Cullowhee, N.C. – Carrying momentum from its seventh team victory over the past three seasons in the squad's final tune-up tournament of the 2023-24 season at the Mimosa Hills Intercollegiate, the Western Carolina women's golf team now sets its sights on the program's third Southern Conference title as play opens Sunday at the 2024 SoCon Women's Golf Championship.
 
Three rounds spread over three days at the par-72, 6,036-yard South Course at the Moss Creek Golf Club on Hilton Head Island, S.C., await the Catamounts and accompanying eight teams in the nine-squad field vying for the tournament crown. The winning team collects the SoCon's automatic bid to the NCAA regional field with the individual medalist also earning an automatic regional qualification if not on the championship-winning team.
 
Live scoring through GolfStat will be available for each round online through a link at CatamountSports.com.
 
In what has been a highly competitive season in the SoCon in 2023-24, eight of the nine Southern Conference teams have recorded a podium finish including six with at least one team championship during the regular season. Seven individual competitors in the league have won individual medalist honors.
 
WCU has two team championships in 2023-24, sharing team champion honors with SoCon-foe Samford at the weather-shortened Oyster Shuck Match Play before edging another league member Wofford to win the Mimosa Hills Intercollegiate stroke-play tournament. Two Catamounts have also won individual medalist honors, both securing SoCon Women's Golfer of the Week plaudits following their wins. Sophomore Brie Mapanao was victorious in the fall-concluding Terrier Intercollegiate in late October, while junior Elizabeth Lohbauer most recently claimed the hardware at Mimosa Hills.
 
Mapano concluded the regular season ranked tied for sixth in the conference in seasonal stroke average at 73.46 – a scoring average that would usurp her school-record, single-season mark of 73.63 carded a year ago as a freshman. In addition to her medalist honors, the Australian-born striker recorded four Top 10 showings including a runner-up finish at the Jupiter Women's Invitational.
 
Lohbauer ranks 10th in the SoCon's seasonal scoring ledgers with an average of 74.25 per round, the fourth-best seasonal mark in program history. Including her four-stroke win at Mimosa Hills, the Venice, Fla., product tallied three Top Five finishes through the regular season.
 
Mapanao, who finished tied for 10th at the 2023 SoCon Championship, and Lohbauer, who placed in a tie for fifth back in 2022 in her debut at the champion-crowning event, lead the Catamount scoring five on to the course nicknamed the "Devil's Elbow" at Moss Creek. The duo is flanked by fifth-year senior Victoria Ladd (76.88, 34th), sophomore Sadler Miller (77.24, 38th), and redshirt junior Kayleigh Baker (77.29, 39th).
 
Tied for 26th a season ago, Ladd posted her best finish at the conference championship as a junior in 2021-22, placing in a tie for 15th. Baker makes her second appearance in the conference's postseason-determining tournament, finishing tied for 21st in 2021-22. Miller, who has played in 21 rounds this season, makes her debut in the conference championship. The Clayton, N.C., product enters the weekend following her career-best finish, placing in a second-place tie at Mimosa.
 
Four of WCU's five golfers – all but sophomore Miller – have experience in the SoCon Championship tournament.
 
Led by the SoCon Player of the Year and individual medalist Anna Morgan, Furman put four among the top 13 finishers to cruise to a 19-stroke victory over runner-up Mercer and third-place Western Carolina at last year's championship at the Moss Creek South course. The Paladins are the two-time defending champion after winning the 2022 SoCon title at Barefoot Landing Resort's Dye Golf Course in North Myrtle Beach, S.C.
 
The Catamounts became just the second SoCon program to win the women's golf title back in 2003 in Waynesville, halting a string of nine-straight team titles by Furman. Brandy Andersen earned WCU's only individual medalist honor at the tournament for the WCU Hall of Fame 2002-03 squad. The Catamounts also claimed the 2007 championship in Mt. Pleasant, S.C. WCU has twice had the runner-up individual finisher as Ashley Hovda (2005) and Bianca Melone (2006) both recorded second-place finishes.
 
All told, only five programs have claimed SoCon Women's Golf Championships dating back to 1994 with defending event champion, Furman, leading the way with 20 team championships including seven of the last eight crowns. Chattanooga has won five titles, each coming in succession between 2010 and 2014, and all coming at Moss Creek. WCU is third with two championships (2003, 2007), with ETSU winning its first-ever women's golf title in 2021 and former league-member College of Charleston winning in 2006.
 
Complete results will be made available after play concludes each round through SoConSports.com and CatamountSports.com.
 
Keep track of everything related to Catamount women's golf and WCU Athletics through its social media outlets on Facebook (fb.com/catamountsports), Instagram (@wcu_catamounts), and Twitter (@catamounts, @CatamountWGolf).
 
Tournament Field (NCAA Ranking) – SoCon Scoring Avg.:
Furman (No. 62) – 291.89 (1st)
Chattanooga (No. 79) – 292.81 (2nd)
Mercer (No. 84) – 296.67 (3rd)
ETSU (No. 124) – 299.50 (5th)
Samford (No. 127) – 300.30 (6th)
Western Carolina (No. 143) – 299.00 avg. (4th)
UNCG (No. 152) – 301.58 (7th)
Wofford (No. 184) – 304.83 (8th)
The Citadel (No. 267) – (9th)