GULFPORT, Fla. — The Catawba College women's golf team embarks on its first tournament of the 2025-26 season this week, spending Monday and Tuesday at the Eckerd Invitational hosted at Pasadena Yacht & Country Club in the Sunshine State.
The Team
- The Catawba Indians come into the season with plenty of experience on the roster as demonstrated by their six returners and no newcomers
- Last year, the squad struggled in the fall slate before turning the corner at the semester break, earning two podiums with a fifth-place finish at the South Atlantic Conference Championship
- Mary-Paige King, Rachel Carlson and Sara Kristinsdottir suit up in blue and white again after posting sub-80 stroke averages in 2024-25
- Taya Buxton competed in the PGA WORKS Collegiate Championship as an individual in May
- Hannah Waddell and Valentina Moran return following productive freshman campaigns
The Lineup (2024-25 rankings and stats)
1. Mary-Paige King (#191, 77.31 stroke average)
2. Rachel Carlson (#167, 77.83 stroke average)
3. Sara Kristinsdottir (#303, 78.65 stroke average)
4. Hannah Waddell (#777, 85.21 stroke average)
5. Taya Buxton (#538, 81.62 stroke average)
The Field
- Catawba is among 14 teams in the field that features five top-10 programs per the latest Mizuno WGCA Coaches Poll released on Sept. 5
- Anderson and Wingate, slotted second and third with both receiving first-place votes, are both the highest-ranked and the only other SAC squads in attendance
- Wingate's Amely Bochaton is the most well-regarded player in the tournament as the top-ranked Division II golfer comes off a rookie year worthy of WGCA National Player and Freshman of the Year accolades; she was named SAC Golfer of the Week last Thursday
- PYCC, which celebrated its centennial in 2024, has played host to multiple PGA and LPGA Tour events as well as sports icons Arnold Palmer, Babe Ruth and Michael Jordan
Follow Along
- Action begins tomorrow at 9 a.m.
- Live scoring is available on SCOREBOARD by Clippd
