KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. – Allie Fletcher (Cumming, Ga.), Elizabeth England (Oakland, Tenn.) and Taylor Hayes (Lake Ozark, Mo.) all finished in the top 20 for the Carson-Newman women's golf team as the Eagles tied for ninth after one day of play at the Kiawah Invitational at Oak Point Golf Club in Kiawah Island, S.C.
"It was an excellent first day for our top three team players," coach Suzanne Strudwick said. "Unfortunately, with a couple teammates out, we're struggling with depth. This also provides an opportunity for players to step up and fill those spots. I would very much like Jessica [Hart] and Rachel [Watts] to step up a bit. Hopefully tomorrow, we can get a good score from four players and finish well."
C-N's score after round one sits at a +42 330, which ties them with Lenoir-Rhyne, 15 strokes behind the two schools tied for first place, Limestone and Armstrong State. They are also tied for fourth among SAC schools, trailing Anderson (S.C.) by eight shots, Queens (N.C.) by five and Wingate by one.
Fletcher's 79 matches her third best round of the season she and England are tied for 15th. The freshman tied for the day's third best score on par 4's by posting a +2 and she was one shot better on par 5's with a mark of +1 that placed her even with several players for fourth on those holes. The Georgia native also collected 11 pars over her 18 holes, tying her for the seventh most.
One of the players who tied Fletcher, both in overall score with a 79 and for the most pars on Saturday with 11, was England. She was one of the tournament's best players on par 3's in round one, as she put up an even score on those holes, tying the junior for fourth. England also had a stroke average of 4.38 on par 4's, something only 12 players could lay claim to besting.
Moving into a tie for 20th was Hayes, who shot a +9 80. The sophomore was one of only 18 players to birdie multiple holes in the first round and she also benefitted from score of +2 on par 5's.
The fourth and fifth scores for the Eagles came from senior Jessica Hart (Roanoke, Va.) and freshman Rachel Watts (Newport, Tenn.), respectively. Hart's +20 92 has her in a tie for 73rd and Watts is one stroke behind her teammate and tied for 75th.
The tournament will finish with the second round on Sunday and will consist of 18 more holes for each student-athlete. The scheduled start time for round two is 8 a.m. A recap and results will be available on cneagles.com.
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