AUBURN, Ala. – The Auburn women's golf team enters this year's SEC Championship as the defending champion. The Tigers advanced through to match play last year and won three straight matches to clinch the 10th SEC title in program history.
That was last year. This year, it's not about looking back but rather looking forward.
"Last year was a wonderful memory and you take those good memories, but we feel like we have a lot to prove this year," Auburn head coach Melissa Luellen said. "We haven't really played to our potential yet, and I think that's really more on the girls' mind than defending. It's about going out there and just playing good golf."
Three of the five Tigers in the lineup this year played in last year's SEC Championship. All three – Megan Schofill, Mychael O'Berry and Kaleigh Telfer – finished under par in the stroke play portion last year and posted 54-hole scores that rank among the top five all-time at Auburn in the tournament's history. O'Berry's 66 (-6) in the second round a year ago was the lowest round in program history at the SEC Championship.
The trio will be joined this year by sophomores Anna Foster and Elina Sinz who will both be making their SEC Championship debut. Foster and Sinz finished second and third respectively at the Auburn Individual last week behind Telfer who won the event.
Senior Julie McCarthy will also be traveling with the team and can be subbed into the lineup between rounds or between matches during the match play portion.
Repeating won't be easy. The Tigers come in ranked No. 20 nationally per Golfstat, which is seventh highest among SEC teams. South Carolina (3), Alabama (9) and Florida (10) are all ranked in the top 10, and nine teams are ranked in the top 25.
"We're seeded 7th out of 14, and the top eight make it to match play," Luellen said. "It's the strongest conference out there. We've just got to start strong from the very beginning."
All 14 teams will play three rounds of stroke play, beginning Wednesday, and the top eight teams will advance to match play Saturday. The tournament will once again be held at the Legacy Course at Greystone Golf and Country Club in Birmingham, Alabama.
Auburn will be the first group to tee off Wednesday at 8 a.m. CT. The Tigers will be paired with No. 22 Kentucky and No. 23 Ole Miss. Live scoring can be found on golfstat.com.
LINEUP
1. Anna Foster
2. Megan Schofill
3. Elina Sinz
4. Mychael O'Berry
5. Kaleigh Telfer
LAST TIME OUT
Telfer, Foster and Sinz finished 1-2-3 at the Auburn Individual, the final tune-up before the SEC Championship. It was the second individual victory of the season for Telfer who shot 5-under with rounds of 70 and 69 to clinch the title. Foster and Sinz also finished under par.
Schofill and O'Berry did not take part in the Auburn Individual because they played in the Augusta National Women's Amateur.
Auburn returns to defend title at SEC Championship
