DAHLONEGA – The No. 20 University of North Georgia (UNG) women's golf team finished in second place at the 11th Annual LeeAnn Noble Memorial Golf Tournament at Achasta Golf Club. The Nighthawks made statements, plural, this week. They broke numerous program records en route to a second-place finish in front of a 15-team field that held seven of the nation's top 25 teams and five of the top 10. 

"I'm very, very proud of them. Not only because of how they played, but because of how they answered the question 'who are you going to be when you get super nervous?'," said head coach Sierra Campbell. "They've done so much work in the last three months of working on routines and finding peace in chaos. It's absolutely paying off right now."

In Monday's opening round, UNG posted a program record 10-under-par score as a team, beating the previous record by nine shots. The squad followed that up with a one-under outing in round two, followed by an even-par outing to close out the event. 

This week marked the first time in program history that the Nighthawks have posted three rounds of even par or better in the same tournament. Their stellar play led to the shattering of the program's 54-hole scoring record of 20-over-par as UNG finished in second at 11-under, 31 shots better than the previous mark.

"Pressure is a privilege and with a home crowd being out here and watching, I thought they maybe could get nervous from that and they didn't," said Campbell. "I was very impressed with how they responded after playing well. Super impressive." 

Women's Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) No. 3 Anderson won the event with a 54-hole tournament record score of 27-under-par. No. 7 Wingate's Amely Bochaton was the individual medalist with an individual tournament 54-hole record at 17-under. 

Against a star-studded field of teams, the Nighthawks held off some of the toughest foes in the country to record their third second-place finish in the last five tournaments. 

 "These are the tournaments you dream of. Obviously I would've loved to have won, but at the same time, how could I possibly be mad? This is what we've worked for– to know that you belong on this stage and you can be just as good as any of these teams," reflected Campbell. 

The week was highlighted by numerous impressive performances across the board for UNG. 

Freshman Ellie Jane Riner finished in sixth place at five-under-par over the 54-hole event. She responded to a pair of front nine bogeys with birdies at 12 and 18 on the back nine to post an even 72. 

Senior Jadin Ware also posted a 72 on the final day, ending the tournament at one-under and in 13th place. For the first time in her career, Ware concluded a tournament under par. However, Ware's most impressive accomplishment of the weekend had nothing to do with golf. At the tournament's conclusion, Ware was named as the recipient of the 2024 LeeAnn Noble Memorial Scholarship, created by LeeAnn Noble's parents in the honor of their daughter's legacy. 

Campbell couldn't be more proud to have someone like Ware on her team. After the announcement she adored, "She has given so much to this program in her four years. She really deserved that award and she embodies everything that the scholarship was made to represent."

"She's just always team first. She is a team girl and will do anything for anybody. You say 'jump' she says 'how high?' and it's just what makes Jadin so great."

Behind Ware were the upperclassmen Cora Mount and Ellie Rippee. Mount also utilized an even-par 72 on Tuesday to finish the tournament in 18th place at one-over. Rippee posted four birdies in the final round to battle her way to a 72 as well. She finished one shot and one place behind Mount at two-over and 19th place. 

"I told them I was really, really proud of all of it. How they handled themselves, how they responded out there, who they are as people and competitors," Campbell told her team after the tournament. 

"Yes I'm super proud, but we've got to go respond again tomorrow. We played great and we're going to take what we learned and keep going. When you start to put it all together, that's what builds elite programs."

UNG will now get ready for one final fall tournament as it heads to Farmington, Pa. and the Nemacolin Resort for the Nemacolin Intercollegiate hosted by Findlay. The tournament begins on Monday, Oct. 21.