Alabama Women's Golfer Benedetta Moresco Sets School Record at The Ally

The 2021 SEC Freshman of the Year not only set a school record, but two tournament records in round one as well.

Alabama athletics

As the No. 14 team in the country, Alabama women's golf leads a field of five ranked teams after round one of The Ally at Old Waverly Golf Club. And its sophomore standout, Benedetta Moresco, is a significant part of its success on Monday.

Moresco, the reigning SEC Freshman of the Year, broke and now holds the school record of lowest first-round score thanks to a 10-birdie performance which resulted in her 9-under par 63 day one final.

In doing so, she moves past former Crimson Tide women's golfer Cheyenne Knight who owned the mark of 65 as a first-round score in 2017-18. It's also a career-best round for Moresco, topping her previous mark of 67, who additionally tied another school record and set two tournament records today. 

"I don’t plan on someone shooting 63, the Moresco family is 12-under by themselves, but it’s just a good tournament for us. I love how this team gets along so well," Alabama women's golf coach Mic Potter said. "I love the culture they’re building."

That is, tying the Alabama mark for lowest score with Lakareber Abe's 9-under par 63 in 2016-17, breaking the tournament record for lowest first-round score previous held by LSU's Ingrid Linbald, and setting the new tournament record for lowest overall score previous held by Tennessee's Mikayla Bardwell. 

The last of its four tournaments this fall, The Ally features three teams ranked ahead of the Crimson Tide, No. 3 Arkansas, No. 7 Florida and No. 12 TCU, per Golfstat's Top 25, and Moresco finished the day tops among every player in the competition. 

"They can count on each other and depend on each other and the more we have that feeling, the better we do,” Potter said.

Moresco and Alabama return to action tomorrow for the second round, and its 10:10 a.m. tee time will be alongside Florida and Texas A&M, the second and third-place groups after one round.