Gray wins, Samford seventh at LPGA Xavier Collegiate Invitational
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Samford’s Bailey Gray blistered the par-72, 6,168-yard LPGA International Golf Course on Monday by posting a sizzling 3-under-par 69 en route to the title of the esteemed LPGA Xavier Collegiate Invitational. Gray finished the three-day tournament with a 54-hole total of 4-under-par 212 and defeated Daytona State College’s Tiffany Chan by two strokes.
Gray claimed the first individual medalist honors of her collegiate career Monday and posted her lowest three-day total as a Bulldog (73-70-69=212).
Gray entered the third round of play trailing Mercer’s Lacey Fears by a single stroke. Fears carded a final-round score of 74 on Monday to finish the tournament in third place. As a team, Mercer claimed the title of the LPGA Xavier Invitational with a 54-hole total of 893 (305-296-292).
Rounding out the top-five teams in this year’s annual tournament were Daytona State College (300-301-300=901), Morehead State (302-294-305=901), Xavier (304-306-304=914) and Stetson (309-301-308=918).
Samford turned in its best round of the tournament Monday and jumped three positions to finish the event in seventh place. The Bulldogs fired a third-round score of 301 and concluded the 54-hole competition with a total tally of 927 (315-311-301). Samford finished just three strokes behind sixth-place North Florida (305-307-312=924).
Samford’s Natalie Mitchell posted the team’s second-best score of the tournament with a 54-hole tally of 232 (82-73-77). She fired her lowest score of the competition Sunday with a 1-over-par 73 and was aided by the first hole-in-one of her career.
Rounding out Samford’s scoring on Monday were senior Alex Jasper (79-83-78=240), freshman Sydney Needham (81-85-77=243) and junior Emily Stallings (84-92-80=256).
This week’s tournament was Samford’s final competition of the 2013 fall season.
So far this year, under the direction of first-year head coach Ingram, Samford has recorded finishes of first, second, seventh and eighth place. The Bulldogs cruised to the title at the 2013 FedEx Memphis Women’s Intercollegiate on Sept. 10 and then earned a runner-up finish at the Great Smokies Intercollegiate on Sept. 17.
Wofford third at Wendy’s Invitational
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. – The Wofford College women's golf team began play at the Charleston Southern University Wendy's Invitational on Monday and is in third place through the first two rounds.
Wofford shot an opening-round 24-over-par 312 and coupled it with a second-round 9-over-par 297 to sit third at 33-over-par. Leading the way for the Terriers is freshman Katy Funk, who fired a pair of 3-over-par 75s and sits at 6-over-par in a tie for 14th place.
Precipitation throughout most of the day made for sloppy playing conditions at the par-72, 6,011-yard Rivertowne Country Club. The morning round especially took a toll on all 13 teams and 71 individuals competing in the two-day tournament, as Wofford's 24-over-par opening round was still good enough for fourth place. Conditions became more favorable as the day went on, resulting in a second-round improvement of 15 strokes for the Terriers and helping them leap one stroke ahead of host Charleston Southern.
Wofford's low round of the day belonged to sophomore Emiley Pagrabs. After an opening-round 8-over-par 80, Pagrabs recovered to shoot a 1-over 73 and card the low round of her collegiate career, beating her previous low of 2-over 74 at last year's Terrier Intercollegiate. Pagrabs is 9-over for the tournament and climbed from a tie for 31st and into a tie for 19th place.
Senior Anne Marie Covar also had a nice recovery from an opening-round 8-over 80. Covar came back with a 2-over 74 her second time around to move up six spots and into a tie for 25th.
Junior Lauren Dunbar carded rounds of 5-over 77 and 7-over 79. Sophomore Maegan Higgins shot a 9-over 81 followed by a 3-over 75. Both Dunbar and Higgins are at 12-over and tied for 31st. Senior Shelby Winters is competing as an individual and is tied for 54th at 20-over-par.
The College of Charleston shot team scores of 2-over 290 and 1-under 287 to lead the tournament at 1-over-par. Coastal Carolina is in second at 12-over-par, followed by the Terriers at 33-over.
Tuesday's final round tees off in a shotgun format at 9 a.m.
Chattanooga ninth at Lady Pirate Invitational
GREENVILLE, N.C. – Jordan Britt is one shot off the lead with 18 holes to play at the Lady Pirate Intercollegiate. Britt navigated her 36-hole Monday at 1-under par 143 on the Greenville Country Club tract. Middle Tennessee’s Ashley George is the leader at minus-2 (142).
Britt began the day with an even-par 72 over the morning 18. She came back with a 71 in the afternoon for her 143. She was in second at the end of each round.
The senior paced the Chattanooga Mocs to scores of 304 and 306 for a total of 610. The squad is ninth, one stroke behind Maryland in eighth at 609.
Emily McLennan and Isabella Loza are next for UTC, tied at 156. Porsche Campbell came in at 159, while Agathe Sauzon shot 161.
East Tennessee State leads at 20-over par 596. The Bucs opened with a level-par 288 before shooting 308 in the second 18. Host East Carolina (597) is one shot back in second, while MTSU (598) ranks third.
Elon 10th at Lady Pirate Invitational
GREENVILLE, N.C. – Following two rounds of play in wet conditions, the Elon women's golf team sits 10th at the 16-team Lady Pirate Intercollegiate thanks to a trio of players tied for 17th individually. The Phoenix will enter Tuesday's final round with a score of 619 (307-312).
With a mark of 151, three Elon golfers tied for 17th among the 90 participants - Sunna Vidisdottir (77-74), Emily Brooks (75-76) and Kelsey Badmaev (75-76).
In her two rounds of action on Monday, Brooks posted six birdies, tied for the eighth-most in the tournament. Vidisdottir recorded five birdies while Badmaev had three birdies along with 23 pars, tied for the ninth-most in the event.
Elon's next player sits tied for 83rd. Kathryn Buckingham carded a first-day score of 168 (82-86). She sits one stroke ahead of Taylor Wilkerson, who notched rounds of 80 and 89 on Monday.
Competing as an individual, Katie Partridge is tied for 72nd with a two-round mark of 164 (84-80).
Leading the individual field is Middle Tennessee State's Avery George. George posted a 2-under par 142 (75-67) and leads Chattanooga's Jordan Britt by one stroke entering Tuesday's final round.
The teams are being paced by 43rd-ranked East Tennessee State. The Bucs’ score sat at 596 (288-308) following the first day of action. The top four spots are all one stroke apart. Host East Carolina sits second with a 597, Middle Tennessee State is third with a 598 and Old Dominion sits fourth with a 599.
Georgia State and Penn State are tied for fifth with a mark of 605.
Elon leads six teams – Boston College (620), Winthrop (625), UNCW (630), William & Mary (631), Longwood (645) and Appalachian State (652) with a round to play.