POINT CLEAR, AL. - It was a rainy day in Point Clear, Alabama, as players arrived for their practice rounds at The Lakewood Club on Wednesday, August 10th. Unfortunately the rain did not end there, flash flood warnings and heavy storms threatened the Point Clear area the entire duration of the 3rd Women's Southeastern Challenge Matches, August 11-12, 2016.
With a short delay on Thursday morning and weather threatening the long day ahead, the originally scheduled afternoon Foursomes matches were pushed to the morning to allow for more obtainable points. Luckily, the weather held for most of the morning and the Foursomes matches were completed with one minimal weather delay. Florida stood in third following the completion of the first set of matches, posting 5 ½ points against Georgia's 6 ½ and Alabama's 6.The teams of Kaeli Jones/Katie Holt, Anastasia Carter/Charlotte Daughan, Tama Caldabaugh/Taffy Brower, Gigi Higgins/Lin Culver and Hannah Berman/Mary Janiga, all contributed to the morning's points.
The second round of matches began Thursday afternoon in the form of a four-ball format, also commonly known
as best-ball. Again, with threatening storms in the area and darkness creeping up, the Four-Ball matches were shortened to nine holes. Team Florida was unable to make the most of these matches, only posting two wins by the teams of Gigi Higgins/Lin Culver and Anastasia Carter/Charlotte Daughan, along with one halved match by the Therese Quinn/Lisa Schlesinger duo. At the end of the first day, Florida still stood in third with a total of 8 points, just a half of a point back from Alabama's 8 ½, and two and a half points back from Georgia's 10 ½.
The ladies of Florida were performing much better in their final individual matches, but unfortunately the weather continued to disagree with southern Alabama, and all matches were washed. All results from Thursday's matches stood and Georgia was crowned champions of the 3rd Women's Southeastern Challenge Matches.
Team Florida was captained by Tournament Director, Jenna Masnyk, and Tournament Manager, Molly Moore and represented by eight amateurs including, Hannah Berman of Ponte Vedra Beach, Anastasia Carter of Saint Augustine, Charlotte Daughan of Orlando, Katie Holt of Clermont, Mary Janiga of Wellington, Kaeli Jones of Sumterville, Therese Quinn of Jacksonville, and Lisa Schlesinger of Fort Myers. The four senior selections on the team are Taffy Brower of Boynton Beach, Tama Caldabaugh of Ponte Vedra Beach, Gigi Higgins of Cape Coral, and Lin Culver of Palm Coast.
The Women’s Southeastern Challenge Matches are a biannual competition between Florida, Georgia and Alabama. Each state may enter a team of 12 players, consisting of eight amateurs and four seniors. Like the Ryder Cup, on the first day there will be two matches consisting of morning four-ball matches and afternoon foursome (alternate shot) matches. Florida is set to host the fourth biennial event in 2018.
