JOHNS ISLAND, S.C. –  The ETSU Buccaneers won their first-ever Southern Conference Women’s Golf Championship on Tuesday, carding a 12-over-par 876 to claim a 1-stroke victory over runner-up Furman. The Paladins’ Sarah-Eve Rheaume won the individual title after shooting a 4-under 212 at the par-72, 6,006-yard Oak Point Golf Course at Kiawah Island Resort.

ETSU’s 1-stroke win is now tied for the smallest margin of victory in SoCon Women’s Golf Tournament history. The last time a team claimed the title with a 1-stroke win was in 2000 when Furman shot 900 to beat UNCG.

ETSU held the lead on both days and followed up Monday’s rounds of 296 and 288 with a 292 on the final day of the tournament. The Bucs led the nine-team field with two eagles and 37 birdies throughout the 54 holes.

Rheaume’s score is tied for the second-lowest by a SoCon player over 54 holes in SoCon Championship history, which matches the performance of Furman’s Alice Chen in 2015. The junior from Quebec, Canada, fired a first-round 2-under-par 70 and a second-round 4-under 68, and wrapped up the tournament with a final-round 2-over-par 74.

ETSU clinched the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Regionals with its win. Furman’s Rheaume also received the SoCon’s automatic bid to the NCAA Regionals. The NCAA selection show will be held on Wednesday, April 28, on the Golf Channel.

The Bucs were led by senior Tereza Melecka, who shot a 2-over-par 218 to land in a three-way tie for third with Mercer’s Lauren Lightfritz and Chattanooga’s Dorota Zalewska. Furman's Madison Moosa finished as the SoCon individual runner-up after finishing fifth at the 2019 tournament. Moosa shot a 3-under-par 213 with scores of 76 (+4) and 69 (-3) on Monday and a final-round 4-under-par 68. 

Furman turned in a team score of 877 to earn runner-up status for the first time since 2014, while Mercer placed third, shooting 884 as a team in the three rounds. 

ETSU's Grace Chin earned sixth place after posting a 3-over-par 219, while teammate Julia Goodson fired a 4-over-220 to claim seventh. 

Chattanooga placed fourth with a team score of 897, while Samford followed in fifth place with 899. Wofford (916), UNCG (921), Western Carolina (926) and The Citadel (960) round out the rest of the field, respectively.

ETSU’s Warda Amira Rawof earned the Pinnacle Award as the student-athlete with the highest GPA with a minimum of two semesters on the championship winning team.


2021 Southern Conference Women's Golf Championship
Oak Point Golf Course, Kiawah Island Golf Resort
Par-72, 6,006 yards
John’s Island, S.C.
Top 10 individuals
Pl Player, team                                        R1       R2       R3       Total
1. Sarah-Eve Rheaume, Furman              70        68        74        212 (-4)
2. Madison Moosa, Furman                       76        69        68        213 (-3)
T3. Tereza Melecka, ETSU                        71        75        72        218 (+2)
T3. Lauren Lightfritz, Mercer                      72        75        71        218 (+2)
T3. Dorota Zalewska, Chattanooga          74        71        73        218 (+2)
6. Grace Chin, ETSU                                  75        73        71        219 (+3)
7. Julia Goodson, ETSU                             75        70        75        220 (+4)
8. Laila Hrindova, Mercer                           76        71        74        221 (+5)
T9. Warda Amira Rawof, ETSU                75        73        74        222 (+6)
T9. Bailey Dunstan, Samford                     73        71        78        222 (+6)


Team standings
Pl Team                   R1      R2       R3       Total +/- par
1. ETSU                  296      288     292     876     +12
2. Furman               301      287     289     877     +13
3. Mercer                299      290     295     884     +20
4. Chattanooga       301      299     297     897     +33
5. Samford              296      291     312     899     +35
6. Wofford               311      307     298     916     +52
7. UNCG                 311      301     309     921     +57
8. Western Carolina310      314     302     926     +62
9. The Citadel         319      320     321     960     +96