APSU Sports Information
Muscle Shoals, AL – A record-setting final day of competition for Austin Peay State University women’s golf at the 2018 Ohio Valley Conference Women’s Golf Championships will send the Govs into the offseason on the highest possible note.
The Govs finished the three-day affair with a final-round 301 on the Schoolmaster Course at Robert Trent Jones at the Shoals, besting their previous OVC Championship best—in last year’s opening round—by two shots and falling just one shot short of equaling last year’s record-setting 920 over 54 holes (312-308-301—921).
Austin Peay maintained its status in fourth place Wednesday, extending its lead on fifth-place Morehead State to 20 shots. Murray State won the team title at 898, followed by Jacksonville State (902) and Eastern Kentucky (910).
“I’m extremely happy with what we did today,” said interim head coach and co-OVC Coach of the Year Amy McCollum. “We came out ready to fight and got pretty close to EKU at one point. We challenged and we fought and I’m proud of what they did this week.”
Junior Reagan Greene and sophomore Meghann Stamps both maintained their status in the top-10 despite Wednesday’s windy conditions. Greene finished up her first OVC Tournament just outside the top-five—the benchmark for All-Tournament honors—with a seventh-place 227 (74-76-77), while Stamps was 10th in her first postseason appearance at 232 (76-77-79).
Greene led the Govs in par-3 scoring (3.17/hole) and birdies (seven) for the tournament, while Stamps contributed a team-high 35 pars; the duo each averaged 4.92 shots per hole on par-5 offerings to lead the team.
The other three Govs each made a hard charge up the leaderboard on Wednesday, securing a finish in the top half of the field for each. None made a bigger final-day move than junior Ashton Goodley, who moved up 10 spots thanks to a final-round 75 to secure 22nd and a three-round 238 (84-79-75); she shot an even-par 36 on the back nine.
Her sister Taylor Goodley flirted with a top-10 finish, shooting even-par over the first 14 holes of the final round before a trio of bogeys tripped her up late; she shot 75 for the day and 235 (84-76-75) for the tournament.
“Taylor has really battled this semester,” McCollum said. “She fought back after a tough first round and really started trusting her swing today.”
That leaves senior AnnaMichelle Moore, who saved the best for last in her final OVC Championship. Opening up with a birdie, Moore fired a team-best 74 in the final round with a trio of birdies, including one on No. 18—the final hole of her Austin Peay career. She moved up nine spots on the final day to finish tied for 17th.
“AnnaMichelle has worked so hard and grown so much the last four years,” McCollum said. “To have that finish, for her and for me to be there to see it, was really special.”
The future remains bright for the Govs; although Moore’s contributions will be sorely missed, four of these five competitors will be back in the Austin Peay lineup for the 2018-19 season.
