Troy University Athletics
Wednesday, April 15
Loxley, Ala.
All Day
Troy University
vs
Sun Belt Championship
Players Mentioned
BACK-TO-BACK CHAMPS; Troy Repeats as Sun Belt Women’s Golf Champions
4/15/2015 5:01:00 PM | Golf (W)
LOXLEY, Alabama – Paced by a trio of top seven individual finishes, the Troy women's golf team won its second consecutive Sun Belt Conference Championship as play concluded Wednesday at the Steelwood Country Club. Troy, who finished 12 strokes ahead of second place Texas State, earns the Sun Belt's automatic selection into the NCAA Regionals.
"This is a special group and I feel very lucky and privileged to have spent these two years with these players," head coach Bart Barnes said. "You go into a coaching career wanting to win championships, but to start my career like this is something that is really hard to put into perspective right now."
The women's golf team becomes the first Troy program to win consecutive Sun Belt titles since the football team won five straight league crowns from 2006-10. Last year's conference championship was the first as a Division I program for the women's golf team.
The NCAA will announce the entire postseason field on April 27 at 5 p.m. in a selection show that will be aired live on the Golf Channel; Troy will announce details for a viewing party in the coming days. The Trojans will play at one of four locations – South Bend, Indiana; Raleigh, North Carolina; San Antonio, Texas or St. George, Utah.
The Trojans were forced to wait an extra 30 minutes to officially celebrate their title as a lightning strike with the final group on the 18th fairway forced another delay in a tournament that was marred by bad weather.
"The way we dealt with all the weather delays and not knowing how many holes would decide the champion really speaks to the mental toughness of these young ladies," Barnes said. "We made a statement today and went out with the attitude to make every shot and every hole count."
Senior Langley Vannoy personally made sure this wouldn't be her final tournament as she tied her career marks for 18 and 36 holes en route to a third place finish. Vannoy carded six birdies during her final round and finished with a 3-under 69. The native of Pensacola, Fla., shot a 4-over in the opening round and finished the Sun Belt Championship with a 1-over 145, which tied her career-best 36-hole score.
"I switched my mindset after the opening round because I didn't want to end my career on a 76," Vannoy said. "I opened with a birdie in the second round and it gave me a lot of confidence to go out and do the best I could do. I love Troy so much and I feel so honored to be part of this program. We have such great team unity, and I couldn't have wished for anything more."
Becca Horner shot her first career under-par round with a 1-under 71 in the second round and finished in fifth place overall, while Fátima Fernández Cano tied for seventh place, Sydney Conrad tied for 13th place and Taylor McGraw tied for 18th.
Troy distanced itself from Texas State over the back nine in the second round and ended up 10 strokes better than the Bobcats in the second round. UALR finished in third place and 14 shots back of Troy, while Appalachian State was 19 shots back in fourth and Georgia State finished 23 shots back in fifth place.
Troy finished its opening round, which spanned three days due to weather delays, with a two-shot lead over Texas State. Cano and Conrad led the Trojans with cards of 2-over 74, while Vannoy finished 4-over par, Horner was 5-over and McGraw was 6-over for the round.
With the threat of 18 holes deciding the champion due to the possibility of more rain and a 4:45 p.m. travel curfew in place, the Trojans closed strong with five birdies on the back nine, with two each from Conrad and McGraw. All five of Troy's golfers combined to play the back nine at 3-over par after playing the front nine at 16-over.
The Trojans shot a 4-over 292 in the second round, which will go down as their third best round of the year. Horner charged out to 4-under par after 10 holes thanks to four birdies and six pars en route to her career-best 71.
McGraw made a late charge with back-to-back birdies on No. 15 and No. 16 to finish the second round with a 4-over 76. Cano finished her second round at 4-over 76 as she birdied two of her final three holes, while Conrad posted a 6-over 78 with a birdie on No. 14.
The NCAA Regionals are set for May 7-9. The Trojans made their first NCAA Regional appearance last season when they played at the East Regional in Tallahassee, Fla.
Team Standings
1. Troy 301-292—593, 2. Texas State 303-302—605, 3. UALR 309-298—607, 4. Appalachian State 305-307—612, 5. Georgia State 308-308—616, 6. South Alabama 306-311—617, 7. Arkansas State 313-307—620, 8. ULM 309-314—623
Individual Leaders
1. Stina Resen (UALR) 72-70—142, 2. Ines Fendt (ULM) 71-72—143, 3. Langley Vannoy (Troy) 76-69—145, 4. Lejan Lewthwaite (Texas State) 72-74—146, 5. Becca Horner (Troy) 77-71—148
Troy Individuals
3. Langley Vannoy 76-69—145, 5. Becca Horner 77-71—148, T7. Fátima Fernández Cano 74-76—150, T13. Sydney Conrad 74-78—152, T18. Taylor McGraw 78-76—154
PODCAST - Laura Fangmeyer
Friday, October 03
Clay Bounds - NCAA Championship Media Availability
Tuesday, May 20
Brantley Scott - Media Availability
Tuesday, May 20
Brantley Scott - NCAA Championship Preview
Tuesday, May 20