Millie Russell is in third at 2-under par and is followed by a pair of Trojans tied for fourth place.

Both Kennedy Gooding and Allie Francis finished the first day at 1-under par. Zoey Iglesias is tied for seventh giving the Trojans four counting scores in the top-10.

Following Anderson and Wingate, Lincoln Memorial is third and Limestone is fourth.

Because of the unsettled weather conditions predicted for the Upstate on Monday, the second round of the SAC Women’s championship start time has been moved back to noon at the earliest and could be later.

Tee times will be updated on the live scoring site at https://scoreboard.clippd.com/tournaments/236496/scoring/team

Saint’s are Marching again

Limestone is playing in the conference tournament under the leadership of first year coach Austin Alexander.

Within in a few months Alexander went from being a player on the Saint’s golf team and a Limestone University graduate to becoming the head coach for the men’s and women’s program at the school in Gaffney.

“In my senior year I started to think I would like to get into coaching,” said Alexander, “I’ve always loved the game and coaching would be a great way to stay in golf,” he said.

After completing his Saints’ golf career Alexander had a job lined up, but it wasn’t expected to start for a few months.

When he heard his last coach at Limestone, Trey Taylor had resigned he was surprised.

“I didn’t expect that and I decided I might as well just apply for the job just to see. I applied and they reached out and asked are you serious,” he said.

Alexander was serious and was told he would be interviewed for the job.

“The interview went really well and they offered me the job. I think I got the job because it was good to have someone coming from the program who played in it and saw it and can put to work things I believe can help us succeed,” he said.

Going from a player to a coach is one big step, but Alexander had some strong support from his former coach.

“Coach Zach Seifert was my first coach at Limestone and he reached out to me and gave me a lot of information he used during his time coaching here,” Alexander said.

Seifert put the Limestone golf program on the map during his time in Gaffney. The former Clemson golfer built the program into a conference champion and nationally ranked team.

Seifert left Limestone to become an assistant at Wisconsin and then an assistant with the women’s program at Ole’Miss, where he helped Mississippi win an NCAA Women’s Championship.

With only six women golfers on the roster and the mens team needing an influx of new talent Alexander knows recruiting will be a big part of his job.

“Coach Seifert did such a good job with the international players that Limestone has a great reputation with the agents who help European players find places to play here. Having him help me get started was really big,” he said.

The new coach hired Gaffney native Zack Gordon to be his assistant.

Gordon completed a distinguished career at Clemson where he helped the Tigers win an ACC Tournament championship after winning a state high school team and individual championship at Gaffney High school.

For now, the new coach is hoping some recent success by the Saints women’s team can put Limestone back in the national rankings,

The Saints took a big step forward with their win at the Low Tide Intercollegiate. It was the first win for the team and for their new coach.

I’m going to cherish this one. It feels good to actually get it done as a coach and see my players succeed like they did and actually all of it come together at one point at one time,” said Alexander.

The Saints were led by medalist Claudia Hastings, who finished in front of teammate Karla Lagerstrom in second place. Pennie Osterberg gave the Saints’ three of the top four golfers.

“They worked real hard and it was good to see them actually get the benefit from all their hard work. I’m excited they were able to experience a tournament win,” he said.

Following the win the Saints continued to move up in the rankings.

Limestone earned a pair of top 10 finishes boosting their ranking, but with so many outstanding teams in the South Region the Saints face an uphill battle to make the post season.

Alexander is hoping the Saints season does not end with the South Atlantic Conference Championship at The Preserve at Verdae this week..

“If they’re all clicking we can do it. We still have a chance. I know we’re sitting where we are. We just gotta take every opportunity and keep working,” concluded the new Limestone coach.