HARTSVILLE, S.C. --- The Tusculum University women's golf team heads to the Palmetto State this week for the 2022 South Atlantic Conference Championship in Hartsville, South Carolina. The three-day, 54-hole tournament is being held at the Hartsville Country Club and hosted by Coker University.
The championship begins on Sunday, followed by 18-hole rounds on Monday and Tuesday. The winner of the SAC Championship will earn an automatic berth to next month's NCAA Division II Regional in Davie, Florida.
The Pioneers have enjoyed a solid season thus far where they have recorded three team tournament titles, winning at the King Invitational, CBU Buccaneer Classic and the Agnes McAmis Memorial Tournament.
Leading the charge for Tusculum is sophomore Nilubol Panno. Panno has a 77.75 stroke average while recording four top-10 finishes including individual tournament titles at the King Invitational and the McAmis Memorial.
In her 20 competitive rounds this season, she has recorded 14 rounds in the 70s including a career-low 70 (-2) in the final round of the McAmis Memorial. She birdied the 18th hole to force a three-way playoff at the McAmis and won medalist honors on the second extra hole. She landed her 120-yard approach shot to within five inches of the cup for a tap-in birdie and the victory.
This spring, the Phuket, Thailand native posted back-to-back seventh finishes at the CBU Buccaneer Classic and the Bobby Nichols Intercollegiate. In her inaugural SAC Championship last year, she shot 81-84-78=243 to finish 31st.
Panno's career stroke average of 77.60 is currently the third-lowest in program history. She has won three tournament medals in her career, which are the third-most by a Pioneer.
Senior Olivia Cunningham will be competing in her third SAC Championship event. She is tied for second on the team with her 78.65 scoring average. The Nashville, Tennessee native has finished five top-20 finishes to her credit this year including three times in the top-five, earning All-Tournament honors at the Patsy Rendleman Invitational, CBU Buccaneer Classic and the McAmis Memorial.
Cunningham has recorded 12 rounds in the 70s including her last eight in a row entering this week's SAC Championship. She posted a 36-hole tournament best 74-70=144 (E) at the Rendleman Invitational, which is tied for the third lowest two-round score in program history.
Cunningham finished 21st at the SAC Championship in her rookie season and notched a 31st place showing at last year's tournament (2020 SAC Championship was canceled due to the COVID pandemic).
She has accounted for 17 career top-20 finishes including nine times in the top-10 and eight in the top-five. Her 78.72 career scoring average is sixth in the TU record book while her 65 rounds played are the 18th-most by a Pioneer.
Senior Hannah Brown is also tied for second on the team with her 78.65 stroke average. The San Tan Valley, Arizona native has accounted for four top-20 finishes including twice in the top-10 including a runner-up showing at the CBU Buccaneer Classic with 78-77-76=231. This season, she has posted 12 rounds in the 70s including a career-low 74 in the final round of the Jekyll Island Intercollegiate where she finished ninth.
Brown's only SAC Championship appearance came at last year's tournament where she finished 26th with 80-80-81=241.
During her three-year career with the Pioneers, Brown has a 79.51 scoring average which is eighth-best in program history. She has finished in the top-20 on nine occasions, including four times in the top-10 and twice in the top-five.
Junior Sofie Lorentzen (Aarhus, Denmark) has been the hottest Pioneer entering her first-ever SAC Championship. She is averaging 75.00 strokes per round in her last two tournaments, resulting in a pair of top-10 finishes. She finished fourth at the McAmis Memorial with 74-76=150 and followed with an impressive seventh-place showing at the Bearcat Invitational with 74-76=150.
She has a seasonal average of 79.50 and has tallied 11 rounds in the 70s including five in a row entering the SAC Championship. Her best round of 74 has been achieved three times this year.
Rounding out the starting-five for Tusculum is redshirt freshman Braelyn Pippin. The Waxhaw, North Carolina native has an 80.72 stroke average which includes three top-20 outings including twice in the top-10. Her five rounds in the 70s includes a season-best 77 in the final round of the King Invitational where she finished seventh. She also tied for 10th place at the McAmis Memorial and placed 12th at the CBU Buccaneer Classic.
The Pioneers won the first two SAC Women's Golf Championships held by the league in 2000 and 2001. Tusculum finished runner-up at the 2013 and 2017 league championships.
