Western Carolina finishes tied for fourth at Wyoming Cowgirl Desert Intercollegiate
PALM DESERT, Calif. – Leading through two rounds, Western Carolina slipped three spots in the final standings after shooting 312 as a team on Sunday to finish in a two-way tie for fourth place at the Wyoming Cowgirl Desert Intercollegiate held at the par-72, 6112-yard The Classic Club/Troon Golf Course. WCU turned in a three-round score of 913 on the longest trip in program history.
The Catamounts were led by sophomore Taylor Allison, who finished tied for 17th overall, sliding seven spots with a final-round score of 79. Allison finished with a 54-hole score of 224. Freshman Olivia Landino posted the best third-round score for WCU, finishing the event with a 3-over-par 75 on Sunday. The Hermitage, Pa., product continued her consistent play to open her first season, shooting 230 to match her second-best 54-hole score, finishing tied for 25th and advancing 13 spots in the final standings.
Redshirt sophomore Kristen Swindell finished tied for 31st for the Catamounts, shooting 79 in the final round for a two-day total of 231, with sophomore Mariah Hopkins also carding a 7-over 79 on Sunday to finish two spots back of her teammate in a tie for 33rd at 232. Sophomore transfer Kim Mitchell rounded out WCU’s scoring five in a tie for 50th at 236 (72-78-86).
Catamount freshmen Bethany Galloway and Ashley Thompson both played in the tournament unattached as individuals. Galloway finished tied for 68th overall, capping her tournament with a 2-over-par 74 on Sunday in the final round. Galloway shot 242 for the tournament.
Thompson finished tied for 97th overall with a three-round score of 251.
Cal State Fullerton, which was tied for second after 36 holes, claimed the team championship, edged Cal State Northridge by a stroke, 909-910, after the Matadors matched the low round of the tournament with a 297 on Sunday to rally from seventh to the runner-up position. Rollins College (912) finished third, just a stroke ahead of WCU in a fourth-place tie with San Francisco at 913 to round out the top five finishers.
Taylor Yoshitake of Cal Poly matched her second-round score of 2-under 70 to finish the tournament tied atop the individual leader board with Cal State Northridge’s Clariss Guce with matching scores of 3-under-par 213. Marissa Borja of Eastern Washington finished third, five strokes in arrears at 218.
Western Carolina wraps up the fall portion of its 2013-14 schedule at the Fighting Camel Classic, hosted by Campbell at the Keith Hills Country Club in Buies Creek, N.C., Oct. 20-21.
Chattanooga finishes eighth at Diane Thomason Invitational
IOWA CITY, Iowa –The Chattanooga Mocs women’s golf team moved up to an eighth-place finish at Iowa’s Diane Thomason Invitational on Finkbine Golf Course. UTC’s 305 moved it passed Kansas State and Middle Tennessee on the leader board.
Emily McLennan led the ladies, tying for 15th by shooting 229. Her even-par 72 was the team’s low round of the event and included five birdies.
Jordan Britt tied for 26th at 233. Agathe Sauzon was two behind her at 235, while Isabella Loza shot 240. Porsche Campbell rounded out the team scoring shooting 248. Mette Kryger played as an individual and posted 233, tying Britt in 26th.
The 305 was Chattanooga’s best round of the event. It tied for the fourth-best total of the day. For the event, the Mocs topped the likes of Kansas State (938), Middle Tennessee (939), Michigan (946) and USF (960). The squad played head-to-head over the 54 holes with the Wolverines and Bulls, beating the duo by 14 and 28, respectively.
Illinois claimed the five-shot win. The Fighting Illini went wire-to-wire in the lead. Kansas came in second at 904, while Wisconsin ended up third at 907.
Stephanie Miller led Illinois, running away with the individual title. Her 3-under-par 213 was 10 shots clear of second-place Yupaporn Kawinpakorn of KU at 223. Ohio State’s Jessica Porvasnik was third at 224.
Sunday’s round ended the fall portion of the 2013-14 schedule for Chattanooga. The Mocs return to the tee in February at the UGA Individual (Feb. 8). The team is back in action Feb. 17-18 at the Central District Invitational.
Furman 17th at Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational
AUSTIN, Texas – Freshman Taylor Totland (E) fired an even 72 to tie for 28th place, leading Furman Sunday in a soggy first round of the Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational at the par-72, 6,143-yard University of Texas Golf Club. Play was delayed by five hours on Sunday morning due to heavy rain in the Austin overnight, which led to wet conditions on the course.
Totland birdied one hole on the front and three on the back, including two of her last four holes, to finish the day five strokes back of the leaders, Miami’s Dani Darquea and Mississippi State’s Jessica Peng, who each shot a 67 to open the tournament.
Paladin seniors Aubrie Street (+4) and Ingunn Gunnarsdottir (+4) each carded a 76 in the opening round to tie for 63rd place. Gunnarsdottir, who recently represented Iceland in competition for the European Ladies’ Club Trophy, registered birdies on holes 3 and 9.
Sophomore Valentina Romera (+7) birdied the par-3 No. 12 to card a 79 in Sunday’s opening round, while junior Laura DeMarco (+7) also shot a 79 in the opener after birdying 2 and 13. The Paladin duo is tied for 85th heading into Monday’s second round.
Miami (-12) holds a five-stroke lead with a 12-under 276. UCLA (-7) is second, followed by Arizona State (-5) in third. The Paladins (+15) are in 17th place following the first day of competition.
Furman will tee off of hole 10 beginning at 9:39 a.m. Central time Monday in second-round play of the 54-hole tournament.