TMU Athletics
Joan Suggs, Director of Athletic Communications and Marketing
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – For the first time in school history, the No. 22 Truett McConnell University women’s golf team is headed to the NAIA National Championships on May 25-28 at the Rose Creek Golf Course in Oklahoma City, Okla.
The Lady Bears are one of two teams representing the Appalachian Athletic Conference, including AAC front runner No. 12 Milligan University. TMU is set to tee off at 1:45 p.m. (CST) on Tuesday and 8:45 a.m. (CST), on Wednesday.
“Words cannot express how excited I am for the ladies,” Head Coach Steve Patton said. “Teagan, Kiley, and Faith have been an integral part of our ascension over the last few years and the addition of Grace and Madi to this group helped us reach this milestone together. Several other ladies in our program, including senior Lillian Goff, have contributed to our success by pushing these top 5 players to stay sharp and focused and giving them tremendous competition to make them better in qualifying.
“This success truly started several years ago with alumni from our program laying the groundwork to where we are today. I am so excited to be able to reach a goal I gave to these seniors when I recruited them that if they buy into our vision and work hard, a top 25 National Ranking and a berth in the National Championship was possible. This has truly been an amazing season and we still have one more ride out together! The Lord has been with us every step of the way this season and we have truly been blessed!”
TMU’s five-man roster will include Teagan Lovingood, Kiley Blackburn, Faith Reddick, Grace Lansdell and Madison Panter. In case you missed it, the Lady Bears have had the most historical season in program history as they cracked the NAIA national top 25 for the first time ever. According to Golfstat, the Lady Bears rank 19th in the NAIA team rankings, which is also the highest ever. TMU finished in the top five in all but two of their 11 tournaments, including the program’s first-ever tournament win in September at the Point Fall Invitational when the Lady Bears shot a 623 as a team. Another one of TMU’s most notable performances was the Music City Invitational in October when the Lady Bears defeated three nationally-ranked opponents.
Additionally, three Lady Bears rank in the top 150 in Golfstat’s NAIA player rankings. Lovingood ranks 111th with an adjusted scoring average of 81.33, while Lansdell ranks 138th with an adjusted scoring average of 82.24. Fellow freshman Panter ranks 140th with an adjusted scoring average of 82.61.