Western Carolina sits first at UNF Intercollegiate
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – With three players inside the individual top five, the Western Carolina women’s golf team paces the 14-team by five strokes after 36 of the 54 holes at the UNF Intercollegiate, hosted by North Florida at the par-72, 6,144-yard Jacksonville Golf and Country Club. WCU carded rounds of 305 and 308 for a combined 613 to lead tournament host North Florida entering Tuesday’s final round.
Sophomore Taylor Allison paced the trio of Catamounts inside the top five with a two-round score of 150 (79 and 71). The Elizabeth City, N.C., native countered seven holes of bogey or worse with a pair of birdies in the first round before posting five birdies against four bogeys in the second to shoot 1-under-par 71.
Allison is followed closely by teammates Kristin Swindell and Olivia Landino in a four-way tie for fourth-place at 152. Swindell carded three birdies in the opening 36 holes, shooting 1-over-par 73 and 7-over-79, while Landino likewise finished with rounds of 73 and 79. Landino, a freshman from Hermitage, Pa., charted five birdies and an eagle on the par-4 11th in the opening 18 holes on Monday.
Sophomore Kim Mitchell carded rounds of 80 and 79 for a 36-hole tally of 159 to stand in a tie for 27th with classmate Mariah Hopkins in a tie for 41st at 165 (81 and 85) to round out WCU’s side.
WCU had two individuals in competition on Monday, with freshmen Bethany Galloway and Ashley Thompson playing unattached. Galloway sits in a tie for 64th overall after rounds of 85 and 87 for a total of 172. Thompson is seven strokes back in a tie for 73rd overall after charting rounds of 90 and 89.
Behind WCU’s 613 and UNF’s opening round of 618, Eastern Kentucky is four additional strokes off the pace in third at 622. Daytona State shot 624 to enter the final 18 holes in fourth place, while Old Dominion rounds out the top five at 628.
Tiffany Chan of Daytona State posted rounds of 2-under-par 70 and 4-over-par 76 for a two-round score of 2-over-par 146 to lead the 83 golfer field. ODU’s Elizabeth Haycock is two strokes off the pace with consecutive rounds of 74 for a 148. Allison is four strokes off the lead at 150 ahead of the four-way tie for fourth.
Paired with golfers from its nearest two competitors, UNF and Eastern Kentucky, WCU’s scoring five tees off on the front nine between holes Nos. 1 and 3 with an 8:30 a.m. shotgun start. The two Catamount individuals start on the back nine, with Galloway starting on No. 16 and Thompson on the 18th.
Appalachian State 14th at UNF Intercollegiate
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – After day one, the Appalachian State University women’s golf team rests in 14th place after playing two rounds at the University of North Florida Invitational in Jacksonville, Fla.
The Mountaineers started the day off fast, quickly putting them in winning position, but bad play in a couple of holes put them in last place.
After the front nine holes of the first round, freshman Emily Stinson and sophomore Madalyn Davis propelled themselves into top-five position, but that would go away as other golfers began to hit stride and play became average for the Mountaineers.
Both Stinson and Davis shot a 38 (+2) in the front nine of the first round. A couple of double-bogeys for Davis and bogeys for Stinson in the back nine had them finish the round 7- and 4-over, respectively.
Freshman Hannah Craver bogeyed eight holes in the first round but got a team-leading three birdies to finish the first round with a 77 (+5).
Overall, the Mountaineers shot a 324 in the first round and a 353 in the second round.
Currently, Stinson is in 31st place overall, followed by Craver, who is in 37th, and Davis, who is in 51st.
The Mountaineers will look to bounce back in the last round of the tournament. Tee times for Tuesday are at 8:30 am.