West Columbia, S.C. – Trailed by a gallery of family and friends over the past three days, Western Carolina senior Elizabeth Lohbauer capped her Catamount career by maintaining her hold on third place over Wednesday's final 18 holes to complete her best finish at the conference-champion crowning event as play ended at the 2025 Southern Conference Women's Golf Championship at the par-72, 6,182-yard Solina Golf Club.
 
Furman rolled to the nine-stroke victory over Chattanooga (907) to win the 2025 SoCon Championship and garner the league's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The Paladins led throughout the tournament on the way to claiming their eighth title in the last 10 years and 21st women's golf championship all-time. Mercer finished third with a total of 918, with UNCG (921) and ETSU (928) rounding out the top five finishers.
 
WCU and Samford finished the 54 holes with matching scores of 943 to tie for sixth, followed by Wofford (944) and The Citadel (1,071) rounding out the nine-team field. WCU carded its lowest team round of the 54-hole tournament on Wednesday at 308, moving up two spots over the final round.
 
Individual event medalist and Pinnacle Award recipient Audrey Ryu of Furman led the other purple-clad squad to the title. Ryu was joined in the top 10 by teammate Alise Knudson, who finished sixth.
 
Lohbauer fired a final-round score of 2-over par 74 to complete a three-round total of 5-over par 221 to finish in the second runner-up position, five strokes off the pace. Her 54-hole tally of 221 marked her best three-round score at the conference championship, while the third-place showing was two spots ahead of her fifth-place finish back in 2022 as a true freshman.
 
Opening on the back nine, Lohbauer had a quiet final round, countering three bogeys with her fifth birdie of the event among her first nine holes. The Venice, Fla., product was 1-under par through three holes with a bogey at the par-3 12th. Consecutive bogeys on No. 13 and 14 relegated her to 1-over par, where she remained through the turn. Her third bogey came on her 10th hole of the day before she finished with eight-straight pars to close the day.
 
WCU's first-round leader, junior Sadler Miller, came home 14th in her second trip to the conference championship. The Clayton, N.C., product countered six bogeys with a dozen pars, with seven coming over her final nine holes on the front. Miller finished with six combined birdies.
 
True freshman Ella Kozak advanced five spots to finish 20th overall, her third-best individual showing of her rookie campaign. The Saskatchewan, Canada, native carded a birdie on both the front and back nines to counter five bogeys, three coming on the back nine alone.
 
All told, Lohbauer and Kozak finished first and second, respectively, in par-3 scoring, with Lohbauer shooting even-par (3.00) and Kozak in second at 1-over par (3.07). Tied for fourth with 33 pars in the event, Lohbauer also finished fourth in par-5, scoring at 4-under par (4.73), the only golfer to card multiple eagles, doing so in the first and second rounds. Kozak gave WCU a second golfer with an eagle, as just six golfers carded an eagle.
 
Rounding out the scoring five, first-year head coach Anne Marie Covar mixed her lineup over the three-day event. Freshman Annalee Caveney bookended the event in the field with an 89 in the opening round before improving by eight strokes with an 81 on Wednesday. Senior Kaitlyn Wingnean played for WCU in the first two rounds with 90 on Monday and 93 on Tuesday, with sophomore transfer Abby Bradley playing the final two rounds with scores of 88 and 87.
 
The tournament's conclusion marks the end of the 2024-25 season for the Western Carolina women's golf team. The Catamounts posted six Top 10 finishes as a team on the year, including a season-best fourth-place showing at The Robbie, hosted by Lipscomb at the RTJ Hampton Cove in Huntsville, Ala.
 
It also marks the conclusion of the collegiate playing careers of both Elizabeth Lohbauer and Canadian-born striker Kaitlyn Wingnean.
   
2025 Southern Conference Women's Golf Championship
Solina GC – West Lexington, S.C. – Par 72, 6,182 yds
 
1 – Furman – 295 – 305 – 298 = 898 (+34)
2 – Chattanooga – 306 – 303 – 298 = 907 (+43)
3 – Mercer – 312 – 303 = 918 (+54)
4 – UNCG – 303 – 314 – 304 = 921 (+57)
5 – ETSU – 312 – 307 – 309 = 928 (+64)
T6 – Western Carolina – 314 – 321 – 308 = 943 (+79)
T6 – Samford – 317 – 311 – 315 = 943 (+79)
8 – Wofford – 311 – 310 – 323 = 944 (+80)
9 – The Citadel – 356 – 361 - 357 = 1,071 (+207)
 
T6 – Western Carolina – 314 – 321 – 308 = 943  (+79)
3 – Elizabeth Lohbauer – 76 – 71 – 74 = 221 (+5)
14 – Sadler Miller – 73 – 80 – 75 = 231 (+15)
T20 – Ella Kozak – 76 – 82 – 75 = 233 (+17)
44 – Annalee Caveney – 89 – N/A – 81 = 170 (+17 – 36 holes)
45 – Abby Bradley – N/A – 88 – 87 = 175 (+31 – 36 holes)
46 – Kaitlyn Wingnean – 90 – 93 – N/A = 183 (+39 – 36 holes)