Samford third at UNF Collegiate

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – On Monday’s second round of play held at the Jacksonville Golf and Country Club, the Samford University women’s golf team equaled both No. 50-ranked Texas and Houston with a score of 300 at the 2015 UNF Intercollegiate being hosted by the University of North Florida.

With their second-round rally, the Bulldogs vaulted into third place of the 18-team tournament and trail only first-place Houston (294-300=594) by 10 strokes and second-place Texas (300-300=600) by four strokes.

Samford will enter Tuesday’s third and final round of competition with a 36-hole tally of 604 (304-300). The University of Delaware and the homestanding North Florida Ospreys currently round out the top five with scores of 605 (306-299) and 612 (303-309), respectively.

Individually, the Bulldogs’ Emily Stallings led the team with a 36-hole total of 148. She opened the day with a fiery first-round score of even-par 72 before closing out Monday with a 76 in the second round.

Stallings, who plays third in the Bulldogs’ starting lineup, will enter Tuesday’s final round of play tied for seventh place in the 105-competitor event.

Samford’s Bailey Gray and Sydney Needham are also currently among the top-15 competitors in the tournament. Gray posted a two-round total of 149 (75-74) Monday, while Needham sits just two strokes behind at 151 (76-75). Gray is tied for ninth place in the two-day, three-round event. Needham will enter the final round tied for 13th.

Rounding out the Bulldogs’ scoring on Monday were sophomore Haley Harrington (81-75=156) and Kate Collom (82-79=161).

In the overall tournament standings, Texas’ Bertine Strauss leads the field by a pair of strokes at 144 (71-73). Houston’s Raegan Bremer and Emily Gilbreth are both tied for second place at 146.

Samford is attempting to earn its third consecutive top-five finish of the 2015 spring tournament season this week.

The teams are slated to compete in the final round of action Tuesday at 7:30 a.m. (CDT).

Western Carolina 10th at UNF Collegiate

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Western Carolina carded rounds of 307 and 316 on Monday to sit in 10th place with one remaining round at the UNF Collegiate being played at the par-72, 6,050-yard Jacksonville Golf & Country Club. The Catamounts enter Tuesday’s final 18 holes with a 36-hole score of 623.

WCU’s scoring five was paced by sophomore Olivia Landino, who was inside the individual top 10 after the opening 18 holes and stands tied for 18th heading into the final round with a 36-hole score of 152.

Paired with golfers from William & Mary and Boston University, WCU’s scoring five will tee off between the ninth and 10th holes on Tuesday for the final round. Tournament play resumes with a shotgun start at 8:30 a.m.

Landino countered three bogeys with a pair of birdies in the first round, making the turn from the back nine at 1-over before playing the front nine even for an opening-round 1-over par 73. The Hermitage, Pa., product charted five bogeys on the back nine at the start of her second round, birdieing the par-4 15th to make the turn at 4-over-par. She was poised to shoot 1-over on the back before a double-bogey left her at 7-over-par 79 on her second 18 holes.

Junior Kim Mitchell is tied for 26th after posting consecutive rounds of 5-over-par 77. The Woodbridge, Va., native had six birdies in the opening two rounds, including four in the first round alone. Mitchell played her first nine holes at 5-over par before shooting even on the front nine in the first round to finish at 77. She was 2-over on the back and 3-over on the front to match her first-round score to complete the day.

Sophomore Bethany Galloway (156) stands tied for 35th after two rounds of 6-over-par 78, with junior Mariah Hopkins and sophomore Ashley Thompson both shooting 164 to stand tied for 73rd overall.

Leading after the opening 18 holes, the University of Houston holes a six-stroke edge over the University of Texas following Monday’s second round of play. The Cougars carded rounds of 294 and 300 to reach 594, while the Longhorns carded matching rounds of 300 to sit at 300 in the runner-up spot. Southern Conference foe Samford is third, 10 strokes off the lead at 604, with Delaware (605) and tourney host North Florida (612) rounding out the top five.

Texas golfer Bertine Strauss, who is ranked 65th individually according to GolfStat, leads the field by two strokes ahead of a four-way tie for second-place. Strauss carded rounds of 1-under-par 71 and 1-over-par 73 to stand even through 36 holes at 144.