By Mike Albanese
The Alabama women’s golf team rallied past Vanderbilt University en route to capturing its first Southeastern Conference Championship in the program’s history last weekend at North River Country Club in Tuscaloosa.
They edged the Commodores by four strokes, finishing 4-under-par 848 as Vanderbilt finished at an even-par 852.
“I am ecstatic to be able to say that I’m a part of this team and program to pull through a SEC Championship,” said sophomore Brooke Pancake. “It’s somewhat of a breakthrough for us. We know that we have this immense potential, and this is kind of our breaking point, and it’s only up from here. We’re very excited. It feels good.”
The Tide’s charge to the title began on Saturday in the second round when Alabama jumped from having a share of sixth place at 3-over par to being tied with Vanderbilt for the lead at 6-under par by the end of the round. The team’s combined score from round two of 278 is tied for the best single-round score in SEC Championship history and set a new Tide record for single-round score.
Pancake shot a 5-under par 66 in the round and finished tied for fifth with a 2-under par 211 for the tournament. Junior Camilla Lennarth shot a 3-under par 68 and came up with eagles on holes 14 and 15 to lead a charge, which saw the Tide jump up the leaderboard.
Senior Rhea Nair came up with a clutch performance for the Tide on Saturday, shooting a 1-over par 72.
Head coach Mic Potter said the end of the front-nine on Saturday was when he saw the team getting opportunities. Even though they didn’t capitalize, it took pressure off their games knowing they were getting good chances.
Going into the final round, the Tide received stellar performances from freshman Jennifer Kirby who shot a 3-under par 68 and senior Helena Blomberg, who finished 2-under par with a 69 for the round and shot the best 54-hole tournament of her career with a one-under 212 for the weekend.
“I started little uneasy, but I managed to put it together,” Kirby said. “I had an eagle on 10 and a birdie on 12. I knew it mattered today because we were so close to the lead, so I just tried to keep it together and take one for the team.”
Closing in on the final three holes, the Tide and Vanderbilt were tied for the lead at 3-under par. Potter said the next two holes were pivotal.
On those holes, Vanderbilt posted a triple-bogey on 16, which sent the Tide on its way to its first SEC Championship.
Lennarth finished the tournament in style by making par on her final three holes to secure the title for Alabama.
“It’s one of, if not the best, golf conference in the county, and to be the champion of it is a tremendous honor,” Potter said. “The SEC Championships are big to us, big to our athletic department and it’s a goal that our team has had all year. It’s a goal accomplished.”
Next on the slate for the Tide will be the NCAA Regionals May 6-8. The site for this event is still to be determined.
