Totland leads, Furman seventh at Mercedes-Benz Championship
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Furman sophomore Taylor Totland (-1) fired a 70 Friday to lead the field after the opening round of play at the Mercedes-Benz Intercollegiate at the par-71, 5,870-yard Cherokee Country Club.
Totland parred the first five holes and made the turn at 1-over then birdied No. 11 and No. 15 to finish the round at 1-under, one stroke ahead of Laura Restrepo of Louisville, Alina Rogers of Missouri, and Kent State's Wad Phaewchimplee, who all carded an even 72 in the opening round of play.
No. 33 Kent State (+5) holds a four-stroke lead over 40th-ranked Louisville (+9) after shooting a 5-over 289 on Friday. No. 21 UCF (+10) is in third place, while second-ranked South Carolina (+11) is in fourth place. The 11th-ranked Paladins (+15) are seventh in the team competition after one round of play.
Paladin freshman Alice Chen (+2) is tied for 13th after birdieing No. 1 and No. 17 to card a 2-over 73, while senior Laura DeMarco (+7) and freshman Reona Hirai (+7) each scored a 78 on Friday to tie for 53rd entering Saturday's second round. Junior Valentina Romero (+14) is tied for 85th following one round of play.
Furman will tee off of No. 1 Saturday at 9 a.m. to open the second round play. The 54-hole tournament will conclude on Sunday.
ETSU tied for 13th at Mercedes-Benz Championship
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – With a roster consisting of one junior, two sophomores and two freshmen, the ETSU women’s golf team knew there may be growing pains this season. After the first round of the Mercedes-Benz Intercollegiate at the Cherokee Country Club, the Buccaneers were working hard on the driving range late into the afternoon to learn and improve from the day’s results.
While junior Vivienne Chin and redshirt freshman Dominika Czudkova posted team-best scores of 77 and 78, respectively, on Friday afternoon, no other ETSU player carded a score in the 70s and the Bucs struggled to a tie for 13th after first round play at the event hosted by the University of Tennessee. The Bucs posted a team score of 317 and finished tied with Penn State and Chattanooga on the 16-team leaderboard.
In the team competition, Kent State fired a team score of 289 to hold a four-stroke lead over second-place Louisville. Individually, Furman’s Taylor Totland – who is currently ranked No. 14 in the country – is leading the event at 1-under-par 70, while a trio of players is tied for second at even-par.
For the day, Chin finished tied for 47th, while Czudkova tied for 53rd. Other ETSU results included a tie for 71st by sophomores Rachel Pollock and Linda Dobele, along with a tie for 81st by freshman Allyson Dunn.
The Bucs will continue with second-round play in Knoxville on Saturday, followed by third- and final-round action on Sunday.
Chattanooga tied for 13th at Mercedes-Benz Championship
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The Chattanooga Mocs women’s golf team is tied for 13th after 18 holes at the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate Championship. The Mocs shot 317 at Cherokee Country Club and are even with Penn State and ETSU.
The trio is six behind Michigan in 12th and seven clear of Eastern Kentucky in 16th. Senior Agathe Sauzon and junior Isabella Loza tied for the low round for the squad with 5-over-pars 76s. Emily McLennan shot 80, while Megan Woods carded an 85 to round out the counting cards.
Kent State has the early lead with a 289. Louisville is second, four off the pace, at 293. No. 21 UCF is third at 294, while No. 2 South Carolina is in fourth at 295.
Taylor Totland (Furman) is the individual leader with a 1-under 70. Laura Restrepo (Louisville), Alina Rogers (Missouri) and Wad Phaewchimplee (Kent State) are tied for second after even-par 71s.
Saturday’s second round is a 9:55 a.m. Eastern time start for the Mocs. Sarah Dolmovich leads off No. 10 followed by Woods (10:05), McLennan (10:15), Loza (10:25) and Sauzon (10:35).