Ashley Sloup leads Campbell women to 2022 Golfweek Fall Challenge win

Caledonia Golf Club in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, might as well be a second home for Campbell women’s golf.

“It just sets up so well for them,” said assistant men’s and women’s coach Ashley Sloup. “It’s such a beautiful course, being close to the beach, the history of Caledonia, the beautiful flowers and incredible old trees, it’s hard not to be happy there.”

In nine trips to the Golfweek Fall Challenge, Campbell’s women have carted off a trophy seven times, including most recently on Sept. 13. After driving down Caledonia’s tree-canopied entrance as event winners, Sloup exercised some local knowledge and took the team to Toffino’s Bakery for a celebratory treat.

It is, indeed, hard not to be happy in the Camels’ van.

So much was familiar about Campbell’s team win at the Golfweek Fall Challenge, but Sloup at the helm was one of the biggest differences. This marked the women’s team’s 97^th win under head coach John Crooks’ direction, but it was Sloup who had feet on the ground in Myrtle Beach.

Sloup, who played collegiately at Winthrop, signed on with Crooks in March 2021. For a season and a half, she primarily worked with the men. Sloup recruited this year’s men’s freshman class.

When former women’s assistant Lyndsey Hunnell took the head women’s coaching job at High Point and former men’s assistant Matt Moot came back in the fold after a short stint away at N.C. State, Sloup transitioned to primarily working with the women’s team, though she’ll still be involved in both programs at Campbell.

The transition couldn’t have been smoother, Sloup said, but she still recognizes that it takes some work.

“I have to earn their trust, I have to earn their respect, I have to start building those relationships,” she said. “With the Golfweek (Fall Challenge) being so early, we hit the ground running.”

The 165-mile trip from campus in Buies Creek, North Carolina, south to Myrtle Beach provided time for lots of getting-to-know-each-other. Campbell graduated five seniors from its women’s team last spring. Fifth-year senior Tomita Arejola is back in a leadership role with junior Sanna Lundmark the only other veteran player. Izabella Grimbrandt is playing as a red-shirt freshman after sitting out a year with a broken arm that required surgery.

The three newest players – Grimbrandt, Isabella Hahne and Taylah Ellems — all fired rounds under par on the opening day at Caledonia to give Campbell the…