The men’s and women’s golf and tennis teams both competed in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) championships last week. Both tennis teams took first place, while men’s and women’s golf teams fell short of the title.
On Friday, April 20, the men’s tennis team headed to the Air Force Academy to take on Centenary College of Louisiana for the SCAC championships. The Tigers defeated Centenary quickly with a 5–0 sweep to advance to the semi-finals. They continued on to the championships for the ninth consecutive year after defeating Austin College 5–1 with clutch performances from Wilson Hamilton and doubles duo Wilson Lambeth and Jordan Pitts.
Lambeth was proud of his team’s ability to overcome adversity over the weekend.
“We really came together and played well. The conditions were different, but we were able to keep each other motivated. It’s always exciting to win the SCAC — that’s where all of our hard work pays off,” Lambeth said.
The Tigers moved on to play Southwestern where they clinched their ninth consecutive SCAC championship with a 5–0 win. All of the Tiger duos earned doubles victories, and first-year Jace Akagi-Okuma had a solid day in singles, notching his 14th consecutive singles win.
On Saturday, April 21, the women’s tennis team demolished Colorado College in the semifinals of the SCAC championship 5–0. The win was truly a team effort, as many Tigers notched up wins, including Caroline Kutach, Ashley DeBauge, Zoe Kaffen, Mary Kaffen, Cheyenne Duncan, Marie Lutz and Andrea De Leon.
The Tigers moved on to the championships where they faced Southwestern University. This was the second consecutive year the two teams met for SCAC title, and the Tigers immediately took control with Kutach and Duncan capturing the first doubles point. The team clinched a 5–0 victory to earn their seventh straight SCAC championship.
Duncan was extremely proud of her team’s performance but was quick to note that this is just the beginning for the team.
“This year’s group of girls are the most hardworking group I’ve seen in my four years here, so I am really excited to see where we go from here. While winning conference is a blast and extremely rewarding, we have bigger goals in mind, so I’m anxious to keep our season going,” Duncan said.
The men’s and women’s tennis teams now wait for an official bid for the NCAA championships.
On April 23 and 24, the men’s and women’s golf teams headed to The Woodlands for the SCAC championships.
Both teams moved up and down in the standings throughout the two days of competition.
The women’s team was tied for first place in the second round, but came up short in a playoff and finished second. The Tigers were led by Elizabeth McGillivray and Emilee Strausburg, who both tied for sixth place.
Shelby DeVore placed 14th and helped round out the Tigers in the top 20. DeVore believed her team’s constant work ethic shined throughout the season.
“In Phoenix, we had so much fun hanging out with each other, and even though we didn’t play well the first day, we were able to come back the second. Being able to rally like that showed us how great of a team we truly are,” Devore said.
The men’s golf team finished fifth with a team score of 310, led by performances from Corbin Cormier and Redmond Lyons. Cormier finished the tournament with a 227 total score and earned All-SCAC first team honors. Lyons shot a 231 and earned a spot on the All-SCAC second team.
The baseball, softball and track & field teams will continue to compete in the SCAC championships this weekend.
