Samford wins Low Country Intercollegiate
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – The Samford University women’s golf team registered its second team championship of the 2013-14 season Monday as the Bulldogs tallied a three-stroke victory at the Low Country Intercollegiate hosted by Wofford College at the South Course of the Moss Creek Golf Club.
Samford posted a final-round score of 315 Monday and cruised to the championship title of the team event over Southern Conference rival and defending champion Western Carolina.
Overall, the Bulldogs concluded the 10-team, two-day competition with a 36-hole tally of 628 (313-315). Western Carolina placed second at 631 (314-317), while Gardner-Webb (318-325=642), Bethune-Cookman (324-323=647) and Wofford (327-334=661) rounded out the top five.
Samford also finished ahead of SoCon rivals Appalachian State (ninth place, 681) and The Citadel (10th place, 696). Earlier this season, the Bulldogs cruised to a first-place finish at the FedEx Memphis Women’s Intercollegiate.
Already this season, in head coach Rachel Ingram’s first year at the helm, Samford has earned four top-five finishes and eight top-10 placements.
The Bulldogs dominated the individual standings of the 2014 Low Country Intercollegiate, as Bailey Gray, Alex Jasper and Sydney Needham all finished in the top five. Gray and Jasper both concluded the two-day competition tied for third place in the tournament at 157, while Needham placed fifth with a 36-hole score of 158 (79-79).
Additionally, Samford’s Natalie Mitchell finished tied for 19th place with a 36-hole mark of 164 (78-86) and true freshman Arin Eddy ended the event in 26th place at 167 (89-78).
Western Carolina’s Kristin Swindell and Kim Mitchell finished first and second in the individual standings with respective scores of 7-over-par 151 and 9-over-par 153.
Samford will next be in action April 4-6, as the Bulldogs travel to Oxford, Miss., for the Rebel Intercollegiate to be held at the University of Mississippi Golf Club.
Swindell wins Low Country Intercollegiate, Western Carolina finishes second
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – Western Carolina women’s golf swept the top two individual positions Monday en route to a runner-up finish at the Low Country Intercollegiate, hosted by Wofford College at the par-72, 5,815-yard South Course at the Moss Creek Golf Club. Redshirt sophomore Kristin Swindell used a strong finish to her final round to claim the individual medalist honors, followed closely by her teammate Kim Mitchell in second place.
Swindell’s individual medalist honor was the first of her WCU career, and is the second for a Catamount this season. She joined classmate Taylor Allison, who topped the podium at the home Great Smokies Intercollegiate in Waynesville, N.C.
After posting 15 pars and three bogeys in her first round on Sunday for a 3-over-par 75, Swindell came home with a 4-over-par 76 on Monday afternoon. Opening on the front nine, the Bradenton, Fla., product who transferred to WCU prior to this fall battled through bogeys on four of her first five holes before a double-bogey on the par-5 sixth left her at 6-over par to start the final round. She finished her front nine with a trio of pars to settle the round.
A bogey on the par-4 ninth left her sitting at 7-over-par for the day before the rally to the finish began. Swindell penciled in her first birdie of the tournament on the par-4 12th before carding four consecutive pars. She finished strong with back-to-back birdies on the par-3 17th and par-4 18th – a hole she bogeyed the day before – to finish at 4-over par.
All told, Swindell was 3-under par on her final seven holes Monday to rally to the top of the leader board.
In a two-way tie for third after the opening round on Sunday, Mitchell matched Swindell’s final round of 4-over-par 76 to post her first career top-10 finish at WCU. On Monday – opening on the first hole – Mitchell recorded a birdie to start her round at 1-under-par. However, consecutive bogeys on No. 2 and No. 3 – and all together, bogeys on five of her next eight holes – left her 4-over-par at the turn. On the back nine, Mitchell started with four straight pars before a bogey on the par-5 14th. The Woodbridge, Va., native closed her round with back-to-back birdies on holes No. 16 and No. 17 with an additional bogey on the 18th.
Mitchell finished with five birdies on the difficult Moss Creek South Course.
Sophomore Taylor Allison moved from a tie for 25th after the first 18 holes to post her fifth career top-10 finish – and third this season – by placing in a tie for seventh. From Elizabeth City, N.C., Allison trimmed four strokes off her opening round 82 to shoot 78 on Monday, finishing nine strokes off the pace at 161.
Freshman Ashley Thompson matched her best career finish, placing in a tie for 26th overall with a two-round score of 167 (80-87), while sophomore Mariah Hopkins rounded out WCU’s scoring five in a tie for 41st overall at 175 (82-93).
Playing unattached as individuals, Catamount freshmen Olivia Landino and Bethany Galloway finished tied for 22nd and tied for 35th, respectively. Landino rallied with a final-round 78 to advance 24 spots in the final standings, while Galloway – like Thompson – recorded her best career finish.
First-round leader Samford claimed the top team honors by three strokes over the second-place Catamounts. The Bulldogs carded rounds of 313 and 315 for a two-day total of 628, while WCU turned in scores of 314 and 317 for a 36-hole tally of 631, three strokes in arrears. Gardner-Webb finished third at 643, followed by Bethune-Cookman with a 647 in fourth and the host Terriers in fifth at 661.
Two other Southern Conference schools were a part of the 10-team field in Appalachian State (ninth, 681) and The Citadel (10th, 696).
Western Carolina returns to action at the Mimosa Hills Intercollegiate at the Mimosa Hills Country Club in Morganton, N.C., March 31 through April 1, with 18 holes per day to make up the 36-hole event. After winning the tournament in 2012, the Catamounts finished fifth at the same event a season ago. WCU also finished third in the tournament back in both 2009 and 2010.
Wofford finishes fifth at Low Country Intercollegiate
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – The Wofford College women's golf team closed out the sixth annual Low Country Intercollegiate on Monday and earned fifth place with a two-day total of 85-over-par 661.
Once again, the South Course of the Moss Creek Golf Club played extremely tough for the 10-team, 55-player field. Monday's final-round stroke average was 85.62, nearly a stroke and a half higher than Sunday's already challenging 84.19. The increase in stroke average had to do with winds blowing 15-20 miles per hour throughout the day and a 20-degree decrease in temperature, with Monday's high only reaching 55.
Headlining the top-five finish for the host Terriers were senior Anne Marie Covar and junior Lauren Dunbar. Each tied for seventh place with a 36-hole total of 16-over-par 160.
Covar began the day in 25th place and climbed 18 spots, carding Wofford's best round of the day of 6-over 78. The senior's round included a birdie on the par-3, 97-yard 17th, as she finished strong with a total of 2-over through her final 11 holes.
Dunbar tied for seventh, as well. After posting a 6-over 78 on Sunday, the Columbia, S.C., native turned in a 10-over 82 on her final round.
For the Terriers, sophomore Maegan Higgins tied for 33rd (+26), freshman Katy Funk finished 38th (+28) and sophomore Emiley Pagrabs tied for 39th (+29). Senior Alex Hendricks competed as an individual and was disqualified following Sunday’s first round. She went on to shoot a 17-over 89.
The Wofford women's golf team continues spring play next Sunday, traveling to Morganton, N.C., for the Mimosa Hills Intercollegiate.
Appalachian State finishes ninth at Low Country Intercollegiate
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – The Appalachian State University women’s golf team finished the sixth annual Low Country Intercollegiate in ninth place with a two-round score of 681 at the par-72, 5,815-yard Moss Creek Golf Club.
After the first day of the tournament, freshman Emily Stinson and junior Haley Zagoria held the top spots for Appalachian. Both carded a 9-over-par 81. Stinson was able to secure the top spot for the Mountaineers, finishing two strokes better than Zagoria. Stinson finished tied for 22nd place overall and Zagoria finished tied for 26th place overall.
Sophomore Hannah Craver began the day tied in 38th place and shot just one stroke worse than her first round. She finished the tournament tied for 35th place and carded a 27-over-par 171.
Sophomore Lily Yatawara and sophomore Madalyn Davis both settled at 50th place, finishing with 40-over-par 184s.
Appalachian State continues its spring play March 30, as it hosts the Mimosa Hills Intercollegiate at the Mimosa Hills Golf Club in Morganton, N.C.
The Citadel finishes 10th at Low Country Intercollegiate
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – The Citadel's Erica Pellegrini fired a two-day score of 170 (+26) and finished tied for 33rd at the South Course of the Moss Creek Golf Club.
Pellegrini recorded rounds of 80 and 70 to finish alongside Wofford's Maegan Higgins.
The Citadel posted a 696 (+120) to complete the tournament in 10th place. Southern Conference rival Samford brought home top team honors with a 628 (+52), while Western Carolina finished three shots back.
Renata Sucha (80-90=173) notched the fourth top-40 finish of her career as she tied for 39th with Emiley Pagrabs (Wofford) with a +29.
The trio of Eraina Manor (84-91=175; +31), Kellie Anderson (85-93=178; +34) and McKenzie Duncan (86-94=180; +36) rounded out The Citadel scorecard.
Top individual honors went to Western Carolina's Kristin Swindell (75-76=151; +7) after she edged teammate Kim Mitchell by two shots.
The Citadel makes its final regular-season appearance at the Mimosa Intercollegiate on March 30-31 before competing at the SoCon Championship next month.
Chattanooga seventh at Briar’s Creek Invitational
JOHNS ISLAND, S.C. – The Chattanooga Mocs women’s golf team is seventh after 36 holes at the Briar’s Creek Invitational. Chattanooga shot 303 and 304 Monday for a total of 607, which is two ahead of Kansas and five clear of Wisconsin.
Emily McLennan and Agathe Sauzon are tied for 10th overall at 5-over-par 149. The duo is just four strokes out of the lead held by a trio of golfers at plus-1 (145). There are 18 student-athletes within four strokes of the lead.
Jordan Britt and Isabella Loza completed the team scoring. Britt is tied for 24th at 151, carding rounds of 77 and 74. Loza shot twin 79s for a total of 158.
GRU Augusta is the leader at 20-over-par 596. East Carolina is second at 600 followed by No. 11 Clemson, another stroke behind at 601. The Mocs are just 11 shots behind the Jaguars.
Chattanooga was tied for fifth after the opening 18 with Clemson. The two shot 15-over-par 303 and were nine off the lead, three back of East Tennessee State and GRU Augusta in third at 300. Sauzon led the way with a level-par 72, which tied her for fourth at the time.
Tuesday’s final round is a shotgun start scheduled for 9 a.m. The Mocs open on holes 7-9 and are paired with Kansas and Wisconsin.