CLEVELAND, Tenn.– The Lincoln Memorial Women's Golf team found themselves winning back-to-back tournaments for the fourth time since 2008 with a win at The City with Spirit Fall Classic (Sept. 14-15).
The Railsplitters landed three in the top-ten, with Ruby McLellan shooting even par (72-72-72) tied for 2nd place to lead the Railsplitters for the tournament. Ruby was followed by Reese Rexroat who tied for seventh place at four-over par (71-77-72) and Millie Russell whose five-over par (73-71-77) landed her tied for ninth place. Outside of the top-ten, newcomer Olivia Holyoak-Church found herself at 13-over par (78-70-81) and tied for 26th place, with Joy Aspetaki rounding out the Railsplitters at 21-over par (85-82-70) and a T-55th place finish.
As a team Lincoln Memorial found themselves up early, concluding the first round ahead at 6-over par. Just behind the Railsplitters was the University of North Georgia at 11-over, followed by Lee University, Union University, and Erskine College all tied at the third-place spot with 13-over par each. A strong second round surge kept the Railsplitters in the lead, thanks to strong performances by Olivia Holyoak-Church who shot two-under (70), and Millie Russell who shot one-under par (71), allowing the Railsplitters to only shoot 2-over par as a team for the round, and 8-over at the end of the first day of the tournament. Lincoln Memorial and Lander University were the only two teams to shoot single-digits in the second round.
The third round ended with Joy Aspetaki finding her footing, shooting two-under (70) to go along with Ruby McLellan and Reese Rexroat who both shot even par (72) in the third to keep the Railsplitters in front. The Railsplitters ended with a total team score of 11-over par, 17 strokes ahead of the 2nd place team North Georgia at 28-over par, and 27 strokes ahead of 3rd place Columbus State University at 38-over par.
When asked about the win, head coach Brad Robinson said, "I'm incredibly proud of this team and what they've accomplished these last two weeks. Winning back-to-back tournaments is a great reflection of the hard work, belief, and commitment they've shown, and it's exciting to see that translate into results. At the same time, we know there are still things we need to clean up and areas where we can continue to get better. Now it's important for us to reset, reflect on these last two weeks, learn, and then get back to work. We'll enjoy this moment, but our focus has to remain on continuing to develop and putting ourselves in the best position to be successful down the road."
The Lady Railsplitters have a break before the next time they're back in action at the LeeAnn Noble Memorial hosted by North Georgia, from Oct. 12-13 at Achasta Golf Club in Dahlonega, Ga.
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