It was hard to tell if the look on Furman Golf Coach Jeff Hull was relief or elation as his team won the SoCon championship.

Furman claimed it’s eighth championship in the last ten years with a convincing nine shot victory in the tournament played at the Solina Golf Club in West Columbia.

“This has been a tough year we worked really hard,” said Hull. “We focused on the things we needed to do to make this happen and we finally got things going the right way,’ he said.

Before the teams outstanding performance in the conference championship, the perennial top team in the SoCon showed only two top-five finishes, but all that changed  with the win in  the most important tournament of the year, so far.

“From wedges to the short game to having the right mindset every thing came together because everybody bought in.  I’m really proud of the team and how they worked so hard this week,” said the Lady Paladin coach.

The spark igniting the Lady Paladin’s best performance of the year was provided by Audrey Ryu in the opening round.

The sophomore from Dublin, Ohio shot a 6-under par 66 to take the first round lead and went on to win the individual conference championship. 

Ryu won the 20th individual championship by a Lady Paladin golfer, the tops in SoCon history.

“The course was really playing hard, but I just concentrated on playing one hole at a time,” said Ryu. “I was having fun and when I’m having fun I play good,” she said.

The fun continued for Ryu as she kept the lead and finished the tournament at even par for a three shot victory and medalist honors.

“I tried to remain patient, but I had a whirlwind of emotions and just tried to keep my cool. Today felt like a marathon. I definitely will never forget this tournament,” she said.

In addition to her win on the course, Ryu also received the SoCon Pinnacle Award as the golfer with the top grade point average on the championship team.

The victory was her first college win.

“Audrey is not only an amazing player but also a 4.0 student (biology) and a concert pianist. For her to get her first win in the SoCon Championship was really special and I’m glad we could be a part of that,” Hull said.

Ryu received support from the rest of the Lady Paladins as Furman placed four golfers in the top-20 at the championship.

Senior Alise Knudson shot a final round 71 to finish sixth,. Freshman Jenna Madden placed 11th while another freshman, Eva Ringwalds tied for 20th.

Sophomore Kelsi Mauzy finished 29th after helping the Lady Paladins get off to a good start with a counting first round score. 

Furman finished the 54 hole championship with an 898 total. Chattanooga was the runner up at 907 and Mercer was third with a score of 918.

Individually Mikayla Dubnik from Mercer was the tournament runner-up.

The Lady Paladins earned the SoCon’s automatic entry into NCAA Regional play beginning on May 5th,

The Lady Paladins will learn where they will begin regional play when the NCAA field is announced live on the Golf Channel on Wed., April 23, at 1 p.m.

Scores from the SoCon Womens Championship https://scoreboard.clippd.com/tournaments/234025/scoring/team