Mocs Hold 7-Stroke Lead after 1st Round of JMU/Eagle Landing Invitational

Chattanooga shoots 296 led by Maria Juliana Loza's 72 (E)

ORANGE PARK, Fla.---The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's women's golf team is in first after the opening round of the JMU/Eagle Landing Invitational Friday at Eagle Landing Golf Club.  Chattanooga's 296 (+8) was paced by junior Maria Juliana Loza's even-par 72.

Loza carded two birdies, 14 pars and just two bogeys for her level-par round.  She is tied for fourth two shots behind leader Briana Carlson of Florida Gulf Coast.  Courtney Taylor (UNCG) and Mallory Viera (Stetson) are tied for second at 71 (-1).

The Mocs lead Stetson by seven strokes after the Hatters' 303.  East Carolina is third at 304 with Maryland and FGCU tied in fourth shooting 305.

Freshman Yushira Budhram (Johannesburg, South Africa) got off to a good start with a one-over par 73.  She is tied for sixth with three others just three shots out of the lead.

It was a solid day overall for the Mocs.  Along with Loza and Budhram, the other four UTC student-athletes in the field are in the top 20. 

Senior Christine Wolf (Igls, Austria) is tied for 13th after a three-over par 75.  Senior Emma de Groot (Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, Australia) along with freshmen Marion Duvernay (Publier, France) and Jordan Britt (Dayton, Tenn.) are tied for 19th another shot back at 76 (+4).  Britt is playing as an individual.

The Mocs tee off at 9:36 paired with Stetson and East Carolina.  Duvernay will lead Chattanooga off hole No. 1 at 9:36 a.m.  Britt will play with Alexandra Prazak (Campbell) and Valentina SanMiguel (James Madison) in the group just ahead of Duvernay at 9:28.  Live scoring can be followed at GoMocs.com.

LEADERBOARD

1) Chattanooga	296	296 (+8)
2) Stetson	303	303 (+15)
3) East Carolina	304	304 (+16)
T4) Maryland	305	305 (+17)
T4) Florida Gulf Coast	305	305 (+17)
T6) UNC Greensboro	306	306 (+18)
T6) Miami (Fla.)	306	306 (+18)
8) USF	308	308 (+20)
T9) Illinois	309	309 (+21)
T9) James Madison	309	309 (+21)
11) Campbell	311	311 (+23)
T12) Illinois State	312	312 (+24)
T12) Kennesaw State	312	312 (+24)
T12) Central Arkansas	312	312 (+24)
15) Elon	315	315 (+27)
16) Longwood	316	316 (+28)
17) Georgetown	317	317 (+29)
18) Jacksonville	321	321 (+33)
Mocs:
T4) Maria Juliana Loza	72	72 (E)
T6) Yushira Budhram	73	73 (+1)
T13) Christine Wolf	75	75 (+3)
T19) Emma de Groot	76	76 (+4)
T19) Marion Duvernay	76	76 (+4)
T19) Jordan Britt*	76	76 (+4)

*Playing as an individual

 

UNCG tied for sixth in 18-team JMU Eagle Landing Invite

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Courtney Taylor, who has modified her swing since the end of the fall season, reaped the benefits Friday when she shot a 1-under-par 71 to tie for second place among individuals and guide the UNCG women's golf team to a sixth-place tie through one day of the 18-team JMU Eagle Landing Invite on Friday.

Taylor, the 2010 Southern Conference Freshman of the Year whose outstanding rookie year was immediately followed by a few struggles this past fall, turned in her second consecutive strong round of the spring after consecutive 79s in last week's Lady Gator event at the University of Florida. Her 4-over-par 74 on the final day in Gainesville, Fla., served as a precursor to today's play, in which she shrugged off a slow start with three birdies on a nine-hole stretch in the middle of the Eagle Landing Golf Club's par-72, 6,282-yard layout.

Begonia Sarabia placed second among the Spartans and tied for 19th among the 98 individuals with an opening-round 76 and was followed in the lineup by Erica Creed (78), Ana Martinez (81) and Lizzie Bundy (81).

UNCG leads, among others, Southern Conference foe Elon (15th), Illinois (ninth) and South Florida (eighth). Play resumes on Saturday at the event, which is hosted by James Madison University.

JMU EAGLE LANDING INVITE

Eagle Landing Golf Club (Par-72, 6,282 yards)

Jacksonville, Fla.

Team scores

1. Chattanooga 296; 2. Stetson 303; 3. East Carolina 304; T4. Maryland 305; T4. Florida Gulf Coast 305; T6. UNCG 306; T6. Miami 306; 8. South Florida 308; T9 James Madison 309; T9. Illinois 309; 11. Campbell 311; T12. Illinois State 312; T12. Central Arkansas 312; T12. Kennesaw State 312; 15. Elon 315; 16. Longwood 317; 17. Georgetown 317; 18. Jacksonville 321.

Individual scores

Top 10: 1. Briana Carlson (Florida Gulf Coast) 70; T2. Courtney Taylor (UNCG) 71; T2. Mallory Viera (Stetson) 71; T4. Maria Juliana Loza (Chattanooga) 72; T4. Julia Roth (Central Arkansas) 72; T6. Yushira Budhran (Chattanooga) 72; T6. Colleen Estes (East Carolina); T6. Christina Hiriano (Miami) 73; T6. Hayley Chinning (Kennesaw State) 73; T10. Alex Buelow (Stetson) 74; T10. Brooke Mallory (Longwood) 74; T10. Christine Shimel (Maryland) 74.

Other UNCG golfers: T19. Begonia Sarabia 76; T38. Erica Creed 78; T68. Ana Martinez 81; T68. Lizzie Bundy 81.

 

Furman Eleventh at LSU Tournament

Baton Rouge, La. - Senior Stefanie Kenoyer fired a two-over 74 on Friday to grab a share of 13th place and help the Furman women's golf team to a share of 11th after 18 holes of the LSU Classic at the par-72, 6,194-yard University Club.

Kenoyer, who began her round on the back nine, overcame back-to-back bogeys at No. 13 and 14 to play her final 13 holes at one-over par and pace the Paladins to a 22-over 310.  Sophomore Alexa Rancourt posted a six-over 78 while Jackie Hilea and Laura Wearn each carded an opening round 79 for the Paladins.

Wake Forest fired a six-over 294 on Friday to hold a four-stroke lead over second place Texas A&M and six-stroke edge on LSU and Duke through 18 holes.  Alabama, Virginia, Louisville, North Carolina, Arkansas and Tennessee rounded out the top 10 in the 21-team field.  Furman, 16 strokes behind the leader, is tied for 11th with TCU and North Carolina State.

Catherine O'Donnell of North Carolina and Natalie Sheary of Wake Forest are tied for the first round lead at one-under par with a group of four golfers just one stroke off of the lead.  Furman's Kenoyer is only three strokes back with 36 holes to play.

Second round action is set for Saturday morning with Furman scheduled to tee-off with Kentucky and Tulane on the back nine beginning at 9:54 a.m.  Final round play is slated for Sunday.

T11     Furman          310

T13     Stefanie Kenoyer        74

T48     Alexa Rancourt  78

T57     Jackie Hilea            79

T57     Laura Wearn             79

107     Aubrie Street           89

 

COUGARS PLAY THROUGH DIFFICULT FIRST ROUND AT LSU/CLEVELAND GOLF CLASSIC

BATON ROUGE, La. - The College of Charleston women's golf team played through a difficult first round on the opening day of play at the LSU/Cleveland Golf Classic held Friday at the University Club.

The Cougars are among a competitive 21-team, invitation-only tournament field including 15 top 50-ranked programs, nine of which are currently in the top 25 and four in the top 10. They carded a first-round score of 323 (+35) for 19th. No. 17 Wake Forest leads the pack with a six-over par 294 followed by No. 25 Texas A&M (+10), No. 5 LSU (+12), No. 4 Duke (+12) and No. 1 Alabama (+13).

Junior Leigh Whittaker (Baden-Baden, Germany) turned in a five-over par 77 in the opening round which is tied for 41st, while sophomore Kathy Boehm (Poing, Germany) was six-over with a 78 which is tied for 48th.

"This is traditionally a difficult tournament on a U.S. Open-type course," CofC head coach Jamie Futrell said. "I was disappointed in our play today. Three of our girls played well, but the course beat the other two up and they weren't able to handle the conditions. It is definitely the most difficult course we have played all season - only six golfers shot even par or better today. But, you still can't compete in this field and have your score be so high. We will try to come out tomorrow and see how things go. We have to be as mentally strong as we possibly can. If we make good shots, we will be ok."

The second round will begin tomorrow at 9:15 a.m. (ET). Live scoring is available by CLICKING HERE.

LSU/CLEVELAND GOLF CLASSIC

March 11-13, 2011

University Club

at Baton Rouge, La.

TEAM RESULTS (First Round)

1, Wake Forest, 294 (+6). 2, Texas A&M, 298 (+10). T3, LSU, 300 (+12). T3, Duke, 300 (+12). T5, Alabama, 301 (+13). T5, Virginia, 301 (+13). 7, Louisville, 303 (+15). 8, North Carolina, 304 (+16). T9, Arkansas, 305 (+17). T9, Tennessee, 305 (+17). T11, TCU, 310 (+22). T11, North Carolina State, 310 (+22). T11, Furman, 310 (+22). 14, Tulane, 312 (+24). 15, Kentucky, 313 (+25). 16, Mississippi, 314 (+26). 17, Mississippi State, 316 (+28). 18, South Carolina, 319 (+31). 19, College of Charleston, 323 (+35). 20, UNC Wilmington, 328 (+40). 21, Louisiana-Monroe, 332 (+44).

COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (First Round)

T41, Leigh Whittaker, 77 (+5). T48, Kathy Boehm, 78 (+6). T64, Anna Martin, 80 (+8). T105, Ainhoa Nogales, 88 (+16). T108, Vanessa Koechli, 92 (+20).

 

Elon Sits 15th After One Round of JMU/Eagle Landing Invitational

 ORANGE PARK, Fla. -- On Elon's first day of the JMU/Eagle Landing Invitational, the Phoenix women's golf team posted a round one score of 315 to sit in 15th place out of 18 teams.  The second of three rounds will be played on Saturday at the Eagle Landing Golf Club.

Virginia Mayer leads the Elon contingent and is in a tie for 30th out of 99 individuals in the field.  Mayer, who posted 14 par holes, carded a round of 77 on day one.

Just one stroke back in a tie for 38th with a 78 is Martyna Mierzwa.  Shannon Prunty's round of 79 has her in a tie for 51st.

Tara McFadden fired an 81 and enters Saturday's round in a tie for 68th while Lauren Lebak's 85 has her tied for 88th.

Florida Gulf Coast's Briana Carlson sits atop the individual leaderboard with a two-under round of 70.

SoCon rival Chattanooga leads the field after posting a round of 296.  The Lady Mocs lead Stetson (303) by seven strokes.  East Carolina (304), Maryland (305) and Florida Gulf Coast (305) round out the top five teams.

Elon is just four shots back of 11th-place Campbell entering Saturday's play.