Elon third at William & Mary Invitational
KINGS MILL, Va. – The Elon women's golf team carded a second-round 293 on Monday, the second-lowest round of any team in the tournament thus far, to hold steady in third place after two rounds of the William & Mary Invitational. Three Phoenix players currently sit in the top 10 among the 51 individuals participating.
With six birdies through her first 36 holes, Sunna Vidisdottir leads the Elon contingent with a mark of 145 (72-73) to sit in a tie for third. She will begin Tuesday's final round of play just two strokes back of the leaders.
Kelsey Badmaev posted an even-par 71 on Monday to climb into a tie for seventh with an overall score of 147 (76-71). She leads the field with 27 pars following two rounds of action.
Behind five birdies in two rounds, Emily Brooks also holds a spot in the top 10 as she is tied for ninth with a tally of 148 (74-74).
With one round to play, Katie Partridge sits in a tie for 22nd with a mark of 155 (80-75). She has parred 24 of her 36 holes.
Rounding out the field for the Maroon and Gold is Kristi Ingram, who is 40th after posting a two-day score of 170 (88-82).
The individual lead is shared by Morehead State's Anna Appert Lund (75-68) and William & Mary's Kelly McGovern (70-73) at 143.
Morehead State also leads the team standings with a score of 585 (294-291). William & Mary (294-296=590) sits between Elon and the top spot. The Phoenix has a two-round score of 595 (302-293).
Elon leads Richmond (603), Georgetown (607), Radford (620), Hofstra (654), Randolph-Macon (687) and Hampton (749) with one round to play.
Samford leads Great Smokies Intercollegiate
WAYNESVILLE, N.C. – The Samford University women’s golf team continued its stellar play in the 2013 fall season Monday as the Bulldogs fired a school-record, 18-hole team mark of 281 at the 15th annual Great Smokies Intercollegiate hosted by Western Carolina University at the par-72, 5,932-yard Waynesville Inn and Golf Resort.
Samford’s monumental opening-round total of 281 surpassed the Bulldogs’ previous best mark of 291, which was set at last season’s Great Smokies Intercollegiate.
Samford had three golfers post scores under par, including two in the upper 60s, on Monday as the Bulldogs hold a two-stroke advantage over tournament host Western Carolina.
Samford fired the lowest 18-hole score in tournament history, shooting 281 to eclipse the previous tournament record of 282 carded by Gardner-Webb in the second round of the 2011 Great Smokies Intercollegiate. The Bulldogs are two strokes ahead of Western Carolina, which posted a school record-low round of 283.
Samford’s Bailey Gray and Mercer's Macy McRaney lead the 67-golfer field, tied atop the leaderboard with matching scores of 5-under-par 67. Gray carded five birdies on her opening round, while McRaney finished with four birdies and overcame one bogey with an eagle on the par-5, 430-yard 18th.
Gray's Samford teammate, Sydney Needham, is in a two-way tie for third with Loretta Giovannettone from Methodist, both just one stroke in arrears after shooting 68 on Monday.
All told, a combined 18 golfers shot even-par or better on Monday, with five shooting in the 60s. Those 18 golfers are all within five strokes of the individual lead entering Tuesday's final round.
Behind Samford (281) and Western Carolina (283), future Southern Conference member Mercer is third after the opening round after the Bears fired a team 285. Methodist sits in fourth place at 292, two strokes ahead of the two-way tie for fifth between Eastern Kentucky and Appalachian State at 294.
Western Kentucky is in seventh place as a team at 298 with Bowling Green (306), Presbyterian (310) and UAB (314) rounding out the top 10. Two-time tournament champion Tennessee Tech (1999, 2000) is 11th at 315 with SoCon member The Citadel rounding out the field at 322.
Samford will resume play in the 2013 Great Smokies Intercollegiate on Tuesday at 8 a.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs look to open their fall season with back-to-back tournament titles.
Western Carolina second at Great Smokies Intercollegiate
WAYNESVILLE, N.C. – Samford had three golfers post scores under par, including two in the upper 60s, on Monday as the Bulldogs hold a two-stroke advantage over tournament host Western Carolina in the 15th annual Great Smokies Intercollegiate being held at the par-72, 5,932-yard Waynesville Inn, Golf Resort and Spa.
Samford fired the lowest 18-hole score in tournament history on Monday, shooting 281 to eclipse the previous tournament record of 282 carded by Gardner-Webb in the second round of the 2011 Great Smokies Intercollegiate. The Bulldogs are just ahead of the Catamounts, which posted a school record-low round of 283, one stroke better than its previous mark of 284 recorded in the opening round of the same event back in 2008. WCU’s score of 283 is the third-best 18-hole score in event history.
WCU did not count a score above even-par on Monday.
For the host Catamounts, defending individual medalist Taylor Allison and newcomer Kristin Swindell are tied for sixth in the standings after both shooting 2-under-par 70.
Transfer Kim Mitchell is a third Catamount sitting inside the individual top 10, tied for ninth place with a 1-under-par 71. Freshman Olivia Landino sits amidst a tie for 12th place after shooting even-par 72.
Rounding out WCU’s scoring five was sophomore Mariah Hopkins, who charted one birdie in shooting 3-over par 75 to stand tied for 25th overall.
Two Catamount freshmen made their collegiate debuts on Monday playing as individuals. Local product Ashley Thompson posted three birdies playing just minutes from her hometown of Clyde, N.C. The former Pisgah High standout is tied for 22nd overall with a 2-over par 74. Bethany Galloway, a freshman from Charlotte, N.C., is tied for 60th overall, shooting 82 in her first college tournament.
As the participants did a season ago, many of the teams on Monday wore their varying degrees of pink attire and pink ribbons as a show of solidarity in support of raising breast cancer awareness. In addition, several teams also wore teal ribbons as a sign of support for Auburn University head women’s golf coach, Kim Evans, in her fight with ovarian cancer.
Play concludes on Tuesday with a shotgun start set for 9 a.m.
Appalachian State tied for fifth at Great Smokies Intercollegiate
WAYNESVILLE, N.C. – Appalachian State is tied for fifth after one round at the Great Smokies Intercollegiate at the Waynesville Inn – Golf Resort and Spa.
The Mountaineers are currently sitting tied for fifth out of 12 teams after shooting a team round of 294. Appalachian State is currently 13 strokes back of leader Samford and eight strokes back of second place, which is occupied by host Western Carolina.
The Mountaineers have three golfers among the top 20 individuals playing on Monday. Haley Zagoria fired a 71 in round one and currently sits in a ninth-place tie.
Not far behind is Hannah Craver, who shot a 72 and is tied for 12th. Emily Stinson sits tied for 19th after shooting a 73 in round one. Madalyn Davis is tied for 40th with a round-one score of 78, while Lily Yatawara is currently 66th with her score of 84.
Chattanooga fourth at Cardinal Cup
SIMPSONVILLE, Ky. – Senior Jordan Britt’s second-round 69 has the Chattanooga Mocs women’s golf team in fourth position through 36 holes at the Cardinal Cup. Host Louisville leads at 9-under par (567), with Kansas in second. UTC shot rounds of 301 and 293 for its 36-hole 594.
Britt opened with a 75 and then turned in a sparkling card. Her 69 included three birdies and 15 pars for a flawless card.
Britt is tied for fifth at even par. Agathe Sauzon is three behind her, tied for 11th at 147 (+3), after rounds of 74 and 73. Emily McLennan is tied for 20th, another two shots shy of Sauzon at 149 (76-73).
Isabella Loza posted the other two counting scores for the 36 holes with a 154 total for the day. Mette Kryger shot 161, while Porsche Campbell turned in a 160 playing as an individual.
The Cardinals’ Laura Restrepo leads at 7-under par 137. She fired a 67 in the morning and came in with a 70 in the afternoon. KU’s Yupaporn Kawinpakorn is second at minus-4 (140), while Louisville’s Emily Haas is in third (141).
Chattanooga plays its final 18 Tuesday in a shotgun start.