5 things to know as UNF enters ASUN as favorite
The ASUN women’s golf championship returns to Alabama from April 14-16 with a wide-open field chasing the conference title and an automatic NCAA tournament berth at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail Hampton Cove Highlands Course, near Huntsville.
The University of North Florida and Jacksonville University are among the teams in the field. While the Ospreys are the highest ASUN team in the Spikemark rankings at No. 88, nine other teams are bunched between No. 103 Kennesaw and No. 171 JU.
Lipscomb is the defending champion. UNF won the last of its three ASUN titles in 2022 and Kennesaw won three in a row, in 2018, 2019 and 2021.
“It should be a very wide-open tournament,” said Dolphins coach Kathryn Dougan.
Here are five keys to the 34th ASUN Women’s Championship:
Christin Eisenbeiss leads UNF
North Florida senior Christin Eisenbeiss, a native of Germany, is the highestranked individual player in the tournament at No. 135, according to Spikemakr. Last week’s tie for eighth in the Chattanooga Classic was her sixth top-10 in seven starts this season.
She earned her ninth ASUN Player of the Week Award and her fourth of the season. Eisenbeiss tied for second last year in the ASUN tournament.
UNF is also trending, with a second and a third team finish among its last three tournaments.
Based on the Ospreys most recent lineup, juniors Casilda Allendesalazar and Kaitlyn Washburn, sophomore Helen Zhou and freshman One Kashima will be joining Eisenbeiss at Hampton Cove. Kashima finished 10th at Chattanooga.
Dolphins also trending
Jacksonville has two fourth-place finishes in the spring and junior Casey Powell, who tied for fourth in last year’s ASUN Championship, has an individual victory at the Bab Steffens Invitational in Debary, a second at the Bama Beach Bash and four other top-25 finishes this season.
Another consistent player has been sophomore Ivete Rodrigues, who tied for 13th in the team’s most recent tournament, the Ironwood Invitational in Greenville, N.C.
Joining Powell and Rodrigues will be junior Fernanda Lacaz and freshmen Issy Hopkins and Maria Eir Gudjonsdottir.
UNF, JU have strong international lineups
It’s a true melting pot for the Ospreys and Dolphins.
In addition to Eisenbeiss, UNF’s international lineup includes Kashima (Japan), Zhou (China), and Allendesalazar (Spain).
The Dolphins have Rodrigues (Portugal), Hopkins (Wales), Lacaz (Brazil) and Gudjonsdottir (Iceland).
Golf in the Highlands
No, it’s not Scotland and it’s not pure links golf. But the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail Highlands Course is a scenic stroll through the hills of North Alabama, with native grasses giving it a links look on some holes, with other holes featuring stately oak and pine trees.
There are 13 creeks or ponds in play and the 16th and 17th holes are among the most demanding on the course. The 16th is a long par-3 that is all carry over water and the 17th is a long par-5 with water short and right.
The ASUN will play its women’s championship at the Highlands Course for the second year in a row.
“When our girls knew we were coming back, they loved it,” Dougan said. “It’s challenging but they really enjoy the course.”
JU finished fourth in the huntsville .org Intercollegiate earlier this spring.
Lipscomb has proven to be a horse for the course
No ASUN team has attacked the Highlands Course with as much success as the defending champions.
Lipscomb has won three tournaments at the Highlands Course, the 2023 ASUN Championship and the last two Huntsville.org Intercollegiate titles. While last year’s ASUN tournament was close — Lipscomb nipped Florida Gulf Coast by two — they won the other two events by 40 strokes.
Junior Lauren Thompson was the ASUN individual champion and won the 2023 Hunstville.org title.