JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – The Carson-Newman women's golf team is seeking its third South Atlantic Conference Tournament championship this week as the Eagles host the 2015 edition of the event at Sevierville Golf Club's River Course in Sevierville, Tenn.
Competing for the Eagles during the tournament will be freshman Elizabeth England (Oakland, Tenn.), senior Danielle Baiunco (Melbourne, Fla.) and juniors Meridith Hawkins (Powell, Tenn.), Rebekah Pruett (Niceville, Fla.) and Kelli Pemberton (Knoxville, Tenn.). Sophomore Jessica Hart (Roanoke, Va.) will be competing in the event as an individual.
England was named First Team All-SAC on Thursday and became the sixth Eagle to earn the award. Baiunco and Hawkins garnered Honorable Mention All-SAC honors.
At the 2014 SAC Championship held on Sevierville's Highlands Course, Hawkins finished tied for seventh and Baiunco finished in a tie for 14th. Pemberton finished the event tied for 25th. England and Pruett will be making their tournament debuts this week.
Carson-Newman finished tied for third last season, but coach Suzanne Strudwick knows that if her team plays to its potential, it has a good chance of taking home hardware for the third time in seven years.
"Just some really steady play and that all five girls play to their potential. We don't have to anything special; we don't have to go above and beyond what they are capable of doing. Just as long for the three rounds, they play to their potential," Strudwick said. And as I said from last week, we are trending. We are moving in that right direction. We've had a great week of practice. The weather has cooperated. We are excited. I think, as long as we play to our potential, we will have no problems."
Carson-Newman won the 2009 SAC Championship during the program's first year of existence and followed that performance up two years later with a win in 2011. In 2009, the Eagles led from start to finish and won by 15 strokes over Wingate at the Etowah Valley Country Club in North Carolina. During the 2011 event, the team erased a nine-stroke deficit and won by four strokes over Newberry.
"There are some real strong schools in our conference and that's who we battle with all the time with during the season. Again, that is going to be the case that we are going to battle with those same schools for the top place. It's girls that they know, that we play with on a regular basis in tournaments, so it's going to be fun. And that's all that I ask for the girls, to give it their best, to have fun out there and for us to really reach our full potential and win it."
The River Course stretches 5,859 yards and plays as a par-72. Wingate is the reigning SAC Champion after winning last season's tournament.
The 54-hole tournament will be played over the course of three days in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains. Each round starts at 8:30 a.m. with the first two days of the event starting on the first hole. The third and final day will feature two starting holes on the first and 11th holes. Live scoring will be provided by clicking here. A recap of each day's event will be available on cneagles.com and on Twitter at @cnathletics.
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