JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Fresh off her second tournament victory of the season, Elizabeth England (Oakland, Tenn.) leads the Carson-Newman women's golf team into their final competition of the regular season, the Sunoco Oil Campbell Classic, which begins on Monday at the River Landing Golf Club in Wallace, N.C.
Her last time out, England outperformed 44 other student-athletes in a field that included mostly Division I schools to capture the Bobby Nichols Intercollegiate title, the fourth top finish of her college career. She began the event by shooting 72 in the first two rounds, tying her second-lowest 18-hole score before clinching things with a 75. She possesses her team's three best marks of the current campaign, including their only foray into red numbers, when she shot three-under at the King Intercollegiate in September. The Oakland native has also put together a stroke average of 76.7, the South Atlantic Conference's third best.
Taylor Hayes (Lake Ozark, Mo.) placed 19th last week in Sevierville and finished strong with a 74 on the final day, her best result of the event. She's earned a spot in the top 10 in a pair of competitions and also owns three of C-N's 10 best rounds of golf this season. Her 79.19 stroke average stands as the Eagles' second-best.
The first year in Mossy Creek has been an active one for Allie Fletcher (Cumming, Ga.). The freshman has not missed a chance to play this year and she owns a stroke average of 83.29. She capped off the Bobby Nichols Intercollegiate with her best score over the three day tournament, a five-over 76 that was also a new career best and helped her achieve her second top-20 finish.
Coach Suzanne Strudwick has also relied on Jessica Hart (Roanoke, Va.) to compete each time out and she's continued to improve in the spring. She collected two wins in during C-N's dual match against Newberry and has carded her four lowest scores of the campaign in her program's last three competitions.
The fifth spot for Carson-Newman will likely be filled by one of two freshman: Reagan Kinnie (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) or Rachel Watts (Newport, Tenn.). Kinnie has recorded two of her squad's top 10 scores this year and can lay claim to its third-best stroke average at 80.17. Her first appearance since the fall came last week when she played as an individual and tied for 32nd. Watts has been on the links 12 times and is averaging a mark of 87.42. She would enter Wallace following her best performance in the Blue and Orange, a 26th place finish at the intercollegiate.
A mixed group of teams awaits Carson-Newman in North Carolina, including one Division I program and a Division III school. One of the nine squads is SAC rival Queens (N.C.) and the Royals rank at No. 7 in the conference, one spot behind the Eagles.
The River Landing Golf Club's Landing Course, which stretches over 5,812 yards and has a par of 72, will be the site of this battle. Designed by Clyde Johnson, this patch of Champion Bermuda offers superb play and the Northeast Cape Fear River provides a majestic backdrop.
This inaugural tournament will begin on Monday morning at 9:30 a.m. and will start with 36 holes on day one. On Tuesday, the classic will finish with one more round beginning at 9 a.m. Following each day, cneagles.com will have a recap and results.
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