The No. 12 nationally-ranked women’s team earned first place overall behind sophomore Lauren Huddleston’s SCAC record-breaking performance, marking five consecutive conference titles.
The 2025 SCAC Championships took place from April 13 to April 15 at the White Bluff Golf Course in Whitney, TX. Women’s golf led the tournament with an eight-shot advantage over Southwestern University upon the conclusion of the first day on the green. Trinity did not look back, extending their lead significantly after the second day to 40 strokes to comfortably claim the title on the third and final day of competition.
Women’s golf had performed well throughout the 2024-2025 season, winning three tournaments in the regular season. Prior to the SCAC tournament, Shelby DeVore, women’s head golf coach and assistant director of golf, emphasized her confidence in her team’s chances.
“I can definitely tell we’ve improved from our first practice in mid-January until now,” DeVore said. “Overall, it’s been a great spring. We just had our second win of the spring. We’ve played three events and we won two, so I can’t complain about that. We’re feeling really good about going into SCAC.”
DeVore stated that the biggest challenge at this point of the season had been keeping her players healthy and rested. DeVore emphasized the importance of self-care for student athletes.
“We’re getting tired, school’s getting harder,” DeVore said. “It’s right when our biggest tournaments are coming up … The biggest challenge is just making sure we’re taking care of ourselves, we’re getting enough sleep, we’re getting our schoolwork done but then we’re showing up at the course and we’re focusing on what needs to get done.”
Senior team captain Kate Schulle also expressed confidence heading into the tournament. Schulle in particular noted the team’s ability to climb the ranks throughout the season.
“We’ve showed out pretty well,” Schulle said. “We jumped from 24 to 14 in national rankings, so we’ve gone up a significant amount within the season. I think we have a strong, competitive group that’s ready to head into SCAC with a lot of motivation.”
The SCAC tournament was Schulle’s first time competing at a conference championship. In her outing, Schulle’s individual score was 264, placing her 12th overall out of 38 players.
Sophomore Lauren Huddleston earned her first individual win of her career after a historic performance, ranking first with an individual score of 239. Her low even-par score of 72 in the second round is the lowest second-round score recorded in SCAC history.
Huddleson discussed what it was like to break a major record that complemented her first win.
“It’s just been really exciting,” Huddleston said. “It’s kinda cool. People on campus who I haven’t really ever spoke to or know super well are congratulating me. It’s fun, and it’s also fun that it’s a team win, too, so it’s like we all get to share the success and the celebration and not just myself.”
Huddleston also credits the team’s recent SCAC success to maintaining a consistent schedule Coach DeVore has implemented for her players. Part of the schedule pertains to daily practicing and consistent play on the course.
“Just getting that on-the-course feel rather than just being on the driving range I think helps get us … better prepared,” Huddleston said.
With their SCAC win, the women’s team has clinched a NCAA tournament berth and will compete for a national championship in Williamsburg, VA from May 13 to May 16.
