SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- Elon fired a 19-over par 307 on the strength of three Phoenix scorers in the top 10 following round one women's golf competition Monday at the Diet Coke Wofford Invitational at The Carolina Country Club in Spartanburg, S.C. The tournament began at 11 a.m. Monday with a shotgun start and concluded with nearly all players completing nine holes in the second round, which started a day early due to possible inclement weather Tuesday.
The event on the par 72, 6,017-yard course will conclude with the end of the second round and another shotgun start at 8:30 a.m. in preparation for afternoon thunderstorms.
Elon, the only other Southern Conference school in the field besides host Wofford, took control of a nine-shot lead after the first 18 holes. Samantha Widmer helped put the Phoenix on top with a second-place 36-39--75 (+3), two shots behind the leader, Danielle Gibb of Jacksonville who posted a 38-35--73 (+1) despite windy conditions.
The Phoenix also used a third-place tying result from Danielle Mills and a ninth-place tying score from Taylor Johnson in their team total. Elon also had Tara McFadden tie for third, but she is competing as an individual and thus does not count into the team score.
Junior Erin Wells leads the host Terriers, matching Johnson's efforts for a ninth-place tie after carding a 40-37--77 (+5).
Wofford teammates Alex Rankin and Colleen Rice each tallied a 6-over par 78 to provide Wofford with a trio in the top 15 and help the squad earn a second-place total behind Elon after the 18 hole opening round.
Wofford Individuals:
T9--Erin Wells, 40-37--77 (+5)
T11--Alex Rankin, 36-42--78 (+6)
T11--Colleen Rice, 40-38--78 (+6)
T27--Sarah Herbert, 40-43--83 (+11)
T30--Ellen Kvarby, 41-43--84 (+12)*
T39--Meredith Few, 47-40--87 (+15)
T47--Shelly McLaughlin, 46-43--89 (+17)*
*-competing as an individual
Top-10 Individuals:
1--Danielle Gibb (Jacksonville), 38-35--73 (+1)
2--Samantha Widmer (Elon), 36-39--75 (+3)
T3--Anna Rogers (Mercer), 40-36--76 (+4)
T3--Katie Garahan (Gardner-Webb), 39-37--76 (+4)
T3--Laura Mesa (James Madison), 35-41--76 (+4)
T3--Susan Martin (Methodist), 36-40--76 (+4)
T3--Danielle Mills (Elon), 36-40--76 (+4)
T3--Tara McFadden (Elon), 38-38--76 (+4)*
T9--Erin Wells (Wofford), 40-37--77 (+5)
T9--Taylor Johnson (Elon), 38-39--77 (+5)
*-competing as an individual
Team Scores:
1--Elon, 307 (+19)
2--Wofford, 316 (+28)
3--Mercer, 321 (+33)
T4--James Madison, 322 (+34)
T4--Jacksonville, 322 (+34)
6--Methodist, 323 (+35)
7--Radford, 325 (+37)
8--Gardner-Webb, 327 (+39)
9--High Point, 335 (+47)
note: Wake Forest has three individuals competing