Anderson's Moore Named 2021-22 Division II Golf Pride WGCA Assistant Coach of the Year
STORY COURTESY OF ANDERSON ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS
CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. – Denton Moore, Associate Head Golf Coach at Anderson University, has been has been named the 2021-22 Division II Golf Pride Women's Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) Assistant Coach of
the Year, as announced Monday afternoon.
"I am very excited to have Denton earn the Division II Golf Pride WGCA Assistant Coach of the Year award," said Anderson Director of Golf Danny Neal. "His contributions to our program this past year are a major reason for our team's success and rise in the national polls. His passion for coaching and his dedication to our players is obvious and he inspires those around him to be better. I can't think of anyone more deserving of this award."
Moore, a native of Anderson, was named an assistant coach with the program in 2014 and was elevated to Associate Head Golf Coach in July, 2021.
As an integral part of the coaching staff, Moore has helped elevate Trojan golf into one of the upper-echelon programs, not only in the southeast, but on a national level, as well.
"I am very excited, humbled, and thankful to have been named the Assistant Coach of the Year by the WGCA," said Moore. "I want to thank the WGCA and the board that voted for me. I am again very humbled they thought enough of me to give me this award. I definitely want to thank President Whitaker, Bert Epting, Danny Neal for giving me the opportunity to coach here at AU. They have always provided me with everything we need here to be successful. I also want to thank my wife, Lauren. She takes care of our household and our daughter while I'm on the road with the team and traveling to recruit. She is one of a kind, and so supportive of my coaching career. I can't thank her enough. I want to thank my parents who have always been supportive of my coaching career, and have prepared me my entire life to be successful."
The women's team is coming off a remarkable season that saw the Trojans reach unparalleled heights by becoming the first team to make an appearance at the NCAA National Championships and reaching the final four, while finishing as the consensus No. 4-ranked team in America – by both Golfstat and the WGCA.
The Trojans remained in the top-10 of the Mizuno WGCA Coaches Poll for the entire year and boasted two WGCA All-Americans this season, as Jessica Rathbone was named to the First Team and SAC Freshman of the Year Kennedy McGaha was named to the Second Team. Along the way, five Black and Gold-clad golfers earned All-South Atlantic Conference honors for the first time in program history.
The 2021-22 edition of Trojan women's golf owns the top-20 single-round scores in program history and recorded eight of the top eleven 54-hole scores, including the seven lowest in school history.
The women's team made its third consecutive appearance in the NCAA South Region Championship, earned three tournament championships, including their second South Atlantic Conference Championship title in three years, and posted five runner-up performances while competing among the strongest fields in the nation and saw all five starters wrap up the year ranked in Golfstat's Top-100 for the first time in program history.
The Trojans also got the work done away from the links, with Anna Freeman, Victoria Hall and Jessica Rathbone each earning CoSIDA Academic All-District® At-Large accolades.
"Most importantly, I want to thank our amazing crew of players," added Moore. "They have bought into our plan and have worked so incredibly hard to get this program from 158th in the country just five years ago, to fourth now. The old saying is the best coaches have the best players. That could not be more true here at Anderson. We have the best group in the country, and there is nobody else I would rather go to battle with than the ladies we have here. I am looking forward to next year and hoping we can make it one more match and bring it all home next year. Thanks so much to everyone that helped make this award possible - it is a team effort that allows for individual awards. I wouldn't be here or have won anything without our entire team of coaches, players, and administrators."
About the Women's Golf Coaches Association
The Women's Golf Coaches Association, founded in 1983, is a non-profit organization representing women's collegiate golf coaches. The WGCA was formed to encourage the playing of college golf for women in correlation with a general objective of education and in accordance with the highest tradition of intercollegiate competition. Today, the WGCA represents over 650 coaches throughout the U.S. and is dedicated to educating, promoting and recognizing both its members and the student-athletes they represent.