CHARLESTON, S.C. – Charleston Southern women's golf joins the rest of its league contemporaries this week at the Big South Championships as the No. 3 seed. The event begins with stroke play Wednesday and continues through Friday with the top-four schools advancing to Saturday's match play to determine the conference champion and automatic NCAA Regionals participant.
TOP-THREE SEED
The Bucs earned the No. 3 seed for the event, which takes into account the current GolfStat national rankings. CSU is No. 151 nationally, trailing No. 1 seed Campbell and No. 2 seed USC Upstate heading into the week's action.
ENGELBREDT HOLDING HER OWN
The top Buccaneers scores for the majority of the season have come off the clubs of
Caroline Engelbredt, who ranks highly among her conference peers. Her 74.71 stroke average and five Top-10 finishes, including a tie for seventh in the last event at the Golfweek/Any Given Tuesday Intercollegiate, March 28-30, are both among the Top 10 individuals throughout the league rankings.
SINGLETON SCORES BEST SINGLE ROUND
At that most recent tournament in Pawleys Island,
Libby Singleton carded a career-best 70 in the third round. It bettered a second-round 72 at the Briar's Creek Invitational earlier this spring and was her first career 18-hole total under par.
WHITEHOUSE STANDS ALONE
Charleston Southern has played in nine regular-season events since September but only one Bucs player has seen action in every one,
Erica Whitehouse. She's wrapping up her first season wearing the blue and gold this week and is averaging 78.19 strokes after a 13-over par 229 in the most recent outing on her way to tying for 26th among the 91 players.
FREEMAN IN TOP 20
A second Buccaneers name among the Top-20 Big South individuals is
Madison Freeman. She's high on the list thanks to her 76.67 stroke average, which parallels her results from the Golfweek/Any Given Tuesday Intercollegiate. She registered a 77-77-76 at the event on her way to tying for 32nd.
FRIBERG AIMS TO GO LOW
Isabell Friberg finalizes the field of the CSU players, this week. She'll be looking to get back consistently with multiple rounds in the 70s, a feat she last accomplished at the RiverTowne Invitational, the spring event of which the Bucs played host, February 28 and March 1. She's added three sub-80 scores since then, two in the Briar's Creek Invitational and another at the Golfweek/Any Given Tuesday Intercollegiate.
RETURN TO FAMILIAR GROUNDS
The Patriot at Grand Harbor golf course will play host to the tournament for the fifth-straight time, serving as the event's location since 2017 with the 2020 championship canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since that stretch, the top Buccaneers result was a fourth-place finish in 2018.
TITLE WINNERS
Charleston Southern is a six-time Big South champion, earning the crown in 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2008 and 2010. Patricia Martinson captured medalist honors in 1999 and 2000, while Olivia Jordan-Higgins added the most recent in 2010.
TOURNAMENT SPECIFICS
Dates: April 13-16
Course: The Patriot at Grand Harbor
Par/Yardage: 72/6,297 yards
Participating Teams (11): Campbell, Charleston Southern, Gardner-Webb, High Point, Longwood, North Carolina A&T, Presbyterian, Radford, UNC Asheville, USC Upstate, Winthrop
TOURNAMENT SEEDS (WITH NATIONAL RANKING)
1. Campbell (38)
2. USC Upstate (123)
3. Charleston Southern (151)
4. Gardner-Webb (174)
5. High Point (180)
6. Longwood (192)
7. UNC Asheville (197)
8. Winthrop (212)
9. Radford (225)
10. Presbyterian (241)
11. North Carolina A&T (NR)
