VIDEO: Suzanne Strudwick Interview
SEVIERVILLE, Tenn. – Elizabeth England (Oakland, Tenn.) grabbed sole possession of first place with a second consecutive 72 that puts her at +2 after two rounds while the Carson-Newman women's golf team moved into fourth on Monday at the Bobby Nichols Intercollegiate at the Sevierville Golf Club in Sevierville, Tenn.
"Right now, we're doing well," said coach Suzanne Strudwick. "Rachel Watts (Newport, Tenn.) just shot her lowest collegiate score. I'm really excited for her. Elizabeth just came back in with a 72. She's still got one more round to go. She's been in this position before several times. We've got some things to think about and for her, it's all about doing the same things and playing one shot at a time."
England ended the first day of competition in a three-way tie for the top spot with Tennessee Tech's Arianna Clemmer and Annika Gino of Lee University, but in round two, she bettered Clemmer by nine shots and Gino by four while also carding Monday's third-lowest score. For the tournament, she's tied for the second-most birdies with six and has 22 pars to her credit, tied for the fifth-most.
Showing improvement off a difficult first day in Sevierville was Taylor Hayes (Lake Ozark, Mo). She sliced four strokes off her Sunday score to move up five spots into a deadlock for 22nd at +20. Hayes has collected 20 pars over the event's first 36 holes and has been at her best on par fives, as evidenced by her 5.40 stroke average that ties her for 11th.
Two of the student-athletes even with Hayes are teammates Watts and Allie Fletcher (Cumming, Ga.). Watts had the best day of her young C-N career, putting up a career-best 78 and sliding up from 29th. She was at her best on the course's shortest holes, with a 3.42 stroke average on par threes and her four birdies are the seventh-most. Fletcher's score was identical to one she posted 24 hours earlier. She did do Watts one better in birdies, as she has five, which are the fifth-most. Fletcher also owns the 10th best stroke average on par fives.
Showing the most improvement for the Eagles on Monday was Jessica Hart (Roanoke, Va.). The lone senior on Strudwick's roster took ten shots off her first round and entered the clubhouse with a 79. She is 26-over through 36 holes and tied for 32nd. Freshman Reagan Kinnie (Murfreesboro, Tenn.), who is playing as an individual, meaning her score is not counted towards the total team mark, is 24-over and in 30th.
On the team leaderboard, Lee University is setting the pace at 33-over, eight strokes up on Tennessee Tech, the college hosting the tournament. Belmont University rounds out the top three, as they are at +45.
Tuesday is the final day of the Bobby Nichols Intercollegiate and the players are scheduled to tee off at 9 a.m. A recap and results of the last round will be published on cneagles.com.
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