Western Carolina tied for third at Kiawah Island Classic
KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. – Paced by sophomore Ashley Thompson in a three-way tie for fifth place overall, the Western Carolina women's golf team carded a team 300 on Sunday to stand tied for third with tournament host College of Charleston at the Kiawah Island Spring Classic being held at the Osprey Course at the Kiawah Resort.
Round two is slated for Monday morning with tee times beginning at approximately 9:51 a.m. between the Osprey Point and Oak Point courses. WCU's scoring five will again be paired golfers from Rutgers and Ball State, opening the second 18 holes on the Oak Point golf course between 10:35 and 11:11 a.m.
Thompson matched her career-low round with a 1-under-par 71 on Sunday over the opening 18 holes. Starting on the back nine, the Clyde, N.C., product was 2-over-par through the first five holes before charting the first of four birdies on the day. At the turn, she was 1-over-par with three bogeys and two pars. On the back nine, Thompson carded seven straight pars before closing her round with back-to-back birdies for the round of 71.
WCU junior Kim Mitchell is tied for 13th overall with a 1-over-par 73 on Sunday. Poised to make the turn from the back nine to the front at 1-over-par, Mitchell struggled with a plus-4 on the par-5 18th, relegating her to 5-over through nine holes. The Woodbridge, Va., native responded with a stellar front nine with five pars and four birdies for the 73.
Rounding out WCU's scoring five were junior Mariah Hopkins and sophomore Olivia Landino in a tie for 51st overall at 78 with sophomore Bethany Galloway tied for 61st at 79.
North Florida leads the 40-team field after a first-round score of 297, a stroke ahead of runner-up Troy at 298. WCU and CofC are three strokes off the team lead at 300, with Southern Conference foe Chattanooga rounding out the top five at 301.
Jacksonville State's Melania Bajo Geijo fired a 4-under-par 68 on Sunday to lead the 210-golfer field, holding a one-stroke edge over second-place Bailey Gray of Samford, who shot a 3-under-par69. The top 12 golfers were even-par or better.
Chattanooga fifth at Kiawah Island Classic
KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. – Agathe Sauzon and Emily McLennan got the spring schedule off to a good start Sunday at the Edwin Watts/Kiawah Island Spring Classic. Sauzon shot -2 (70), while McLennan turned in a level-par effort of 72. The duo led the Chattanooga Mocs to a +13 301 on Osprey Point Golf Club.
Chattanooga is in fifth place at 301. It trails leader UNF (297) by five. Troy is in second at 298, while College of Charleston and Western Carolina are tied for third at 300.
Sauzon is two off the pace set by Jacksonville State’s Melania Bajo Geijo, whose 68 (-4) was the low round of the day. Samford’s Bailey Gray is second at -3, while Sauzon and College of Charleston’s Laura Fuenfstueck are third at -2. McLennan is also in the top 10 tied for eighth at even.
Cris Perez matched her best 18 from the fall with a 77 Sunday. DeeDee Russell rounded out the team scoring with an 80 in her first round of the season. Isabella Loza had the drop score with an 83.
Sauzon carded three birdies and 14 pars with just one bogey. Her 70 is the best score tallied by a Moc in the event by one over McLennan’s 71 a year ago. It’s Sauzon’s second-best score of the season.
Monday’s second round shifts to Oak Point Golf Course for the Mocs as the massive 40-team field plays on two courses. Loza leads off followed by Russell, Perez, McLennan and Sauzon.
Gray second, Samford seventh at Kiawah Island Classic
KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. – Samford women’s golfer Bailey Gray equaled the best score of her 2014-15 season Sunday as she fired a 3-under-par 69 at the Kiawah Island Classic being hosted by College of Charleston. Gray earned sole possession of second place in the massive 210-competitor tournament.
Gray’s first-round score Sunday tied her previous best mark of the season, a 3-under-par 69, which was registered at the Old Waverly Bulldog Invitational on Oct. 20, 2014.
Heading into Monday’s second round of play, Gray only trails first-place Melania Bajo Geijo of Jacksonville State by a single stroke.
As a team, Samford sits in seventh place with an opening-round score of 305. The Bulldogs turned in one of the best rounds of the tournament Sunday, which features 40 of the top golf programs in the Southeast.
Samford enters Monday’s second round of play just eight strokes behind tournament-leader North Florida (297) and four strokes behind fifth-place Chattanooga (301).
True freshman Kate Collom posted an opening-round score of 4-over-par 76 for the Bulldogs on Sunday, while Sydney Needham tallied a 7-over-par 79. They are 29th and 61st, respectively, in the individual standings.
Rounding out Samford’s scoring Sunday were sophomore Haley Harrington (81) and senior Emily Stallings (81).
The Samford University women’s golf team will resume play in the 2015 Kiawah Island Classic on Monday at 10 a.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs tee off in the second round of action being held at the Osprey Point Golf Course.
UNCG tied for 19th at Kiawah Island Classic
KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. – The UNCG women’s golf team opened the spring team season Sunday afternoon as the Spartans took part in the largest collegiate field of the season at the 2015 Edwin Watts Kiawah Island Classic hosted by the College of Charleston. A field of 40 teams will play in the three-day, 54-hole event with the first two days at the Osprey Point Golf Course and the third day at both the Osprey Point and Cougar Point courses.
The Spartans are tied for 19th overall after posting a 31-over par 319 score on the 5,694-yard Osprey Point course, tied with Charleston Southern and Rutgers.
Senior Berglind Bjornsdottir and junior Sammie Buchanan carded the Spartans’ top scores in round one at 6-over-par 78. Bjornsdottir and Buchanan are tied for 51st overall in the field of 210 golfers. Bjornsdottir led the Spartans with two birdies on the day, on holes Nos. 8 and 18, while Buchanan led the team with 12 par scores.
Sophomore Kristin Powers was third on the team with an 8-over-par 80. Powers is tied for 75th place overall with a birdie on No. 10 and 12 par scores. Senior Andrea Rangel posted an 11-over-par 83 for 127th place, while junior Jessica Madsen turned in an 86 score for a tie for 159th.