Suzanne Strudwick interview

SEVIERVILLE, Tenn. – Carson-Newman closed day one of the SAC tournament in fourth place, 14 strokes back of first-place Wingate after a seven-hour round that saw C-N shoot a team 339.

"You have to be mentally tough on a day like today," C-N head coach Suzanne Strudwick said. "We have to be patient, especially with how quick the greens were playing – especially as the sun beat down as the afternoon went on.  It was kind of like playing a U.S. Open with how long the round was." 

Danielle Baiunco (Melbourne, Fla.) was the leader for much of the event before dropping a handful of strokes late. Baiunco birdied three straight holes on the front nine and stayed under par until a triple bogey on the ninth.  She was six-over on the back nine to finish in a tie for sixth with an 80 (+8). 

Mary Tunnell (Cordova, Tenn.) and Meridith Hawkins (Powell, Tenn.) both closed in the top 20 with an 84 and an 85, respectively.

"We have to keep focus," Strudwick said. "Meridith was very steady today.  Danielle was on fire early but faltered late.  There were a lot of bright spots, but we also have a lot of room for improvement."

Chelsea Passmore (Knoxville, Tenn.) competed as an individual and joined Hawkins with an 85 (+13) in a tie for 20^th. 

Lauren Hodge (Jefferson City, Tenn.) and Kelli Pemberton (Knoxville, Tenn.) rounded out C-N's team score with a  90 and 92, respectively.

The Eagles' round gets underway at 10 a.m. when Pemberton tees off at 1.  Passmore begins her round as an individual competitor at 9:06 a.m.

Live stats for the event are available at birdiefire.com/sac

4 Carson-Newman University 339 339 +51

T 6 Danielle Baiunco 80 80 +8

T 15 Mary Tunnell 84 84 +12

T 20 Meridith Hawkins 85 85 +13

T 37 Lauren Hodge 90 90 +18