Lightfritz, Schanen, Rodriguez Earn Postseason Awards

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Three members of the Mercer women's golf team earned postseason honors from the Southern Conference, the league announced on Tuesday.

Graduate students Lauren Lightfritz and Payton Schanen garnered All-SoCon recognition, while sophomore Tracy Rodriguez earned a spot on the SoCon All-Freshman Team. Schanen tallied her fourth postseason honor from the SoCon having also been named to the All-SoCon Team in 2016 and 2018 while also being on the all-freshman team in 2016. Lightfritz collected her second postseason award from the conference after being selected to the SoCon All-Freshman Team in 2017.

Due to last season being cut short by COVID-19, the conference considered golfers who competed as a freshman during the 2019-20 season as eligible for the all-freshman team.

"I'm very proud of the accomplishments of our entire team, and it's exciting to have these three honored today by the Southern Conference," said head coach Michele Drinkard. Lauren and Payton have consistently been recognized from their freshman years until now in their "mulligan" season as graduate students. It's fun to see all their efforts and commitment pay off with this honor to cap off their final year. Although Tracy is in her second season, I'm proud to see her hard work recognized in this first-year category, and I look forward to watching her collegiate career continue to blossom."

Lightfritz closed out a successful career at Mercer by earning four top-10 finishes, including each of the final three events. The Suwanee, Ga., native earned runner-up honors at the Mercer Invitational on Nov. 9-10 in the fall before catching fire at the end of the spring. She finished in eighth place at the Pinetree Women's Collegiate on March 22-23 after carding a career-low 5-under par 67 in the second round. Lightfritz followed that up with her first collegiate victory in the final regular season tournament of her career as she won the Brickyard Collegiate on April 5-6 after shooting an even-par 216 (72-71-73). She made a run at her first conference title last week as she collected third-place honors at the SoCon Championship on April 19-20 after finishing the tournament 2-over par (72-75-71). Lightfritz posted the sixth-best scoring average in the SoCon this season at 74.29.

Schanen capped her impressive career with another postseason honor. The Alpharetta, Ga., native was Mercer's most consistent player throughout the 2020-21 season, placing inside the top-20 in all eight events with three top-10 finishes. Schanen strung together her three top-10 finishes in consecutive events, starting with her taking fourth place honors at the Mercer Invitational. She followed that up by winning the Reynolds Lake Oconee Invitational from Feb. 19-21 for her third collegiate victory and second outright tournament title. The next week, Schanen tied for ninth at the Florida State Match-Up from Feb. 26-28. She posted the fifth-best scoring average in the conference in her final collegiate season at 74.04.

Rodriguez earned a pair of top-10 finishes during the 2020-21 campaign as she finished second at the Callaway Gardens Invite and 10^th at the Mercer Invitational. She opened her second collegiate season with her best performance at Mercer, shooting a career-best 5-under par as she earned runner-up honors at the Callaway Gardens Invite from Oct. 19-21. The Nimes, France, native carded her first two rounds under par at the collegiate level with a personal-best 67 in the second round and a 68 in the third round. She followed that up with a 10^th-place finish at the Mercer Invitational on Nov. 9-10. On the season, Rodriguez had the 10^th-best scoring average in the conference at 75.29.

2020-21 All-Southern Conference Women's Golf Team
Player of the Year
Tereza Melecka, ETSU

Freshman of the Year
Anna Morgan, Furman

Coach of the Year
Stefanie Shelton, ETSU

All-Southern Conference
Julia Goodson, ETSU
Tereza Melecka, ETSU
Warda Amira Rawof, ETSU
Madison Moosa Furman
Anna Morgan, Furman
Sarah-Eve Rheaume, Furman
Lauren Lightfritz, Mercer
Payton Schanen, Mercer
Tara Bettle, UNCG
Esme Hamilton, Chattanooga

All-freshman team
Grace Chin, ETSU
Anna Morgan, Furman
Tracy Rodriguez, Mercer
Bailey Dunstan, Samford
Beatriz Barrios, Chattanooga

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Lightfritz, Schanen, Rodriguez Earn Postseason Awards

Players Mentioned

Lauren Lightfritz

Tracy Rodriguez

Payton Schanen

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