Women's Golf Southern Conference

Sunday's Women's Golf Roundup

Chattanooga finishes 11th at SunTrust Gator Invitational

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Isabella Loza and Agathe Sauzon paced a season-best effort Sunday with 2-over par 72s in the final round of the SunTrust Gator Women’s Invitational. The Chattanooga Mocs’ 292 is their 18-hole low for the season and provided them an 11th-place finish at 901 on Mark Bostick Golf Course at the University of Florida.

The 292 is not only a season-best, but it is the lowest UTC has shot since the final round of the 2011 Southern Conference Championship.

Loza’s 72 is her season-best round, while Sauzon ties her low from Friday’s opening round. Emily McLennan and Marion Duvernay each carded 4-over par 74s, while Mette Kryger had the drop score with a 76.

Loza tied for 28th to lead the Mocs with a 223. Keeping with the spirit of the day, it’s her season-low mark. Sauzon ended up one stroke behind her at 224, while McLennan was just two more shots off the pace at 226.

No. 3 Alabama held on for the win, shooting 286 Sunday and 865 for the 54 holes. The Crimson Tide topped No. 4 Oklahoma by three and tourney host No. 5 Florida by five. No. 21 Oklahoma State and No. 15 Virginia tied for fourth at 877, 12 shots off the pace.

Oklahoma’s Chirapat Jao-Javanil’s had a 1-under 69 Sunday to claim a five-shot win for medalist honors. Her 206 total included a consistent slate of 69, 68 and 69. Portland Rosen of Virginia was runner-up at 1-over.

The Mocs closed strong today playing minus two on its counting cards in the final three holes. Sauzon holed out for eagle on 10, while McLennan birdied the par five 12th, her final hole after a shotgun start to the day.

The Mocs ended up just four strokes shy of No. 18 Baylor (897) in 10th and nine shots behind No. 6 North Carolina (892) and Mississippi State (892), which tied for eighth.

UTC is back to the tee a week from Monday at the Briers Creek Invitational. The tourney begins on March 25 and completes on the Tuesday, Marc 26.

 

Appalachian State tied for fifth at MSU Ocala Spring Invitational

OCALA, Fla. – Senior Yue Xu fired an opening-round 72 (E) to lead Appalachian State at the MSU Ocala Spring Invitational, as the Mountaineers sit tied for fifth with Western Kentucky after one round on Sunday at Juliette Falls Golf Resort.

Appalachian's 303 is 10 shots behind tournament leader Mercer, who posted two scores under par for the day. Defending champion Stetson currently holds the second-place position, four shots behind the Bears.

Xu's 72 was her best round of the spring season and placed her tied for sixth for the invitational. Classmate Lauren Smith followed Xu's 72 with a 2-over 74, her best score of the spring. Smith is currently tied for 10th place in the individual standings.

Coming off medalist honors at the Benbow Invitational, senior Rumbidzai Masamvu carded a 77 (+5) in her first round since the individual championship. The 5-over placed the Zimbabwe native in a tie for 32nd.

Rounding out the Appalachian lineup, senior Mimi Burke finished the opening round with an 80 (+8), while freshman Lily Yatawara tallied an 82 (+10).

Individually, sophomore Haley Zagoria is currently tied with Yatawara for 59th after turning in an 82 (+10).

The Mountaineers continue the MSU Ocala Spring Invitational on Monday.

 

Western Carolina tied for eighth at MSU Ocala Spring Invitational

OCALA, Fla. – With two golfers inside the individual top 25 through the opening 18 holes, the Western Carolina women's golf team stands in a two-way tie for eighth out of the 14-team field at the MSU Ocala Spring Invitational, hosted by Morehead State at the par-72, 6,113-yard Juliette Falls Golf Resort.

Sophomore Maria Kjelldorff and freshman Mariah Hopkins carded matching scores of 4-over par 76 on Sunday to stand tied with six others for 24th place in the individual standings. The duo both shot plus-2 38s on both the front and back nines in the first round.

The tournament's second round gets under way with set tee times beginning at 8 a.m. Monday. Paired with golfers from Daytona State College and McNeese State, WCU's first golfer hits the links on the first hole with an 8:09 a.m. tee time with the final Catamount opening her second round at 8:45 a.m.

Behind Kjelldorff and Hopkins, freshman Taylor Allison recovered from a 6-over par on the front nine to shoot 1-over 37 on the back for an opening-round 79, tied for 42nd in the standings. Another rookie, Fatima Gonzales-Carriles, is tied for 57th after an opening-round 81 with senior Michelle Bello in 82nd overall with a first-round 92.

Kara Brinkmann from Ohio University fired a 3-under par 69 on Sunday to lead the 82-golfer field, one stroke ahead of second-place Samantha Moyal of Rutgers at 2-under 70. Mercer put two individual golfers in a three-way tie for third place in Lacey Fears and Kaitlin Marrin, along with Toledo's Kate Hoops, at 1-under 71.

Round two of the 54-hole event is slated for Monday with the final round scheduled for Tuesday.

 

Wofford tied for third at C&F Bank Intercollegiate

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – After one round of play, the Wofford women’s golf team is tied for third in the C&F Bank Intercollegiate at the Kingsmill Resort River golf course. The team trails first-place Boston College by seven strokes.

The Terriers posted a 309 and are tied with Gardner-Webb for third. Wofford was led by Lauren Dunbar and Maegan Higgins, who shot 75 (+4) and 76 (+5), respectively. After the first round, Dunbar is tied for sixth, while Higgins is tied for 11th.

Anne Marie Covar and Shelby Winters both posted 79s and Alex Hendricks finished with an 81.