WCU Women's Golf Finishes Fourth in Edwin Watts/Kiawah Island Classic
Team finishes fourth and junior Blaire Minter picks up fourth place finish
KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. - After shuffling several spots throughout Tuesday's final round of the Edwin Watts/Kiawah Island Classic, Western Carolina finished the tournament in fourth place in the team standings.
Junior Blaire Minter began the day fighting to stay in the upper echelon of the field, as she recorded three bogies in her first four holes. She then regained her composure on to record three birdies out of four holes beginning on her eighth hole. Minter's solid play found her atop the leaderboard with eventual winner Sarah Bejgrowicz of Campbell going in to her last two holes.
Minter bogied and then double bogied to end the day with a five-over 77. She would finish the tournament at 218 (+5), good enough for fourth place, a top-five finish in the first tournament of the season.
The rest of the Catamounts saw improvements in their final round performances. Junior Rachel Nelson, who was in the top five after her first day 71 (-1), knocked three strokes off of her second round 78 to card a final round 75 (+3). Nelson finished the tournament at 224 (+8), tied for 13th place.
Senior Josefine Sundh shot the best round of the day for WCU. Her third round 74 (+2) put her tied for 37th for the tournament. Nykvarn, Sweden native Malin Jansson shot consistently all tournament finishing with a 76 (+4) after shooting a 76 and 77 in the first two rounds. Tiffany Schisler rounds out the Catamount golfers carding her best round of 77, knocking 13 strokes off of her second round score.
All told, the Catamounts finished fourth in a field of 33 teams, including 12 of the nation's top 100-ranked teams. WCU was the only SoCon team in the top five with College of Charleston being the closest SoCon competitor finishing fifth. Western Carolina will be back in action this weekend at the Kinderlou Forest Challenge hosted by Kennesaw State in Valdosta, Ga.
COUGARS TIE FOR FIFTH AT EDWIN WATTS/KIAWAH ISLAND CLASSIC
KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. - The College of Charleston women's golf team tied for fifth on the final day of the third annual Edwin Watts/Kiawah Island Classic held Tuesday at the par-72 Oak Point and Cougar Point Golf Courses on Kiawah Island.
CofC was one of 33 schools competing in the largest women's collegiate golf tournament in the country. The top 18 teams played for the championship at Cougar Point, while the rest of the field challenged for the flight championship at Oak Point.
The Cougars carded a three-round score of 910 (+46) which was 22 strokes shy of tournament champion Miami (Fla.), who claimed the title for the third year in a row with an 888 (+24).
Junior Leigh Whittaker (Baden-Baden, Germany), sophomore Kathy Boehm (Poing, Germany) and sophomore Ainhoa Nogales (Pozuelo de Alarcon, Spain) all finished tied for 21st at 10-over par. Whittaker made par on 15-of-18 holes in the final round, while Boehm made three birdies to keep the Cougars in contention of a top 5 finish.
"We overcame a lot early in the round to finish where we did today." CofC head coach Jamie Futrell said. "We had a really tough start and our team showed a lot of heart to finish tied for fifth. Sometimes your best rounds don't show up on the scoreboard. We fought hard and learned a lot about what a team is all about this weekend."
Sarah Bejgrowicz of Campbell claimed individual medalist honors with an even three-round score of 216, while Wichita State was crowned the Oak Point flight team champion and Mitsuki Katahira of defending junior college champion Daytona State College earned Oak Point individual medalist honors with a 216.
The Cougars will continue spring tournament play by hosting the Barefoot at the Beach Challenge on March 6-8 at the Davis Love Course in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
EDWIN WATTS/KIAWAH ISLAND CLASSIC
Feb. 20-22, 2011
Cougar Point Course and Oak Point Course
at Kiawah Island, S.C.
TEAM RESULTS (First Round)
1, Miami (Fla.), 296-297-295-888 (+24). 2, Campbell, 299-301-297-897 (+33). 3, Florida International, 298-303-300-901 (+37). 4, Western Carolina, 297-304-302-903 (+39). T5, College of Charleston, 305-299-306-910 (+46). T5, Nebraska, 307-302-301-910 (+46). T5, Akron, 305-303-302-910 (+46). 8, Central Arkansas, 301-308-305-914 (+50). 9, Elon, 301-309-305-915 (+51). 10, James Madison, 296-315-305-916 (+52). T11, Oral Roberts, 311-299-311-921 (+57). T11, Longwood, 311-313-297-921 (+57). 13, Newberry College, 312-308-302-922 (+58). 14, Middle Tennessee State, 308-308-308-924 (+60). T15, Jacksonville State, 304-314-309-927 (+63). T15, Old Dominion, 322-296-309-927 (+63). 17, William & Mary, 308-309-318-935 (+71). 18, Arkansas State, 317-306-315-938 (+74). 19, Wichita State, 303-322-314-939 (+75). 20, Dayton State College, 312-312-317-941 (+77). 21, Jacksonville, 324-310-312-946 (+82). 22, Wofford College, 321-309-317-947 (+83). 23, Iowa, 312-318-323-953 (+89). 24, Charleston Southern, 324-315-315-954 (+90). 25, Presbyterian College, 321-319-316-956 (+92). 26, Bucknell, 331-313-315-959 (+95). 27, Richmond, 315-318-329-962 (+98). 28, Houston Baptist, 324-325-314-963 (+99). 29, Winthrop, 341-321-316-978 (+114). 30, The Citadel, 331-326-322-979 (+115). 31, Drake, 340-321-329-990 (+126). 32, USC Upstate, 350-317-330-997 (+133). 33, Faulkner, 388-384-387-1,159 (+295).
COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
T21, Leigh Whittaker, 76-75-75-226 (+10). T21, Kathy Boehm, 74-74-78-226 (+10). T21, Ainhoa Nogales, 76-73-77-226 (+10). T82, Vanessa Koechli, 84-77-76-237 (+21). T104, Anna Martin*, 77-86-79-242 (+26). T110, Kathryn Miranda*, 82-79-82-243 (+27). Regina Rosas, 79-82-WD.
*competing as individuals
Terriers Finish Twenty-Second at the Edwin Watts Kiawah Island Classic
KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. -- The Wofford women's college golf team opened spring season at the Edwin Watts/Kiawah Island Classic on the par-72 Oak Point and Cougar Point Golf Courses on Kiawah Island and finished in 22nd place after the three-round tournament.
Wofford finished with a score of 947 (+83) after rounds of 321, 309 and 317. Miami of Ohio won the tournament with a score of 888 (+24).
The Terriers were led by Alex Rankin who fired rounds of 76 and an 81 for a 233 (+17).
Anne Marie Covar shot an 84, 76 and a 75 for a score of 235 (+19), and Sarah Hunt shot rounds of 83, 76 and 81 for a 240 (+24). Meredith Few turned in a score of 78 in round one and 84 in round two, while Tarah Taylor was the Terriers fourth scorer in round three with an 80. Few finished with with a 247 (+31), and Taylor finished with a 248 (+32).
Campbell's Sarah Bejgrowicz and Daytona State's Mitsuki Katahira finished tied for first. Bejgrowicz shot an even par 216 after rounds of 69, 71 and 76, and Katahira was even at 216 with scores of 75, 68 and 73.
Wofford will tee off again March 13 and 14 at the Administaff Lady Jaguar Invitational in Augusta, Ga. for their next tournament.
Mierzwa Leads Elon to Ninth at First Spring Event
KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. -- Martyna Mierzwa carded her second straight one-over par 73 during her final round of the Edwin Watts-Kiawah Island Classic to help lead Elon to a ninth-place showing at the first spring event for the Phoenix. Mierzwa fired a three-round tournament toal of 222 (76-73-73) while Elon notched a team mark of 915 (301-309-305). The field consisted of 33 teams.
Two of Mierzwa's six tournament birdies came during Tuesday's final round of play.
Virginia Mayer also had a solid tournament, shooting a 224 (73-78-73) to finish in a tie for 13th among the 172 golfers in the field. Mayer tallied four birdies over her final 18 holes of play.
Shannon Prunty's 234 (75-80-79) placed her in a tie for 59th while Tara McFadden placed in a tie for 69th with a mark of 235 (77-78-80). Rounding out Elon's field was Lauren Lebak who shot a three-round score of 246 (79-87-80) to tie for 124th.
Campbell's Sarah Bejgrowicz claimed the individual title with a score of 216 (69-71-76).
Miami fired a final-round score of 295 to claim the team crown by nine strokes over Campbell. Miami finished with an 888 (296-297-295) to Campbell's 897 (299-301-297). In third was Florida International (298-303-300--901) while Western Carolina placed fourth with a 903 (297-304-302). College of Charleston (305-299-306), Nebraska (307-302-301) and Akron (305-303-302) all tied for fifth with a score of 910.
Elon bested league foes Wofford (22nd; 321-309-317--947) and The Citadel (30th; 331-326-322--979).
Pellegrini Leads Bulldogs in Edwin Watts/Kiawah Island Classic
Kiawah Island, S.C. - The Citadel Golf team shot a team score 979 (+115) to finish 30th out of 33 teams in the largest women's golf tournament in the country held at the Cougar Point Golf Course and Oak Point Golf Course on Kiawah Island, S.C. The three-day competition spanned Sunday through Tuesday.
Freshman Erica Pellegrini shot a career best round of 75 on Tuesday in the final round of the Edwin Watts/Kiawah Island Classic to finish the three-day tournament with a 234 (+18). Junior teammate Bree Baumgartner finished with a 245 (+29), firing her lowest score (78) on Tuesday.
Also competing in the tournament for the Bulldogs was freshman Stephanie Simmonswho carded a 254 (+38), junior Alanna-Jean Keith who finished with a 255 (+39), and Senior Christine Clark who fired a 260 (+44).
Host of the tournament and Southern Conference foe College of Charleston finished tied for fifth place with a 910 (+46), while the University of Miami won the team title with an 888 (+24). Campbell University's Sarah Bejgrowicz and Daytona State College's Mitsuki Katahari tied at even par (216) to win the individual title.
The Citadel Golf team will be back in action on Sunday, March 20 to compete in the Lowcountry Intercollegiate in Hilton Head, S.C. hosted by Wofford University.