Clarksville, TN – For the first time in program history, the Austin Peay State University (APSU) women’s golf team tees it up at the NCAA Women’s Golf Regionals, Monday-Wednesday, at the Vanderbilt Legends Club in Franklin, Tennessee.
Wake Forest is the No. 1 seed in the Franklin Regional with Alabama, Texas A&M, Duke, Oregon State, Vanderbilt, BYU, Kent State, UTSA, Augusta, and Boston University joining the 12th-seeded Governors to make up the rest of the 12-team field.
The top four teams from each regional will advance to the National Championships, May 20-25, at the Raptor Course at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona. The top two individuals not on a team that advances to the championships will also qualify for the National Championships.
Senior Taylor Dedmen leads the Ohio Valley Conference Champions off the tee at the par-72, 6,450-yard North Course at the Vanderbilt Legends Club. An All-OVC and OVC All-Tournament selection, Dedmen has a 75.20 scoring average this season and has seen all 15 rounds she has played count towards the team score. The Plant City, Florida native was the only Governor to win an event this season, eagling the final hole at Southern Illinois’ Diane Daugherty Invite for her first collegiate victory.
OVC Freshman of the Year Erica Scutt is next on the tee box after leading Austin Peay State University with a third-place finish at the OVC Championship. Scutt leads the Governors with a 74.88 stroke average this season and has had a team-best 23 of 25 rounds count towards the team score. In just her first season at Austin Peay, the freshman from Alpharetta, Georgia has already carded two of the top-three 18-hole scores and three of the top-four 54-hole scores in program history.
All-OVC selection Shelby Darnell is next up for the Governors after a 17th-place finish at the conference championship. One of three APSU Govs to play all 25 rounds this season, Darnell has had 20 rounds –the second-most on the team – count towards the team score and has played to a 76.96 stroke average. The senior from Madisonville, Kentucky led Austin Peay in its regular-season finale, finishing tied for fourth at Murray State’s Jan Weaver Invitational.
An OVC All-Newcomer selection, freshman Kaley Campbell has also played in all 25 rounds for Austin Peay this season. Campbell has carded 19 rounds that have counted towards the team score and has played to a 77.84 average this season. The Ethridge, Tennessee product helped the Governors fire a seven-over 295 in the opening round of the OVC Championship, shooting a one-over 72 in her first postseason round.
Coming off of arguably her best performance of the season at the OVC Championship, graduate Riley Cooper rounds out the lineup for the Governors. The Clarksville native fired a 232 and finished tied for 12th at her final conference championship at The Fighting Joe. Cooper has shot a 78.53 average this season and has seen a dozen of her 19 rounds count towards Austin Peay’s score.
Due to a new rule that was adopted by the NCAA for women’s golf competition this season, Payton Elkins will serve as an alternate for the Governors at the NCAA Regionals, just as she did for the OVC Championship. Elkins is allowed to be subbed into any spot in Austin Peay State University’s lineup at the conclusion of the first or second round. The Valdosta, Georgia product has a 79.43 stroke average this season and finished tied for 29th at the Jan Weaver Invitational while competing as an individual in her last appearance.
Austin Peay State University is set to tee off on Monday at 8:55am, on the 10th hole at the Vanderbilt Legends Club. Tee times and pairings for the second and third rounds will be determined by the finish of the prior round. GolfStat.com will have live scoring for all three rounds of the event.
For news, updates, and results, follow the Austin Peay State University women’s golf team on Twitter and Instagram or check back at LetsGoPeay.com.
