Furman finishes 11th at Powerade Cougar Classic
HANAHAN, S.C. – Senior Valentina Romero (+7) carded a final-round 76 on Tuesday to tie for 33rd at the 13th Annual Powerade Cougar Classic at the par 72, 6,204 yard Yeamans Hall Club. The Paladins (+32) placed 11th.
Romero led the Paladins with a team-high five birdies in the final round, including four on the front nine. Sophomore Jacqueline Bendrick (+8) tied for 35th after carding a 76 with a birdie on No. 15 on Tuesday, while junior Taylor Totland (+8) finished the tournament in a tie for 40th with back-to-back birdies on Nos. 14 and 15 in the tournament’s final round. Sophomore Reona Hirai (+11) carded a 77 with three birdies on Tuesday to tie for 56th, and rookie Haylee Harford (+12) tied for 60th in her first collegiate tournament.
Fourth-ranked Arkansas (-7) became only the second school in the 13-year history of the tournament to win back-to-back team titles with a 7-under 857. Georgia (E) finished second, followed by Virginia (+1) in third. Clemson freshman Alice Hewson (-6) and Florida’s Taylor Tomlinson (-6) earned co-individual medalist honors after each scored a 74 in the final round.
Furman will compete in the Lady Paladin Invitational on Sept. 20-22.
UNCG finish 20th at Powerade Cougar Classic
HANAHAN, S.C. – The UNCG women’s golf team finished the third and final round at the prestigious Powerade Cougar Classic hosted by the College of Charleston at the Yeamans Hall Club on Tuesday. The Spartans return to action Oct. 2-4 when they host the Forest Oaks Fall Classic.
The Spartans finished the 54-hole event in 20th place overall with a team score of 958 (320-307-331), while Arkansas took home the top spot with an 857 (282-283-292). Alice Hewson of Clemson ad Taylor Tomlinson of Florida finished tied for the individual lead with a 6-under-par 210.
Junior Kristin Powers was the Spartans’ top finisher on the week, placing in a tie for 84th overall. Powers carded a 19-over-par 235 score as she notched rounds of 79-74-82. Freshman Natalia Asensio rounded out her collegiate debut in a tie for 89th place overall. Asensio finished with a 237 score as she was consistent all event long with scores of 79-78-80.
Sophomore transfer Lexi Kershaw placed 101st overall with a score of 243. Kershaw had her best round of the event on day two with a 2-over-par 74, surrounded by scores of 80 and 89. Senior Jessica Madsen and junior Emily Kurey rounded out the lineup in a tie for 106th place overall. Madsen posted rounds of 82-81-86, while Kurey had three straight rounds of 83.
Western Carolina finishes seventh at William & Mary Invitational
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – Western Carolina senior Kim Mitchell carded a final-round score of even-par 72 on Tuesday to advance inside the individual top 10, placing in a tie for seventh at the season-opening William & Mary Invitational. The Catamounts finished seventh overall, posting a three-round score of 920 at the par-72, 6,000-yard Plantation Course at the Kingsmill Plantation.
Mitchell closed the first tournament of the season with her best round at even-par to finish with a three-day score of 222 (+6). It marked her second-best 54-hole score as a Catamount, just behind the even 216 she shot in last year’s Southern Conference Championship.
Senior Mariah Hopkins matched her opening-round score of 4-over 76 on Tuesday to rally nine spots into a tie for 30th in the final standings with a final score of 233. WCU true freshman Natalia Villavicencio slipped into a tie for 49th, carding 237 in her first collegiate tournament after shooting 85 in the final round.
Rounding out WCU’s scoring five were junior Bethany Galloway and freshman Maddi Caldwell, both placing in a tie for 42nd overall with matching scores of 238. Caldwell closed with a 79 on Tuesday, while Galloway shot 80 over the final 18 holes.
Playing unattached as an individual, Ashley Thompson finished tied for 54th overall with a three-day score of 243, second among the five individual competitors.
UNCW led from start to finish, pulling ahead in Monday’s second round before cruising to a 12-stroke victory over second-place William & Mary. The Seahawks posted a third-consecutive round of 5-over-par 293 for a three-day total of 879.
Even with William & Mary’s Alessandra Liu shooting a 1-under-par 71 on Tuesday, Tan Cheeranont of High Point held off Liu for a one-stroke individual victory, finishing at 3-under-par 213 to claim medalist honors. Liu (214) finished just ahead of a two-way tie for third between UNCW teammates, Annette Lyche and Kayla Thompson.
Western Carolina is next in action on Sept. 28-29 at the Jacksonville Classic, which will be held at the Marsh Landing Country Club in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. Thompson led WCU’s scoring five in a tie for 27th overall at last year’s event with the Catamounts placing 10th in the team standings.
ETSU tied for 10th at Colonel Wollenberg Ptarmigan Ram Classic
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – ETSU concluded its final day in the Ptarmigan Ram Classic on Tuesday, finishing in a tie for 12th with a score of 914.
Freshman Hee Ying Loy and junior Rachel Pollock led ETSU by both shooting 79s in the third round. Loy finished with the second-best overall score on the team with a 228, which was 12-over-par. Pollock shot just two strokes behind Loy and placed tied for 46th place in the two-day tournament.
Senior Vivienne Chin led the team in the tournament overall by carding an 11-over-par 227. Chin finished tied for 35th with four other golfers.
BYU won the tournament by shooting 8-over-par 876.
ETSU will travel to nearby Greenville, S.C., to participate in the 2015 Lady Paladin. This tournament is hosted by Southern Conference foe Furman University and will take place Sept. 20 to Sept. 22.
Samford finishes 10th at Memphis Women’s Intercollegiate
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The Samford women’s golf team’s newcomers posted impressive debuts in the FedEx Memphis Women’s Intercollegiate, played Monday and Tuesday at Ridgeway Country Club. As a team, Samford finished 10th in the tournament, posting a combined score of 939 (315-310-314).
Individually for Samford, freshman Emily Uhland posted a top-10 finish in her first collegiate tournament. Uhland tied for ninth in the event with a three-round score of 224 (75-76-73).
Redshirt freshman Madeline Davis tied for 22nd in the event. The Texas Tech transfer shot a total score of 231 (78-75-78). Another freshman, Anna Buchanan, posted a 238 (80-76-82), good for a tie for 57th overall.
Sophomore Kate Collom rounded out the counting scores for the Bulldogs. She posted a total tournament score of 247 (83-83-81), finishing 74th in the tournament. Playing as an individual, freshman Crockett Floyd shot a 246, finishing in a tie for 72nd.
Host-school Memphis won the tournament with a score of 874 (293-296-285). Individually, Memphis’ Madison Thomas and Ashleigh Whisenant tied for the top spot with identical scores of 217. Thomas won the individual title in a one-hole, sudden-death playoff with her teammate.
Samford will be back in action, Sept. 20-22, when the Bulldogs travel to Greenville, S.C., to take part in the Lady Paladin Invitational, hosted by Furman University.