Defeats Texas A&M to take Eastlake Cup
ATLANTA – Auburn ended its fall season on a winning note after completing a sweep of Texas A&M in the match play finals at the 2022 East Lake Cup.
Redshirt freshman Casey Weidenfeld went out first for the Tigers and won her match over Zoe Slaughter 3&1, on the strength of three birdies.
Freshman Rachel Gourley captured her first match play victory at Auburn, defeating Haliee Cooper 6&5 and closed out the match by winning three consecutive holes.
The East Lake Cup was clinched by junior Elina Sinz on the 16th hole. Sinz parred the par-4 to seal her 3&2 victory over Jennie Park and the title for the Tigers. Sinz also recorded a hole out for eagle on the third hole.
“This win just proves how hard we’ve been working all fall,” Sinz said after her match. “To close out the fall with a win and show off what we are able to do is great.”
Junior Anna Foster and senior Megan Schofill did not have to finish their matches after the Tigers had already won three points.
Foster was leading Blanca Fernandez Garcia-Poggio 4-up when her match ended on the 15th tee box. Foster had five birdies, including three straight on 12, 13 and 14.
Schofill was also 4-up over Adela Cernousek when her match ended through 12 holes.
“These girls really dug in an really wanted it,” Auburn head coach Melissa Luellen said after the victory. “I can’t tell you how proud we all are of our younger players like Casey [Weidenfeld] who led us off. Elina [Sinz] really played well and our freshman Rachel [Gourley] struggled this week, won big today. For three of our youngest players to win one, two, three was amazing.”
The East Lake Cup concludes the fall season for the Tigers, as the next event on the schedule will be the Nexus Collegiate Feb. 13-15 in New Providence, Bahamas.
Volunteers Needed for LPGA Q-Series
The LPGA Tour’s 2022 Q-Series will take place on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail. The Q-Series is the third and final stage of the LPGA Qualifying Tournament and determines playing status for the 2023 LPGA Tour season. The eight rounds of final qualifying are played over two events held on consecutive weeks, with players competing for a $150,000 purse and status on the LPGA Tour.
The first week of competition will be held at RTJ Magnolia Grove in Mobile from November 28-December 4, while the second week will be staged at RTJ Highland Oaks in Dothan from December 5-11.
From hospitality to marshalling to scoring, it takes nearly 300 volunteers to run the Q-Series events.
For questions, please contact Bonnie Coleman atbcoleman@rtjgolf.com.
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Featured image: Auburn’s 2022 women’s team courtesy of Auburn Athletics
