Individually, freshman Kaylee Dwyer earned medalist honors with a 4-under 140. It marked Dwyer's first career victory. She posted a 3-under 69 in the first round, thanks to five birdies, then a 1-under 71 in the second round with four more birdies.
NOTABLES
- The win over No. 18 Vanderbilt marked the highest ranked opponent WKU has ever beaten in program history. The previous record was No. 26 Florida, who WKU defeated earlier this spring at the Reynolds Lake Oconee Invitational. The Lady Tops also defeated No. 31 Tennessee on Monday.
- The victory marked head coach Adam Gary's 14th career win, extending his record as winningest coach in program history.
- The win was Kaylee Dwyer's first career victory. She is the second Lady Topper to win a tournament this season, joining Catie Craig (2024 Cardinal Cup).
- Only four individuals finished under par, with WKU registering two of those marks (Dwyer, -4; Hackett, -2).
- The fourth-place finish was Hackett's fifth Top-4 finish of the season. She has a runner-up, two third-place marks and two fourth-place finishes this year.
- WKU led the field in Par 3 scoring (+1), Par 4 scoring (+16) and was second in Par 5 scoring (-1).
- The Lady Tops' 29 birdies was the most in the field by five. WKU also had 111 pars, tied for fourth most.
- Dwyer (-2) and Hackett (-1) were the top two players in Par 3 scoring on Monday. Dwyer (even), Hackett (+2) and Catie Craig (+3) were all in the Top 10 in Par 4 scoring.
- Dwyer's nine birdies were tied for most in the field.
- Craig had 28 pars, tied for most in the field.
TEAM LEADERBOARD (10 teams)
1. Western Kentucky | 285-292—577 (+1)
2. No. 18 Vanderbilt | 292-296—588 (+12)
3. Middle Tennessee | 288-301—589 (+13)
T4. No. 31 Tennessee | 300-299—599 (+23)
T4. Elon | 299-300—599 (+23)
INDIVIDUAL LEADERBOARD (60 individuals)
1. Kaylee Dwyer | 69-71—140 (-4)
4. Sydney Hackett | 70-72—142 (-2)
T9. Catie Craig | 74-74—148 (+4)
T11. Julia Zigrossi | 72-77—149 (+5)
T23. Averi Cline | 77-75—152 (+8)
T23. Nina McMurtrey (ind.) | 76-76—152 (+8)
QUOTABLE
"I'm incredibly proud of our team for their effort in winning the Tennessee Spring Challenge today. The field was incredibly strong, so to beat No. 18 Vanderbilt by 11 strokes and No. 31 Tennessee by 22 strokes on one of their regular courses is especially important for our confidence as we head into Conference USA Championships next week. Congratulations to Kaylee on her first career win, as well. That's quite an accomplishment as a freshman!" – head coach Adam Gary
NEXT UP
The Lady Tops next head to St. Augustine, Fla. and the World Golf Resort for the Conference USA Championships, April 14-16.
