Chattanooga rally for fourth-place finish at Kiawah Island Classic
KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. – The Chattanooga Mocs women’s golf team started the day in 10th place but ended it in fourth after shooting the second-best round of the day at Cougar Point Golf Course. The Mocs’ 300 was the second-best round of the day to vault the team past Jacksonville State, Arkansas State, Troy, College of Charleston, North Florida and St. John’s.
Emily McLennan’s 1-under-par 71 capped a strong event for the sophomore. She ended up tied for fourth at 6-over-par 222. It’s her first top-five of 2013-14 and the sixth top-10 of her career.
McLennan was nearly matched Tuesday by Jordan Britt. The senior carded a 1-over-par 73, completing her tourney at 226, tying for 17th. Britt’s five birdies over the final 18 tied McLennan’s final round at Iowa in October for most by Moc this season.
Agathe Sauzon and Porsche Campbell closed out the counting scores. Each tallied 6-over-par scores of 78.
Kent State won the tournament by 14 shots over Penn State. The Nittany Lions finished one ahead of High Point in third and held off the Mocs in fourth by two. KSU’s Wad Phaewchimplee and Katia Joo (Boston College) tied for medalist honors at 4-over 220, just two shots ahead of McLennan.
Chattanooga takes a small break before returning to the course March 14-16 at the Insperity Lady Jag Intercollegiate. The three-day, 54-hole affair is hosted by GRU Augusta at Forest Hills Golf Club in Augusta, Ga.
Elon finishes 10th at Kiawah Island Classic
KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. – Competing in the largest NCAA Division I golf tournament in the nation, the Elon women's golf squad opened its spring season by placing 10th at the Kiawah Classic hosted by College of Charleston on Tuesday. The Phoenix put together a three-day score of 920 (301-315-304).
Elon was led by Sunna Vidisdottir who placed in a tie for 17th among the 192 players in the field with a score of 226 (75-76-75). Over her three rounds, Vidisdottir was one of two players to record 41 pars, the most in the field. She had one birdie during her final round of play.
In a tie for 33rd with a mark of 229 (74-79-76) was Emily Brooks. Brooks notched two birdies over her final 18 holes of the tournament. Over her final 12 holes, Brooks birdied one and posted par on the 11 others.
Kelsey Badmaev's score of 232 (75-79-78) placed her in a tie for 45th. Badmaev had three birdies and nine pars over her last round of the tournament.
With a three-round total of 233 (77-81-75), Katie Partridge placed in a tie for 53rd. Partridge posted a par on her first nine holes of her final round. She also had one birdie on the day.
Finally, Taylor Wilkerson finished in a tie for 158th with a score of 259 (88-83-88).
Playing as an individual, Kathryn Buckingham tied for 90th with a 239 (77-77-85).
The Elon women will be back on the links at the JMU/Eagle Landing Invitational in Orange Park, Fla., beginning March 14.
Samford finishes 12th at Kiawah Island Classic
KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. – The Samford University women’s golf team posted a team-best score of 301 on Tuesday to jump to 12th place in the final standings of the 36-team Kiawah Island Classic being held at the Kiawah Island Golf Resort.
The 2014 Kiawah Island Classic, which has been affectionately dubbed the “Largest Collegiate Tournament In The Country”, was held at both the par-72, 6,001-yard Cougar Point Course, as well as the par-72, 5,902-yard Oak Point Course this week at the esteemed Kiawah Island Golf Resort.
The championship round was held Tuesday at Cougar Point and featured the top 19 teams of the tournament.
Samford qualified for the championship final of the event by posting a 36-hole tally of 621 and earning a 14th-place position. The Bulldogs registered an opening-round mark of 302 on Sunday and then posted a second-round tally of 319 on Monday.
Despite its solid start to the 2014 Kiawah Island Classic, Samford registered an even better round Tuesday among some of the best teams in the nation.
In the final round of competition, the Bulldogs carded a team score of 301 and jumped two positions to 12th place. Samford completed the 36-team, three-round competition with an overall score of 922.
For the sixth consecutive year, College of Charleston played host to the largest collegiate golf tournament in the country with 36 teams traveling to the Lowcountry for three 18-hole rounds of golf on Kiawah Island.
The tournament’s field consisted of Samford, College of Charleston, Arkansas State, Bethune-Cookman, Boston College, Boston University, Bucknell, Charleston Southern, Chattanooga, The Citadel, Delaware, Elon, Florida Gulf Coast, Georgetown, High Point, Jacksonville State, Kent State, Loyola Chicago, Marshall, Newberry, Niagara, North Florida, Northern Kentucky, UNCG, Penn State, Radford, Richmond, Rutgers, St. John’s, Tennessee Tech, Towson, Troy, USC Upstate, Western Kentucky, William & Mary and Wyoming.
Samford entered the week’s competition as one of seven nationally ranked teams in the field. The Bulldogs are currently ranked No. 91 in the country by Golfweek, while No. 30 Arkansas State, No. 40 Kent State, No. 55 College of Charleston, No. 70 Chattanooga, No. 73 Penn State and No. 89 Jacksonville State were also amongst the field.
Individually, Samford’s Bailey Gray carded a stellar three-day total of 226 (73-77-76). With her performance, she finished tied for 17th place out 192 competitors in the 54-hole event.
Samford true freshman Arin Eddy also registered a solid performance this week as she turned in a three-round mark of 228. Eddy concluded the tournament tied for 28th place in the individual standings.
Rounding out Samford’s scores were Natalie Mitchell (81-79-73=233), Sydney Needham (73-84-78=235) and Emily Stallings (85-84-78=247).
The Samford University women’s golf team will next be in action March 14-16 at the JMU/Eagle Landing Invitational being held at Eagle Landing Golf Course in Orange Park, Fla.
UNCG finishes 26th at Kiawah Island Classic
KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. – UNCG sophomore golfer Sammie Buchanan won medalist honors at the Oak Point Golf Course on Tuesday and finished third overall in the 190-person field at the Kiawah Invitational. The highly competitive 36-team field event took place on two different courses, the Oak Point Golf Club and the Cougar Point Golf Club, and was hosted by the College of Charleston.
Buchanan’s third-place showing is the best finish of her young career, improving eight spots over her 11th-place finish at the Starmount Tournament. She finished with a 5-over-par 221 to place just one shot out of the lead behind Katia Joo of Boston College and Wad Phaewchimplee of Kent State (4-over par 220). The final round was played in very difficult weather conditions in the cold and wind as no players shot under 70 and only three players shot under par.
Buchanan opened the tournament with a 2-under-par 70 Sunday on the Oak Point course and held the 36-hole lead after an even-par 72 in round two on the Cougar Point course. She returned to the Oak Point course and carded a 7-over par 79 Tuesday as the only player in the top 20 playing that course. The top 19 teams in the 36-team field after the first two rounds played on the Cougar Point Course. Her score of 222 was the second-lowest of her career, trailing the Starmount score of 221 this past fall.
UNCG finished the tournament in 26th place overall with a 54-hole score of 981 (312-336-333). Kent State won the event with an 892 (292-302-298), while Penn State finished second overall with a 906 (300-303-303).
Junior Berglind Bjornsdottir was the Spartans’ second finisher, placing 103rd overall with a score of 241 (74-84-83). Freshman Kristin Powers rounded out the Spartans’ top three scorers with a 261 (80-90-91) to finish 162nd.
The Spartans return to action March 14-16 at the JMU/Eagle Landing Invitational in Orange Park, Fla. The event will be held at the Eagle Landing Country Club with 18 holes played each day.
The Citadel finishes 33rd at Kiawah Island Classic
KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. – Eraina Manor fired a 26-over 242 and finished in a three-way tie for 105th while leading The Citadel golf team to 33rd-place showing at the Kiawah Island Classic.
Manor carded rounds of 77, 82 and 83 to place herself alongside Lauren Conder (Richmond) and Carly Schneider (Loyola).
Kellie Anderson (89-83-82=254) posted the second-best score (+38) for the Bulldogs as she placed 141st overall.
McKenzie Duncan shot rounds of 89, 85 and 89 to complete the event with a 263 (+47), while Renata Sucha posted a +57 (93-87-93=273). Erica Pellegrini entered the third day with a 168 (87-81) before being disqualified.
The Citadel posted a 1020 (+156) on the tournament and finished in front of Bucknell, Richmond and Niagara. Kent State captured the team title with an 892 (+28) as it finished 14 shots in front of Penn State (906, +42).
The individual crown was shared between Katia Joo (Boston College) and Wad Phaewchimplee (Kent State) as the pair shot a 220 (+4). UNCG's Sammie Buchanan finished in third, one shot back, following scores of 70, 72 and 79.
The ‘Dogs’ next appearance on the links will take place on March 8 at the Hilton Head Invitational.