Cullowhee, N.C. – Two-time defending tournament champion Western Carolina women's golf and the event's defending individual medalist in WCU senior
Elizabeth Lohbauer open two days and 54 holes of competition at the Mimosa Hills Intercollegiate on Monday morning, hosted by Appalachian State at the par-72, 6,130-yard Mimosa Hills Golf and Country Club in Morganton, N.C.
Monday includes the opening two rounds of the tournament with 36 holes of continuous play opening with a 9 a.m. shotgun start. The event concludes Tuesday with the final round, opening with a 9:30 a.m. shotgun start.
Live scoring of each round is available through the Scoreboard app powered by Clippd.
In addition to the Catamounts and host Mountaineers, the 10-team field includes golfers from Gardner-Webb, North Carolina Central, North Carolina A&T, Presbyterian, Tennessee Tech, The Citadel, USC Beaufort, and Wofford. The field features 58 total golfers with eight playing unattached as individuals.
Paired with golfers from Tennessee Tech and North Carolina A&T, WCU's scoring five begins tournament play between holes No. 6-10 with the 9 a.m. shotgun start.
Lohbauer looks to defend her tournament title as she guides the Catamount scoring five and one individual into the competition this week. A senior from Venice, Fla., Lohbauer leads WCU with a seasonal stroke average of 75.50, 15th in the SoCon women's golf rankings. She looks to build upon her season-best finish of ninth place posted three times, most recently at the Puerto Rico Classic.
Lohbauer is flanked by junior
Sadler Miller as WCU's No. 2 seed, followed by freshmen
Ella Kozak and
Annalee Caveney as the third and fourth players. Sophomore transfer
Abby Bradley rounds out WCU's scoring five as the fifth seed. Kozak (78.32) ranks second on the Catamount squad and 32nd overall in the SoCon – the sixth-best freshman in the rankings, just ahead of Miller (79.27, 35th).
Catamount senior
Kaitlyn Wingnean will play unattached again this season, finishing tied for 29th at the event a season ago as an individual.
Western Carolina rallied from a six-stroke deficit and the runner-up spot in early April 2023, putting four golfers inside the individual top 10 to win the team championship by five strokes over Georgia Southern. Last year, led by individual medalist Lohbauer with a 2-over par 218 (72-77-69), the Catamounts edged Wofford by two strokes, 897-to-899, to successfully defend its tournament crown.
Mimosa Hills has been a relative home event for the Catamounts, who helped co-found the event under former head coach Steve Lott. WCU supports have flocked to the course over the years in support of the women's team and the Purple & Gold. Admission for spectators is free of charge.
Following this week's event in Morganton, the Catamounts turn their attention to the 2025 Southern Conference Women's Golf Championship to be held April 14-16, at the Solina Golf Club in West Columbia, S.C. The conference championship-winning team garners the league's automatic bid to a NCAA regional.
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).
