Conway, SC – During the 2024 girls' golf season, the Atlantic Collegiate Academy Armada had a bonafide star player who led the team to a second-place finish in the SCHSL Championship at Chester Golf Club.
 
Junior Hannah Lowery finished second individually, just four shots behind Class AA state champion Olivia Roberts from Chesnee High. Lowery now plays at  Jacksonville University where she is a regular contributor for the Dolphins in her first year.
 
But for the members of the Armada squad who returned, the goal of returning to the state tournament to compete for a title remained. Junior Clara Beth Brady and sophomore Bella Stroupe both earned top 10 finishes a year ago at Chester Golf Club, and first year Armada coach Zach Hawkinberry believes the duo is capable of more.
 
The 2025 Class AA SCHSL Tournament will begin on Monday morning at 8 a.m., weather permitting, with the Armada paired up to play against Chesnee and Academic Magnet in the first of two rounds, with the players from the three teams opening play on the first hole at 8 a.m. The forecast calls for rain overnight on Sunday and through the day on Monday with temperatures not going above 52 degrees.
 
"This team has really superseded a lot of my expectations for this season," Hawkinberry said. "We have a few girls with more experienced and some others who had never, or rarely, picked up a golf club before this season."
 
Along with Brady and Stroupe, the Armada will enter the tournament on Monday with junior Katelyn Daly, along with senior Emily Gerrets and sophomore Sofia Eddy.
 
"Clara Beth, Katelyn and Bella have taken a big leadership role with this team and has really helped the other players develop," Hawkinberry said. "This team is not all about the course, but they haven't shown that they get overly distracted by outside activities. We had homecoming last week, which could have provided a distraction, but when we practiced as a team, they showed how they have come together, and all are eager to cheer one another on."
 
Brady will play first for the Armada, teeing off in the 8 a.m. group with Stroupe to follow at 8:10 a.m., Daly at 8:20, Gerrets at 8:30 and Eddy at 8:40. Hawkiinberry said he has stressed to his team not to pay any attention to the girls they are playing with. The competition is against the course and the conditions, not the other players.
 
"Regardless of who's standing next to you in the tee box, you're never competing against them," Hawkinberry said. "When you look at the scorecard and it says attesting and score, that tells me you're not competing against that player in the box. They're just out there to keep you honest on your score and you are there to keep them honest. If you stay focused on who you're competing against, which is on the other side of the card where it shows you the holes and who designed the course."
 
With Brady in the leadoff position, she has a chance to set the tone for the other girls.
 
"She is very aggressive with the golf course, and she has a huge skill set," Hawkinberry said. "She has played golf for many years and competed in huge events, so I don't expect her to show any nerves at all. She is a team captain, and she leads by example."
 
Hawkinberry described Brady's play recently in the Legion Collegiate Academy tournament at Rock Hill Country Club where she took medalist honors in a four-team event that included the host Lancers as well as Indian Land High and Gray Collegiate Academy.
 
"She got into a sudden-death playoff against one of her best friends, someone who she had never beaten before," Hawkinberry said. "Clara Beth hit her stock shot from the tee box while the other girls hammered her shot past her, about 20 yards off the green. Clara Beth followed with a five wood down and put it four feet from the cub. The other girls got nervous, missed her chip shot across the green and then missed again coming back. Clara Beth two-putted to win the hole.
 
"That is just the mindset she has on the course. She has developed that over time with a lot of competitive golf. I think she will do well this week because she stays focused on the present and she never diverts from her pre-shot routine."
 
Hawkinberry said Stroupe is much quieter on the course. She likes to focus and not talk to anyone when she is playing. Hawkinberry said Stroupe carries a strong short game onto the course and, if she can stay in the fairways, she has a chance to post good scores.
 
"If you put a wedge in her hand, she is phenomenal," Hawkinberry said. "With the way the course is set up to play at about 5,100 yards, if she can stay in the fairway, she will be hitting wedge on every hole."
 
Daly is another long hitter for the Armada who has confidence in her short game. Hawkinberry said she tends to be overly aggressive from the tee, and that combined with her ability to hit the ball a long way sometimes gets her into trouble.
 
"She is the longest hitter on our team, and she does get herself in trouble ever now and then because of how far she hits it," Hawkingberry said. "She also sometimes putts herself out of play, so that is going to be our focus. If she can limit herself to 30 or so putts, in each round, she has a chance to post a good score."
 
When it comes to putting, the Armada coach said Eddy is the best on the squad, but she sometimes gets emotional on the course.
 
"She can drain 10-footers like it is nothing because she has such soft hands," Hawkinberry said. "If she can make the right club selections on the tee box and put herself in a scoreable position, I think she will do well."
 
Gerrets is the only senior on the squad, but also the least experienced in the game.
 
"She came out to have fun and brings a cheerful mindset, and that is reflected in the rest of the team," Hawkinberry said. "She plays a huge role on the team because she is a senior and the other girls look up to her. She knows this will be her final hurrah, but she brings a relaxed attitude to the team."
 
Despite coming off a runner-up finish last year; the Armada didn't have high expectations for this season. That has changed now with the experience gained during the season this fall.
 
"They are competitive and want to play well but, at the same time, they understand their skill sets," Hawkinberry said. "They play with an over zealousness and joy when they go out there and have fun and meet the girls from the other schools."
 
By Tuesday afternoon, they hope to be bringing a state title trophy back to Conway.
 
About Atlantic Collegiate Academy: Atlantic Collegiate Academy (ACA), located in Conway, S.C., serves high school students in a safe, small and family-centered setting. Our students seek the opportunity and challenge of rigorous curriculum, high academic standards and elite athletics while also earning up to two years of college credit. ACA serves students in grades 9-12 using an honors curriculum in 9th and 10 grades with a dual enrollment curriculum in 11th and 12th grades. Learn more about ACA by visiting our website at AtlanticCollegiate.Academy and by following us on social media on Facebook, Instagram and X.