Western Carolina gets spring season under way

ORLANDO, Fla. – The Western Carolina women’s golf team opened its spring semester on Sunday, shooting a collective 313 to stand 19th with two rounds remaining at the highly competitive UCF Challenge hosted at the par-72, 6,349-yard Eagle Creek Golf Club.

Paired with varying individual competitors, WCU’s scoring five will tee off on the back nine between holes 16 and 18 in Monday’s shotgun start of the second round. The tournament will conclude on Tuesday with a third round of 18 holes.

Redshirt sophomore Kristin Swindell posted a 3-over-par 75 to lead the Catamounts in a tie for 49th overall. Opening on the par-4 14th, Swindell was 2-overp-par with three bogeys and a birdie through her first five holes. Playing in her home state, the Bradenton native posted 10 pars over her final 13 holes with two bogeys and a second birdie on the par-3 11th.

Sophomore Taylor Allison is tied for 78th after 18 holes, shooting 5-over 77. She countered a double-bogey and five bogeys with 10 pars and a pair of birdies on the front nine. Classmate Kim Mitchell is tied for 90th at 7-over 79, with freshman Olivia Landino (102nd-t, 82) and sophomore Mariah Hopkins (104th, 85) rounding out the Catamount side.

Tournament host No. 26 UCF leads the 19-team field after carding a 6-under-par opening round, holding a five-stroke lead over Miami after the Hurricanes shot 1-under-par 287. East Tennessee State is third at even-par 288, with GRU Augusta and South Florida tied for fourth at 2-over 290 to round out the top five scoring teams.

UCF’s Fanny Cnops holds a stroke advantage over a two-way tie for the runner-up position between Gabriella Wahl of East Tennessee State and GRU Augusta’s Casey Kennedy. Cnops shot 5-under 67, with Wahl and Kennedy posting 4-under 68. Combined, 16 golfers carded rounds under par on Sunday.