Little Rock Opens Spring Season at Tchefuncta Invitational

2023 TCHEFUNCTA INVITATIONAL
Dates	Monday, Feb. 27 - Tuesday, Feb. 28
Format	36 holes Monday, 18 holes Tuesday
Times	8 a.m. shotgun start both days
Location	Covington, La.
Course	Tchefuncta Country Club
Teams (8)	Little Rock, Georgia State, IUPUI, South Alabama (host), Southern Miss, Toledo, Troy, UAB
Scoring	GolfStat.com

2022-23 Little Rock Women's Golf Statistics (PDF)

LITTLE ROCK – Little Rock begins the spring portion of its 2022-23 season in southern Louisiana, competing at the 2023 Tchefuncta Invitational.
 
Tournament Information
The 2023 Tchefuncta Invitational will be held February 27-28 at Tchefuncta Country Club, a par-71, 6,057-yard course in Covington, Louisiana. The 54-hole tournament will be played over the course of two days, beginning with 36 holes Monday, February 27, beginning with an 8 a.m. shotgun start. Tuesday's final round begins with an 8 a.m. shotgun start with live scoring available through GolfStat.com.
 
Tournament Field
Little Rock is one of eight teams among the field at Tchefuncta this weekend, facing a handful of former Sun Belt opponents in Georgia State, South Alabama and Troy. The Panthers are the highest-rated team in the field among the latest GolfStat rankings at number 103, followed by Southern Miss (No. 119), South Alabama (No. 132), Troy (No. 145) and Little Rock (No. 146).
 
Trojan Lineup
Head coach Jenna Birch will bring an experienced squad to southern Louisiana, led by sophomore Anna Dawson, who was the OVC Golfer of the Month for October. Malena Austerslaatt, Katja Mueller, Viktoria Krnacova and Agatha Alesson will round out the field for the Trojans with Kellie Gachaga competing as an individual.
 
Tchefuncta History
This will be the second year in a row Little Rock will compete in the Tchefuncta Invitational after finishing fourth among the nine-team field in 2022. Katja Mueller tied for the individual title at last year's event, carding a 3-over 216 with a final round 1-under 70, ultimately falling on the sixth playoff hole. Anna Dawson also placed among the individual top-20 with a 16-over 229 as the Trojans posted a 51-over 903.
 
Last Time Out
Little Rock closed the fall portion of its 2022-23 season with a fifth-place finish at the White Sands Bahamas Invitational, shooting a 44-over 908. Kellie Gachaga was the top Trojan finisher with a 7-over 223, finishing in sole possession of ninth-place, while Katja Mueller also finished among the individual top-20, tying for 19th with a 12-over 228.
 
Preseason Favorites
Little Rock was tabbed the preseason favorites in the 2022-23 Ohio Valley Conference poll, voted on by the league's head coaches. The Trojans received six of the seven first place votes and 36 total points, finishing seven spots ahead of second-place Morehead State and eight ahead of third-place Tennessee Tech.
 
Fall Recap
The Trojans enter the spring ranked 149th after notching a team scoring average of 297.72 in the fall, which currently ranks as the best in program history. Little Rock posted three top-10 team finishes and had a strong finish to the fall slate, tying for sixth at its home event at Diamante before placing fifth at the Little Rock White Sands Invitational in the Bahamas.
 
Top Trojans
Individually, Agatha Alesson paced Little Rock with a 74.33 scoring average with four rounds of par-or-better, picking up OVC Golfer of the Week honors in September. She was followed by Kellie Gachaga's 74.58 average and Anna Dawson's 74.67 mark as the trio each earned OVC Golfer of the Week honors with Dawson earning OVC Golfer of the Month honors for October.
 
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