Women’s Golf Wins The Southern

Monday, October 17

Savannah, Ga.

8 a.m.

Georgia Southern University

The Southern

Photo by: AJ Henderson - Georgia Southern Athletics

10/19/2022 4:50:00 PM | Women's Golf

Final Results

Five Eagles finish in the top-20.

By: Marc Gignac

SAVANNAH – Sparked by an ace in the second round, Sarunchana Rattanasin shot a 76-70-74=220 to finish second and lead the Georgia Southern women's golf team to the team title at the first playing of The Southern Wednesday at The Savannah Golf Club.

The Eagles won by 10 strokes over Yale, and Western Kentucky finished third. Yale's Ami Gianchandani (+1) earned medalist honors by three strokes over Rattanasin (+4).

Rattanasin was one of five Eagles to finish in the top-20. Abby Newton (+6) finished fourth, Haley Yerxa (+12) placed 11th, Alex Stevenson (+13) tied for 12th and Taylor Oberparleiter (+15), who played as an individual this week, tied for 17th.

Newton got the Eagles started with a 70 in the first round after making birdie on three of her first five holes of the day and playing the front 9 3-under. Stevenson posted a first-round 74 and was 1-under on the front 9 with consecutive birdies on 6 and 7.

Rattanasin's ace, her fourth overall and first in college, came on the par-3, 120-yard 14th hole on the second day. She also made three birdies in the round and posted a 2-under 70, the lowest score of the round. Newton shot the second-lowest score of the day with a 72 after birdieing 17 and 18 coming in.

Rattanasin and Stevenson led the Eagles today with each carding a 74, and Yerxa shooting a 75. Karlee Vardas, who tied for 26th, shot 77 today to round out the Eagle counters.

Georgia Southern led the field in par-3 and par-4 scoring, and the Eagles tied for second in pars and were third in birdies. It was the first time the Georgia Southern women's golf program has hosted a fall event and the first time the Eagles hosted an event at The Savannah Golf Club. GS hosted The Strutter at Georgia Southern University course in the spring in 2019 (champions) and 2021 (second place).

Scores
Team – 296-300-300=896 (+32), 1
Sarunchana Rattanasin – 76-70-74=220 (+4), 2
Abby Newton – 70-72-80=222 (+6), 4
Haley Yerxa – 76-77-75=228 (+12), 11
Alex Stevenson – 74-81-74=229 (+13), T12
Taylor Oberparleiter* – 77-82-72=231 (+15), T17
Karlee Vardas – 77-81-77=235 (+19), T26
Meiqi Gao* – 85-80-76=241 (+25), T44
Regina Plascencia* – 81-79-83=243 (+27), T50
*Playing as an individual

Quotables from head coach Mimi Burke
On the week
"I think the last couple days have shown how much grit this team has. It was a true team effort out there all three rounds. The first day was pretty gettable so we took advantage of that. Yesterday there was some wind and tougher conditions, so it was all about just accepting the day and whoever had the most pars and stayed solid and mentally tough throughout the day was going to separate, and that's what they did. It showed how tough they are and what they are capable of doing."

On the future of The Southern
"The membership here and the pro shop staff and everybody has been super supportive. All the teams really liked the course out there. It was a battle and a true test this week, and it definitely separated teams. We got all positive reviews, and a lot of teams are excited to come back in the coming years. So, we're really happy with how it turned out, and I think in years to come, it's going to be an awesome collegiate event."

Next Up
The Eagles open the spring season at the FAU Paradise Invitational Feb. 6-7, at Osprey Point Golf Course in Boca Raton, Florida.