Furman moves up to sixth at Powerade Cougar Classic
HANAHAN, S.C. – Sophomore Jacqueline Bendrick (+4) fired a 1-under 71 to lead Furman (+13) Monday in the second round of the 2015-16 season at the 13th Annual Powerade Cougar Classic at the par-72, 6,204-yard Yeamans Hall Club.
Bendrick notched four birdies on the front, including back-to-back birdies on Nos. 6 and 7 and an additional birdie on No. 9, to make the turn at 2-under then carded an almost flawless back nine to conclude the round 1-under par. The Mercer Island, Wash., native enters the final round in a tie for 31st.
Paladin senior Valentina Romero (+3) and junior Taylor Totland (+3) are tied for 23rd after two rounds. Romero birdied No. 2 and eagled the par-4 No. 7 to score a 74 on Monday, while Totland added three birdies to finish the round with a 75. Freshman Haylee Harford (+5) and sophomore Reona Hirai (+6) each carded a 73 in the second round. Harford birdied No. 18 to tie for 35th place, while Hirai also added a birdie on No. 18, tying for 45th.
The Paladins moved up five spots to finish Monday’s round in a tie for sixth place with Wake Forest (+13). For the second consecutive day, Arkansas (-11) led the field, concluding the round 10 strokes ahead of Virginia (-1), who surged from a sixth-place finish on Sunday. Georgia (+1) and Florida (+1) are tied for third, while Clemson (+11) gained four positions to end the day in fifth place. Clemson freshman Alice Hewson (-8) tied a tournament record with a 7-under 65 on Monday to tie Taylor Tomlinson (-8) of Florida for the individual lead.
The tournament will conclude Tuesday with a 9 a.m. shotgun start.
UNCG up one spot at Powerade Cougar Classic
HANAHAN, S.C. – The UNCG women’s golf team knocked 13 strokes off its round-two score at the prestigious Powerade Cougar Classic hosted by the College of Charleston at the Yeamans Hall Club.
The third and final round will be played Tuesday with a 9 a.m. shotgun start with the Spartans set to tee off from holes Nos. 14-17. Live scoring will be available via www.golfstatresults.com.
The Spartans moved into a tie for 19th place overall with Maryland as they improved 13 strokes in round two from round one to finish with a 307 score. UNCG is 51-over-par 627 after two rounds (320-307).
Junior Kristin Powers leads the Spartans with a 9-over-par 153. Powers improved on her 7-over-par 79 score in round one to move up to 2-over-par 74 in round two. She carded 17 par scores and just two bogeys on the afternoon.
Sophomore transfer Lexi Kershaw used the momentum from her eagle-3 on the final hole Monday to improve six strokes in round two to a 2-under-par 73. Kershaw is tied for 77th overall with a 10-over-par 154 (80-74). She tallied four birdies on the day Monday in round two.
Freshman Natalia Asensio is tied for 84th overall with a 13-over-par 157. Asensio opened her collegiate career with a 7-over 79 and improved her score one stroke to a 6-over 78 in round two.
Senior Jessica Madsen sits in 103rd place overall at 163 (82-81), while junior Emily Kurey rounds out the Spartans’ lineup in 107th place at 166 (83-83).
Western Carolina seventh at William & Mary Invitational
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – Western Carolina senior Kim Mitchell matched her opening-round score of 75 on Monday to move into a two-way tie for 11th place overall, just a stroke outside of the top 10. Behind Mitchell’s score, the Catamounts sit in a two-way tie for seventh place overall at the season-opening William & Mary Invitational.
The third and final round at the par-72, 6,000-yard Plantation Course at the Kingsmill Resort is scheduled for Tuesday morning. WCU’s first golfer is scheduled to hit the course at 8:15 a.m. with the scoring five paired with golfers from Longwood and Bucknell.
Mitchell finished Monday’s second round much like Sunday’s first with a score of 3-over-par 75 for a two-day total of 150 (+6). WCU freshman Natalia Villavicencio advanced five places into a two-way tie for 19th overall with a score of 152. The Santiago, Chile, product knocked two strokes off her opening round 77 to match Mitchell with a 3-over-par 75. She leads the Catamounts – and is tied for fifth overall in the field – with 24 pars over the opening 36 holes.
Senior Mariah Hopkins slipped into a tie for 39th (157) after shooting 81 on Monday. Junior Bethany Galloway moved up seven spots into a tie for 41st (158) after trimming four strokes off her opening round with a 5-over-par 77, while freshman Maddi Caldwell jumped 11 positions into a tie for 43rd (159), also shooting 77 for her career-best round. Both Galloway and Caldwell both have 22 pars through the first two rounds of the season.
Playing unattached as an individual, Ashley Thompson sits tied for 57th (163) after knocking three strokes off her first round score with an 80 on Monday.
First-round team leader UNCW stretched its advantage to a dozen strokes over the field, duplicating its first-round score of 5-over-par 293 on Monday.
High Point’s Tan Cheeranont pulled ahead to a two-stroke lead after her second consecutive round under par, shooting 1-under 71 on Monday. Cheeranont holds a two-stroke lead over a two-way tie for second between Radford’s Khushboo Thiagaraj and Alessandra Liu of William & Mary at 1-under-par 143.
ETSU tied for 10th at Colonel Wollenberg Ptarmigan Ram Classic
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – The ETSU women’s golf team finished its first day of golf on Monday at the Colonel Wollenberg Ptarmigan Ram Classic in a tie for 10th place in the 17-team field.
Senior Vivienne Chin led ETSU in both the first and second rounds by shooting a 73 and 74, respectively. Chin dominated the front nine by playing even in both rounds. She was able to get back-to-back birdies on the fourth and fifth holes in the second round. Sophomore Dominka Czudkova fell one stroke behind Chin by finishing +4 in two rounds. Czudkova showed success on the front nine, as well, as she went 1-under in both rounds.
Newcomer Hee Ying Loy impressed as she finished with a combined score of 149, which is tied for 35th in the tournament. Loy shot a 75 and 74 in the first two rounds while carding four birdies. To continue the trend, Loy showed poise on the front nine in both rounds while finishing 2-over-par.
As a team, the Bucs top four scores carded a 595, which is 19 shots over par. ETSU improved its score by one shot from the first to second round. The team showed consistency by picking up the second-most pars with 124 pars.
Long Beach State currently leads the tournament, as it is 2-over-par with a total score of 578.
The tournament concludes Tuesday.