VIDEO: Suzanne Strudwick Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – The Carson-Newman women's golf team moves into the heart of their spring schedule this week when they travel to South Carolina for a pair of events that will see them battle a number of their South Atlantic Conference rivals.
On Saturday, they will make a trip to Cobblestone Park Golf Club in Blythewood, S.C. for a dual match against Newberry, marking the third consecutive year the Eagles and Wolves have squared off. C-N will then travel to Spartanburg, S.C. for their second tournament of the spring, the Converse Spring Invite at the Carolina Country Club, which will be held on Monday and Tuesday.
The Eagles are fresh off their first tournament of the spring, the Kiawah Invitational, where they posted their second-best finish of the season, tying for seventh. Taylor Hayes (Lake Ozark, Mo.) was C-N's top performer in South Carolina, finishing seventh with a 10-over 154. The sophomore concluded the event with a second round 74, matching her best 18-hole score of the season. She previously shot a 74 in the second round of Carson-Newman's final fall tourney, the Newberry College Regional Preview. Hayes will not be participating in the dual match but will be on the course in Spartanburg.
Elizabeth England (Oakland, Tenn.) tied for 13th by shooting 12-over in Kiawah. England has finished in the top 15 in three of her team's five tournaments this season. The Oakland, Tenn. native has carded just two rounds over 80 this season and also owns her team's only 18-hole score under 70, with a 68 she scored in the King Intercollegiate in April that also helped her pick up the competition's individual title.
Coach Strudwick will be looking for contributions from Allie Fletcher (Cumming, Ga.), Jessica Hart (Roanoke, Va.), Rachel Watts (Newport, Tenn.) and Katie Medley (Cleveland, Tenn.). Fletcher's mark of 19-over in the last tournament was her lowest in the Blue and Orange. She's improved her score in each of the team's last two events and will look to continue to do so this week. Hart posted her second-best total of the year in her final round in Kiawah while Watts will be looking to improve up an 80th place finish. For Medley, this will be her first opportunity to compete during her freshman campaign. She will be playing in the Converse Spring Invite as an individual.
C-N will be looking for its third consecutive victory over Newberry on Saturday. The Eagles beat the Wolves 4-1 in 2016 and topped them by ten strokes in 2015.
"Unfortunately, Newberry is struggling with their roster at the moment," women's golf coach Suzanne Strudwick said. "I see this as a warm-up. We've won all our previous shootouts with them and I'm not sure that's going to change. It's a fun event, the girls really enjoy playing match play."
Just two days after their dual match, Carson-Newman will be back in action, competing in the Converse Spring Invite with 17 other teams. Six other squads from the SAC will be on the course for this 36-hole event: Anderson (S.C.), Coker, Catawba, Lenoir-Rhyne, Tusculum and Lincoln Memorial. The Trojans return to Spartanburg as the defending champions, having edged out the Queens (N.C.) Royals for the championship in 2016.
"It's a large field," Strudwick said. "They'll be a lot of teams there. I hope we can keep the consistency going. I'm looking for a top three [finish]. If we can finish in the top three in all our remaining events, we'll do very well and move up in rankings, which is something we'll need to do. Although our focus is on conference and winning conference, that will give us an automatic bid into regionals."
These squads will be competing on a par-72 course that covers 5,771 yards and was designed in 1984 by Tom Jackson. Each golfer will have to navigate a course that contains tree-lined fairways, as well as numerous water hazards that will provide a true test of skill for every player.
For a recap and results at the conclusion of each day, visit cneagles.com.
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