Trevecca Nazarene took the 2009 TranSouth Athletic Conference Women’s Golf Championship for the fifth year in a row.

The 36-hole TranSouth Tournament was held at the challenging Greystone Golf Club in Dickson, Tenn. Trevecca’s Ashley Birdwell, a freshman from Donelson Christian Academy, was the Tournament Medalist and TranSouth Freshman of the Year. Birdwell carded a (85-84) 169 for the championship. The course played to a par of 72 over 6004 yards in wet and windy conditions both days.

Trevecca led after 18-holes of play Trevecca (348) over Bethel (351) by three strokes. Martin Methodist (372) and Lyon College (382) rounded out the tournament field. Trevecca (348-355, 703) edged Bethel (351-353, 704) by one stroke for the Championship. Martin Methodist (372-372, 744) was third and Lyon College (382-387, 769) was fourth.

Michael Johnson of Trevecca was named the TranSouth Coach of the Year for the fifth consecutive season. Alyssa Moe rounded out Trevecca’s team with a (96-92) 188.

The TranSouth All-Tournament team included; Ashley Birdwell (Trevecca), Baillie Johnson (Bethel), Emily Muse (Bethel), Betsy Beaver (Trevecca), Brooke Dillehay (Trevecca), and Jessica Castleman (Bethel).

Trevecca advances to the 2009 the 15th Annual NAIA Women’s Golf National Championships will be held May 12-15 at the Meadowbrook Municipal Golf Course in Rapid City, South Dakota. It is the first time the Trevecca women’s team has advanced to the NAIA National Championship.

Coach Johnson sweated out the final few holes, and commented, “I didn’t know for sure if we could hang on but our ladies showed some real character in winning.  The Bethel team played so well this year and really put on a late charge today.  I feel for them in that they came so close, but at the same time I couldn’t be happier for my team.”

With just four players for TNU, it is literally the case that “every stroke counts,” as coach Johnson said. “I can’t say enough how happy I am that our team has a chance now to get to that national tournament that has seemed so elusive.  So this is not just for us, but all the other ladies who came so close over the years.  We’ve set a couple of records this year and showed a lot of class in the process, even when we were struggling to shoot good scores.”