HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Arkansas Tech carded the lowest 18-hole score in the four-year history of the Great American Conference Women’s Golf Championships to sport a 22-stroke lead after Sunday’s first round from the Park Course at the Hot Springs Country Club.
Four Golden Suns finished the day placed inside the top five. Megan Jeffery and Caroline Fredensborg shot matching 1-over par 73s to share the individual lead. Taylor Kline added a 3-over 75 and Rebecka Surtevall, a two-time winner at the GAC Championships, closed in a tie for fifth after she shot a 76. The 22-shot lead for the Golden Suns, the No. 3 team in the NCAA Division II Central Region rankings, represents a larger first-round lead than the combined lead of the previous three first-round pace setters – 19 combined shots.
GAC Women's Golf Championships - Round One Results || Second Round Tee Times
Southwestern Oklahoma State ended the round in second place. The Bulldogs, ninth in the most recent Central Region standings, placed four in the top 15 led, led by Ana-Laura Gomez’s 76. Henderson State, seventh in the Central Region and the reigning GAC champions, settled into third place. Alison Davis led the Reddies with a 79 to share ninth place.
East Central closed the round in fourth place, followed closely by Southern Nazarene, Arkansas-Monticello, Harding and Southern Arkansas. Madelyn Lehr paced the Tigers with an 81 to tie for 13th. Marion Broedys shot a 78 to stand in eighth to lead the Crimson Storm. UAM’s Lauren Johnson recorded a 77, the lowest round by a Cotton Blossom at the GAC Championships. Harding’s Brittany Marquez, a three-time All-Tournament performer, finished one shot off the lead after posting a 2-over 74.
After the Golden Suns’ 22-shot advantage, the gap between second-place SWOSU and eighth-place SAU sits as just 23 shots.
Golfers from Northwestern Oklahoma State and Ouachita Baptist each competed as individuals. Ami Adkinsson led the Rangers by ending the day in a tie for 20th.
The second round will begin at 7:30 AM on Monday. Ouachita Baptist’s Shelby Hudson and Northwestern Oklahoma State’s Klarissa Vela will fire the rounds’ opening shots.