Chattanooga finishes fourth at Kiawah Island Classic
KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. – The Chattanooga Mocs fired their best final round of the season, closing strong at the Edwin Watts/Kiawah Island Spring Classic on Tuesday. Agathe Sauzon, Cris Perez and Emily McLennan combined to shoot +1 as the team turned in a 5-over-par 293 at Osprey Point Golf Course.
Perez opened and closed well with two birdies in her first four holes and two in her final three to shoot 72. Perez finished with a team-high five birdies on the day and ended up with a collegiate-best 25th-place finish.
Sauzon (72) and McLennan (73) tied for 10th overall at 219. Their +3 totals are the team’s low for the season. Sauzon ended up playing 48 of her 54 holes at par or better, while McLennan tied Perez with a team-high seven birdies over the three cards.
Isabella Loza rounded out the counting cards with a 76. DeeDee Russell’s 83 was the round’s drop score.
Host College of Charleston (886) claimed the title by five over UNF (891). Stetson was third at 897, followed closely by Chattanooga in fourth at 899. Jacksonville University’s Jessica Welch won medalist honors at -3.
The Mocs return to the tee March 13-15 in Augusta, Ga., at the Insperity Lady Jag Intercollegiate. The three-day, 54-hole tournament is played at Forest Hills Golf Course.
Samford finishes fifth at Kiawah Island Classic
KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. – The Samford University women’s golf team turned in its best single-round score in nearly a full calendar year Tuesday as the Bulldogs fired a day-three total of 293 at the 2015 Edwin Watts/Kiawah Island Spring Classic hosted by College of Charleston at the Osprey Point Golf Course.
Samford’s third-round score of 293 proved to be its best round since April 6, 2014, when the Bulldogs notched a last-day 291 at the Rebel Intercollegiate hosted by Ole Miss.
With its final-round performance, Samford vaulted two positions into fifth place at the 40-team event. The Bulldogs finished the three-day, 54-hole competition with a total team score of 900 (305-302-293). Samford’s top-five outing was its second straight this spring.
Individually, the Bulldogs’ Bailey Gray earned a sixth-place finish out of 210 competitors this week at the nation’s largest tournament.
Gray carded a third-round score of 75 on Tuesday and registered a total 54-hole mark of 217 (69-73-75). She finished in a three-way tie for sixth place at 1-over-par 217 along with St. John’s Anna Kim and College of Charleston’s CC Buford.
The Bulldogs’ Sydney Needham turned in one of the best scores of the entire tournament Tuesday as she reeled off a final-round tally of 3-under-par 69.
With her performance, Needham topped her best round of the week by six strokes and jumped from 44th place to 19th place in the individual standings. Samford’s sophomore finished the event at 223 (79-75-69).
Senior Emily Stallings and freshman Kate Collom finished tied for 39th place at 230.
The Bulldogs’ Stallings turned in her lowest score of the tournament in the third round with an even-par 72, while Collom posted a 77.
The Samford University women’s golf team will attempt to earn its third straight top-five finish this weekend at the UNF Collegiate as the Bulldogs travel to Jacksonville, Florida, for the two-day tournament being held at the Jacksonville Golf and Country Club.
Western Carolina ties for ninth at Kiawah Island Classic
KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. – Sophomore Olivia Landino carded a final-round 1-under-par 71 to rally to a 19th-place finish, leading Western Carolina to a ninth-place tie at the Edwin Watts / Kiawah Island Spring Classic. It is the third top-10 finish for the Catamounts this season and first in the spring semester.
As a team, WCU followed up its team rounds of 300 and 309 with a final-round 307 on Tuesday to finish the event at 916, improving upon its best 54-hole score of the season by a stroke.
Opening on the par-4 seventh, Landino had a tremendous start to her final round. The Hermitage, Pa., native carded five birdies and 10 pars through her first 15 holes on Tuesday to stand at 5-under-par. She came home with a double-bogey on the par-4 fourth and back-to-back bogeys on the fifth and sixth to shoot 1-under 71, one stroke shy of matching her career-low single round.
Landino finished the three-day event with a score of 223, the best 54-hole score of her career. She charted eight totaled birdies.
Junior Kim Mitchell finished the tournament with a final-round 75 to place 22nd overall with a three-round score of 224.
Sophomore Ashley Thompson matched her second-round score of 79 on Tuesday to place tied for 36th with a tournament score of 229, while junior Mariah Hopkins (240) was tied for 110th. After entering the final round tied for 78th overall, sophomore Bethany Galloway did not post a final-round score after being disqualified.
Western Carolina returns to action March 9-10 at the UNF Collegiate, hosted by North Florida at the Jacksonville Golf & Country Club in Jacksonville, Fla. Teams will play two rounds on Monday before concluding with the third round on Tuesday. The Catamounts are the defending tournament champions.
UNCG finishes 21st at Kiawah Island Classic
KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. – The UNCG women’s golf team finished 21st overall in the largest collegiate field of the season at the 2015 Edwin Watts Kiawah Island Classic hosted by the College of Charleston. The Spartans posted their lowest round of the event Tuesday, firing a 308 on the Osprey Point Golf Course, where the top 20 teams in the tournament after the first two rounds play. Teams rated No. 21-40 played the final round on the Cougar Point course.
The Spartans’ final round score of 308 is their third lowest round of 2014-15, checking in behind an opening round of 306 and a final round of 302 for UNCG at the Forest Oaks Fall Classic. The Spartans finished in 21st overall with a score of 939 (319-312-308) as they improved their team score each round, finishing one shot out of 20th place and five shots out of 15th place.
Senior Andrea Rangel finished with a career-best round of 4-over-par 76 Tuesday. Rangel posted birdies on holes Nos. 3, 4, and 18 while closing her round with six consecutive par scores on holes Nos. 12-17. She finished tied for 101st with a 23-over-par 239 (83-80-76).
Junior Sammie Buchanan was the Spartans’ top finisher for the week, placing 26th overall for her second-best finish of the season (16th at Forest Oaks Classic). Buchanan posted an 11-over-par 227 as she opened with a 78 and carded an even-par 72 in round two before finishing with a 5-over-par 77 Tuesday.
Sophomore Kristin Powers made the biggest move of the day, climbing 26 spots on the leaderboard to finish in a tie for 66th overall. Powers carded her lowest round of the event Tuesday with a 2-over-par 74 to finish with an 18-over-par 234. She posted three birdies in the final round on holes Nos. 2, 11 and 12.
Senior Berglind Bjornsdottir finished the event in a tie for 101st overall. Bjornsdottir notched a 23-over-par 239 score (78-80-81) as she was consistent all week long. Junior Jessica Madsen rounded out the lineup with a 254 score (86-81-87) to finish in a tie for 177th.
The Citadel finishes 36th at Kiawah Island Classic
KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. – A pair or final-round 77s by Kellie Anderson and Cameron Little at the Edwin Watts / Kiawah Island Spring Classic allowed The Citadel golf team to move past Navy on the final day of action to finish in 36th.
The tournament took place on both the Osprey Point (par-72, 5,964 yards) and Oak Point (par-72, 5,901 yards) courses at Kiawah Island Golf Resorts.
Eraina Manor (80-82-81-243, +27) posted the best three-day score of any Citadel golfer, finishing in a 10-way tie for 125th in the largest collegiate tournament of its kind in the country.
Little (83-88-77-248, +32) capped off her second spring tournament in a six-way tie for 156th that included in-state rivals Bella Johnson (Charleston Southern) and M.J. Nogay (Presbyterian).
Anderson (89-84-77-250, +34) fired her first round in the 70s of the spring season and placed herself alongside Jackie Mullens (Rutgers) for 165th.
Renata Sucha (89-88-84-261, +45) completed The Citadel's card as she finished in a four-way tie for 186th.
The Citadel (341-342-319-1002, +138) finished five shots in front of Navy and edged fellow Palmetto State foe Presbyterian (1071) among the 40 teams in the field.
The Bulldogs return to action on March 8 when they head to Hilton Head, S.C., for a dual with Dayton.