With their seasons winding down, both the Mississippi State men’s and women’s golf programs have had a difficult week. For the women, the struggle was competing against the rest of the incredibly competitive Southeastern Conference. For the men, the week has been spent in preparation for their conference championship shot this weekend.
Women
The women’s golf team completed play at the SEC Championship this past weekend at the Vanderbilt Legends Club, finishing tenth out of twelve conference teams.
The Lady Bulldogs fired a 924 in the three-round tournament. After starting slow in round one, State put together rounds of 301 and 302 on the final two days, moving up two spots.
For the ninth time this season, all-SEC performer Amanda Mathis led MSU. The Picayune, Miss., native carded a 222 for the tournament and finished in a tie for 12th.
Mathis’ tournament was highlighted by a second-round score of 71. Senior Ashleigh Korzack shot a 73 on the final day of activity and finished in a tie for 30th. Senior Stephanie Godare finished in a tie for 53rd with a score of 240.
Freshman Leigh Phillips set five career marks on the weekend, including a low round score of 77 in the third round en route to a 56th place finish. Sophomore Julia Huh rounded out the scorecard for the Lady Bulldogs, finishing in 58th with a score of 245.
“We played well the last two days of the tournament after getting off to a slow start,” MSU head coach Christi Sanders said. “Now we will go back and practice the next two weeks and wait for the NCAA Regional selections.”
The selections for the NCAA Regionals will be announced on May 1. Currently, State is ranked 48th nationally and 17th in the East Region by Golfweek. The team will be looking to make the program’s fifth appearance in an NCAA Regional. If they do advance, it will be MSU’s fifth appearance in the last seven years.
Men
The men’s golf team will compete in the SEC Championship this weekend, April 21-23, at the Sea Island Golf Club in St. Simons Island, Ga. The tournament will be played on the par-70 6,898-yard Seaside Course.
The Bulldogs are coming off of a ninth place finish at the Billy Hitchcock Intercollegiate two weeks ago. State has finished in the top 10 of the last 10 tournaments, dating back to last fall. The Bulldogs are led by a trio of freshmen.
Carlos Sainz Jr. currently leads MSU in stroke average. The Elgin, Ill., product holds a 73.77 average per 18 holes.
Freshman Noah Goldman has been State’s top finisher five times this season to lead the team. Redshirt freshman Logan Young has also contributed to the lineup, holding a 74.88 stroke average.
Junior Greg Huxman has a 74.88 stroke average this season and has two top-10 finishes this year. Also playing a big role in the Bulldog lineup this season is junior Josh Oller.
The Bulldogs will begin play Friday morning, teeing off at 10:30 a.m.