The Henderson State women’s and men’s golf teams claimed Great American Conference championship titles this week in Hot Springs, Ark. For the women’s team, the title is the first-ever conference title. For the men’s team, it marks the fist conference title since 1992, when Ken Duke was playing for the Reddies.
Entering the final round of the tournament tied with Arkansas Tech, the Lady Reddies posted a final round score of 305, six shots clear of the second-place Golden Suns.
After an opening round score of 303 on Sunday and a cancellation of Monday’s round, the teams were forced to play 36 holes Tuesday to complete the 54-hole event.
The Lady Reddies turned in a score of 318 in the morning round and were tied with the Golden Suns at 621.
Henderson State improved its Tuesday afternoon round by 13 strokes, with four Lady Reddies carding rounds in the 70’s to claim the title.
Kendall Earp turned in a round of 78 in the morning, but rebounded to post a 1-over par 73 in the afternoon overcoming a triple bogey early in the round. Earp finished tied for second-place with a 54-hole total of 227, one stroke behind tournament medalist Rebecka Surtevall of Arkansas Tech.
Erin Brown ended the tournament with a 233 total after rounds of 83 and 78 to place tied for fourth.
Earp and Brown were both named to the GAC All-Tournament Team. Earp ended the tournament with seven birdies and 32 pars, while Brown had a tournament best 33 pars.
Allyson Harris also finished in the top 10 for the Lady Reddies, finishing tied for seventh-place. Harris had a final score of 234 including rounds of 81 and 77 on Tuesday.
Katie Flinn finished in 11th-place after rounds of 81 and 77, finishing with a 237 total.
Katie Kilponen posted rounds of 78 and 81 on the par 72, 5,802-yard Hot Springs Country Club Park Course. Kilponen ended with a 54-hole total of 244 to finish in 18th place.
Henderson State, which began its women’s golf program in 2006, will next participate in the NCAA Central Regional the first week of May. The Lady Reddies were ranked sixth in the region prior to the GAC Championships and were ranked behind Arkansas Tech and Southwestern Oklahoma.
The top nine teams in the region will advance to regionals with the announcement of the nine participants announced late next week.
Henderson State’s Matt Jennings and Brice Howard earned all-tournament honors in helping lead the Reddies to the Great American Conference Men’s Golf Championship.
Forced to play 36 holes on Tuesday following the postponement of play on Monday, Jennings shot back-to-back rounds of 2-under par 70 on Tuesday to finish with a 54-hole total of 214. Jennings carded a 74 in the first round on Sunday, and finished the event as tournament runner-up.
The Prairie City, Iowa product totaled 13 birdies for the tournament.
Howard posted even-par rounds of 72 on Tuesday, after firing a round of 74 on Sunday. The product of Hot Springs, Ark. ended with a three-round total of 218 and tied for fourth-place.
The two were instrumental in leading Henderson State to its first conference golf championship since 1992.
The Reddies were part of the Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference when they last won a golf championship 22 years ago and were led by current professional golfer Ken Duke.
The Reddies turned in a record-setting performance with a three-day total of 10-over 874, 17 strokes better than previous GAC team total.
Henderson State held a three shot lead over Arkansas Tech after Sunday’s first round.
The Reddies pushed the lead to four strokes after the second-round on Tuesday morning after carding a team score of two-over par 290.
Henderson State stayed consistent and finished with a 291 while Arkansas Tech fired a 292 with the Reddies’ final margin of victory being five strokes.
Gil Debusscher also finished in the top 10 for the Reddies finishing tied for eighth after rounds of 72, 76 and 73 on the par 72, 6,713-yard Hot Springs Country Club Arlington Course.
Debusscher led the tournament with 39 pars.
Wess Webb and Joseph Hausberger also played a big part in the win for the Reddies as Webb finished tied for 18th and Hausberger was tied for 28th.
Webb had a round of 76 on Sunday, but his round of 72 Tuesday morning helped the Reddies increase their lead.
Hausberger opened with a 73 on Sunday, and posted rounds of 81 and 76 for a 230 total.
With the win, Henderson State receives the automatic bid to the NCAA Regionals the first week in May.