Women's Golf

SoCon Announces Women’s Golfers of the Week

UNCG Duo, Samford’s Nicastro Capture Medalist Honors

SPARTANBURG, SC – Samford senior Gabi Nicastro and the UNC Greensboro duo of freshman Baker Hudson and senior Kasey McIlvane were named SoCon Women’s Co-Golfers of the Week for tournaments played between October 7-13.
 
Nicastro (Huntsville, AL) tied for medalist honors at the 2026 Lady Red Wolves Classic, moving up three positions on the final day to finish at 7-under par. The tournament was played at the 6,164-yard Sage Meadows Golf Club in Jonesboro, AR. Nicastro (75-67-67-209) overcame a 75 in the first round with back-to-back rounds of 67 to bolster a strong finish. She sank 11 birdie putts over three rounds to lead Samford to a ninth-place team finish.
 
Hudson (New Bern, NC) and McIlvane (Raleigh, NC) tied atop the leaderboard at the 2026 Terrier Intercollegiate. The 36-hole tournament was played at the 6,037-yard Spartanburg Country Club in Spartanburg, SC and featured four teams from the Southern Conference.
 
Hudson shot a 71 in the opening round – one stroke better than McIlvane – and finished with a 73 over the final 18 holes. McIlvane carded consecutive rounds of 72 to pull even on the final day. Hudson led the field in Par 4 scoring (4.00) and McIlvane had the most pars (30).
 
The pair helped UNCG finish second in the team standings, three strokes behind ETSU and six strokes in front of Eastern Kentucky.
 
Samford has two more events this fall, beginning with a trip to Hattiesburg, MS, on October 26-27 for The Judson. The Bulldogs will close out the fall season on November 1-2 at home, hosting the Samford Intercollegiate.
 
UNCG will close out its fall season on October 19-20, hosting the UNCG Collegiate in Greensboro, NC.
 
Others Nominated: Arisa Piyamanit (ETSU), Elsa Maren Steinarsdóttir, Grace Lindsey (Wofford)
 
2026-27 SoCon Women’s Golfer of the Week 
Sep 2 – Elle Burnette, Sr., UNC Greensboro (Wrightsville Beach, NC)
Sep 9 – Arisa Piyamanit, So., ETSU (Nakhon Prathom, Thailand)
Sep 16 – Kasey McIlvane, Sr., UNC Greensboro (Raleigh, NC)
Sep 23 – Olivia Hasselbach, So., Furman (Tampa, FL)
Sep 30 – Elsa Maren Steinarsdóttir, Jr., Western Carolina (Akranes, Iceland)
Oct 7 – Arisa Piyamanit, So., ETSU (Nakhon Prathom, Thailand)
Oct 13 – Gabi Nicastro, Sr., Samford (Huntsville, AL)
Oct 13 – Baker Hudson, Fr., UNC Greensboro (New Bern, NC)
Oct 13 – Kasey McIlvane, Sr., UNC Greensboro (Raleigh, NC)