Julie McCarthy helps Auburn to SEC title

Julie McCarthy

Forrest Little’s Julie McCarthy was smiling again as she helped Auburn capture the Southeastern Conference title for the first time since 2012.

The Tigers swept Mississippi State, 5-0-0, in Sunday's match play final to capture the 10th conference title in programme history and first under head coach Melissa Luellen.

"I'm so incredibly proud of the entire group," Luellen said. "Our whole team, all 10 of them, were out here to support. This year has truly been a group effort, and they just had so much poise and maturity to be able to flip all those matches around. I'm just excited."

"It feels unbelievable," senior Kaleigh Telfer said. "This has been a goal of all of us here, and finally all the work has paid off. We're SEC champions."

Telfer and Megan Schofill were the first to win their matches before Brooke Sansom, Mychael O'Berry and Elena Hualde Zúñiga completed a 5-0 win.

The victory caps a week at the SEC Championship where Auburn finished third in stroke play at 25-under and then won matches against Vanderbilt and Alabama in the quarterfinals and semifinals before taking down Mississippi State in the final.

McCarthy had did not made the Auburn team since October but after playing in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, she played three qualifying rounds in stroke play qualifying for the SEC Championship at at Greystone Golf and Country Club, carding rounds of 73, 72 and 74 to finish tied 48th individually as Auburn qualified in third place.

She lost 4&2 as Auburn overcame Vandy in the quarter-finals but did not play in the semi-final win over Alabama or in the title decider against Mississippi State.

"It's been a lot of hard work by a lot of people," added Luellen. "From Kim Hall to Andrew Pratt to all of our former players. This is the Auburn Family and the history of the programme – these girls represent the Auburn golf program. We just want to do it with class and dignity and do it the right way. I'm a very proud coach."

Result

Match Play Results – Final
Auburn def. Mississippi State, 5-0-0
Kaleigh Telfer (AU) def. Abbey Daniel (MSU), 1-UP
Megan Schofill (AU) def. Ashley Gilliam (MSU), 1-UP
Brooke Sansom (AU) def. Clara Moyano (MSU), 1-UP
Mychael O'Berry (AU) def. Blair Stockett (MSU), 2&1
Elena Hualde Zúñiga def. Hannah Levi (MSU), 3&2