Mocs’ Barrios earns SoCon weekly honor
Chattanooga Mocs freshman Beatriz Barrios earned Southern Conference Golfer of the Week honors for play ending March 23. Barrios put together a fabulous performance to claim the honor. It’s the first for a Moc since teammate Esme Hamilton won the award in October 2019. She shot 1-under 215 at Pinetree Country Club to finish second at the Pinetree Collegiate. That included a closing 4-under par 68 to lead the Mocs to a fourth place ending just ahead of SoCon rival Mercer. Barrios recorded a flawless card of four birdies and 14 pars in securing the Mocs lowest score since teammate Esme Hamilton’s 66 in the final round of the 2019 Princess Anne Invitational.
The 68 tied for the 10thbest card in program history. It also matched Emma de Groot (’11) for low round by a freshman with de Groot’s 68 also coming over the final 18 in winning at the 2008 Samford Women’s Intercollegiate.
Barrios finished runner-up to the nation’s second-ranked player. Florida State’s Beatrice Wallin earned a three-shot win as the duo were the only ladies to navigate 54 holes at par or better.
The freshman from Seville, Spain averaged 71.67 strokes per 18 for the week. The runner-up finish is her best as a Moc becoming the first since assistant coach Monica San Juan (’19) in February 2018 to post backto-back top threes and three for the season. One more and she’ll match the number Emily McLennan (‘16) recorded in 2015-2016.
The 1-under par 215 total is her best 54-hole score in nine starts. While she finished within three of the secondranked golfer in the country in Wallin, she did have four top 100 wins (including two top 25) defeating No. 11 Charlotte Heath (Florida State) by two, No. 48 Amelia Williamson (FSU) by seven, No. 23 Tai Anudit (Kennesaw St.) by nine and No. 64 Cecilie Finne-Ipsen (Charlotte) by 15.
She topped all 17 SoCon golfers in the field by an average of 13.1 strokes. Barrios is averaging 72.50 over last six cards dropping her season scoring average from 75.86 to 75.11. The 68 was her first card in the 60s but fifth under par this season (6 par or better total).