Foley and Ray Finish 1-2 for The Lady Flyers at NJCAA Division III Women's Golf Championship
Scotty Foley and Ava Ray contributed in a big way to a banner week for Sandhills Community College Athletics by finishing first and second at the inaugural NJCAA Division III Women's Golf Championship in Chautauqua, NY.
A freshman from Hickory Ridge High School, Foley posted scores of 82-78-79-80-319 to become the first to earn the Division III individual title. The four-day, 72-hole event concluded on Friday at Chautauqua Golf Club.
Ray, a freshman from Fuquay-Varina High School, shot 86-84-87-80-337 in the event that only had individual entries. Julia Bazata of Oxford College of Emory finished in third place with scores of 94-86-89-87-356.
NJCAA women's golf was previously non-divisional until the creation of Division I and III a year ago.
Competing on the same course, the Sandhills men's team coached by Gus Ulrich wrapped up its second consecutive national title on Friday with Andreas Huber earning medalist honors and all five members of the team earning All-American recognition.
Lady Flyers Coach Herb Pike hopes to be able to take a full team to the tournament next year.
"I'm very proud of these ladies," he said upon the return to the Sandhills campus on Saturday afternoon. "I've never had two that worked harder than Scotty and Ava."
The consistent performances by Foley and Ray were remarkable, considering the start of the first and third rounds were delayed by inclement weather, and the players had to deal with wind and rain once play was resumed.
"I think my biggest takeaway was learning a lot about playing under those conditions," Ray said. "The clubs were wet and we were soaked. The club could have slipped out of our hands at any moment. We had to push through it. There was no going back."
Foley was also proud of the way she and Ray responded to the weather challenges, as well as the pressure of a national tournament.
"For us to hold the first and second positions throughout all four days was really just incredible," she said. "We had a lot of fun."
In addition to the positive results on the course, Athletic Director Mike Apple was pleased by the character and sportsmanship displayed by the Lady Flyers as well as by members of the men's team.
"It was an awesome week of golf for Sandhills Community College," he said. "You couldn't ask for better play and the coaches did a marvelous job."
The Lady Flyers participated in the national tournament for the first time since 2019. They finished in 15th place as a team at that event held in Daytona Beach.
C. Bergmann