With four finishers inside the top 10 and a late burst of birdies, the College of Charleston pulled out a three-shot victory Sunday to win the team title in the Coastal Athletic Association Championship for the sixth time at The Reserve Club at St. James in Southport, N.C.
The victory will send the Cougars to one of the six NCAA regionals, their 11th trip to the NCAA’s postseason. The NCAA regional fields will be revealed next Wednesday on The Golf Channel.
College of Charleston, at No. 43 in the Scoreboard, powered by clippd, rankings, the highest-ranked team in the CAA Championship field, shared the lead with defending champion Delaware following a 9-over-par 297 in Friday’s opening round over the 5,995-yard, par-72 Reserve Club layout.
An 8-over 295 in Saturday’s second round left the Cougars in a tie for first place with North Carolina Wilmington going into Sunday’s final round.
Adrian Anderson, a junior from Murrells Inlet, S.C., made two of College of Charleston’s five birdies over the final three holes to help the Cougars close with an even-par 288 that gave them a 16-over 880 total.
Anderson’s strong finish also earned her a runnerup finish in the individual standings with a 1-over 217 total that left her a shot behind the individual champion, UNCW’s Hannah Altman, a junior from Lake City, S.C.
Anderson opened with a 2-over 74 and added a 1-over 73 in Saturday’s second round before closing with a solid 2-under 70.
UNCW, No. 83 in the Scoreboard rankings, was right on College of Charleston’s heels the whole way. The Seahawks were only two shots behind College of Charleston after opening with an 11-over 299. UNCW got a share of the top spot on the strength of a solid 5-over 293 in Saturday’s second round.
The Seahawks closed with a 3-over 291 to finish three shots behind College of Charleston with a 19-over 883 total.
Altman added a 1-over 73 in Saturday’s second round to her opening round of 2-over 74 and trailed the leader, Elon’s Ashley Lafontaine, a junior from Canada, by two shots in a bunched leaderboard going into Sunday’s final round.
Altman closed with a sparkling 3-under 69, the only sub-70 round recorded in the tournament, that left her with an even-par 216 total, one shot better than College of Charleston’s Anderson.
Altman became the fifth UNCW player to capture the CAA’s individual crown.
Backing up Anderson for the College of Charleston was Molly Hardwick, a junior from Nashville, Tenn. who finished in a tie for third place in the individual standings with Campbell’s Mira Berglund, a sophomore from Sweden, each landing on 3-over 219, two shots behind Anderson.
After opening with a solid 1-under 71, Hardwick added a 3-over 75 in Saturday’s second round before closing with a 1-over 73.
Emma Schimpf, a senior from Daniel Island, S.C. who is wrapping up one of the finest careers in the program’s history, finished among a group of four players tied for fifth place at 6-over 222 for College of Charleston.
Schimpf, the CAA individual champion two years ago, was typically solid, opening with a 3-over 75 and adding a 1-over 73 in Saturday’s second round before closing with a 2-over 74.
Emilie von Finckenstein, a sophomore from Germany, gave College of Charleston a fourth top-10 finisher as she landed among a trio of players tied for 10th place 8-over 224.
Von Finckenstein opened with a 5-over 77 and added a 4-over 76 in Saturday’s second round before contributing a critical 1-under 71 to the Cougars’ closing kick as they were trying to hold off UNCW.
Campbell, No. 48 in the Scoreboard rankings, finished three shots behind UNCW in third place with a 22-over 886 total. The Camels struggled in the opening round with a 301 and added a 10-over 298 in the second round, but closed with a 1-under 287 in the final round, the low team round of the tournament.
Berglund helped fuel that late surge by Campbell as she closed with a 2-under 70 to get a share of third place with College of Charleston’s Hardwick at 3-over. Berglund opened with a 2-over 74 before adding a 3-over 75 in Saturday’s second round.
Delaware, in its farewell appearance in the CAA Championship, had a share of the lead with College of Charleston following an opening round of 9-over 297. But the Blue Hens couldn’t maintain their momentum as they posted a 305 in Saturday’s second round and closed with a 301 to finish seven shots behind Campbell in fourth place with a 29-over 903 total.
Delaware will join Conference USA at the start of the 2025-2026 college season this summer.
Delaware was led by Alisa Khokhlova, a senior from Russia who finished among the trio tied for 10th place at 8-over. Khokhlova, coming off an individual victory in the Terrapin Invitational at the University of Maryland Golf Course in College Park, Md., sandwiched a 4-over 76 in Saturday’s second round with a pair of 2-over 74s.
Elon finished 13 shots behind Delaware in fifth place in the 11-team field with a 52-over 916 total. The Phoenix bounced back from an opening-round 313 with a 6-over 294 in Saturday’s second round before closing with a 309.
Rounding out the College of Charleston lineup was Emilia von Glahn, a redshirt freshman from Germany who finished alone in 17th place with a 12-over 228 total. Von Glahn contributed a counting 2-over 74 in Saturday’s second round and had bookend 5-over 77s in the first and final rounds.
Joining College of Charleston’s Schimpf in the tie for fifth place at 6-over were Elon’s Lafontaine, Campbell’s Alicia Olsson, a sophomore from Sweden, and UNCW’s Victoria Levy, a redshirt junior from Switzerland.
Lafontaine took a one-shot lead into the final round after she matched par in the opening round with a 72 and added a 1-over 73 in Saturday’s second round. Lafontaine backed off a little in the final round with a 5-over 77 to finish in the tie for fifth place.
Olsson closed with a solid 1-under 71 to climb up the leaderboard and get her share of fifth place. She had opened with a 3-over 75 before adding a 4-over 76 in Saturday’s second round.
After opening with a 5-over 77, Levy added a 1-over 73 in Saturday’s second round before closing with a solid 1-under 71 to get a share of fifth place.
Valencia Chang, a freshman from Singapore, gave UNCW a third finisher among the top nine as she ended up alone in ninth place with a 7-over 223 total. Chang matched par in Saturday’s second round with a 72 after opening with a 3-over 75 and then closed with a 4-over 76.
Joining College of Charleston’s von Finckenstein and Delaware’s Khokhlova in the tie for 10th place was Campbell’s Fanni Gronlund, a freshman from Finland who gave the Camels a third top-10 finisher.
After opening with a 4-over 76, Gronlund added a 3-over 75 in Saturday’s second round before closing with a 1-over 73 to end up at 8-over.
Backing up Khokhlova for Delaware was Anushka Sawant, a freshman from South Brunswick, N.J. who finished among the trio tied for 13th place with a 10-over 226 total. After matching par in the opening round with a 72, Sawant added a 6-over 78 in Saturday’s second round before closing with a 4-over 76.
Sophomore Mary Grace Dunigan, a three-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier at Unionville who helped the Longhorns capture the Class AAA state team crown in 2020, capped her first season at Delaware by finishing alone in 16th place with a 227 total.
Dunigan, the daughter of Golf Digest Top 50 instructor John Dunigan, added a 4-over 76 in Saturday’s second round to her opening-round 77 before closing with a 2-over 74. Dunigan transferred to Delaware after spending her freshman season at William & Mary.
Lilia Henkel, a senior from Grand Rapids, Mich., finished among the trio tied for 18th place with a 230 total. Henkel, who was defending the CAA individual crown she won at The Reserve Club at St. James a year ago, opened with a 2-over 74, but struggled in Saturday’s second round with a 79 before closing with a 5-over 77.
Rounding out the Delaware lineup was sophomore Marissa Malosh, a two-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier at South Fayette who finished alone in 22nd place with a 233 total. Malosh added a 3-over 75 in Saturday’s second round to her opening-round 78 before struggling a little in the final round with an 80.
Not a bad effort for the Blue Hens in defense of their title with all five players finishing among the top 22.
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