WALLACE, N.C. – Elizabeth England (Oakland, Tenn.) earned a second-place finish with a one-over 71 and helped the Carson-Newman women's golf team capture second place at the Sunoco Oil Campbell Classic at the River Landing Golf Club in Wallace, N.C. on Tuesday.
"The team did a great job under tough conditions," said coach Suzanne Strudwick. "Elizabeth followed up her last performance with more excellent play. She is definitely trending well towards conference. I'm really excited to see how we finish the year out. Everyone is rounding into form nicely."
England was able to move up from fourth into second due to a final round in which she carded the second-lowest 18-hole score by an Eagle this season and the second-lowest score by any of the competitors on the last day. Her final score of three-over secured the junior's eighth career top three finish. This also is the second time she's earned a spot in the top three in consecutive events.
The second member of Strudwick's squad to nab a spot in the top five was Taylor Hayes (Lake Ozark, Mo.). She posted her second consecutive 74 and concluded the two-day event at +9, which tied her for fifth. Hayes has placed in the top 10 three times this season, including twice in the spring, and eight times in her C-N career.
A final day 77 garnered Rachel Watts (Newport, Tenn.) her highest finish since coming to Mossy Creek. She left Wallace tied for 14th with a 17-over 233, which bested her previous career-high of 26th. Her mark of a 77 is also her second best round in the Orange and Blue, surpassed only by her 75 on Monday.
The fourth and fifth scores in Carson-Newman's lineup were provided by Allie Fletcher (Cumming, Ga.) and Jessica Hart (Roanoke, Va.). Fletcher had a difficult afternoon and departed the course with an 82 that tied the freshman for 24th at 22-over. Hart was two strokes behind her teammate with a score of +24 after she entered the clubhouse with a final round 80.
Katy Flax, who held the tourney lead going into the last day, was able to hold on to her advantage and outplayed England by two strokes over the 54-hole event. Julia Kaeding of the University of Mount Olive wound up in third with Natalie Pleyerova from Queens (N.C.) in fourth and Johnna Beehner of Methodist University sharing fifth with Hayes.
Flax also succeeded in leading her team to a five stroke victory over C-N with a score of 44-over. The Royals managed to secure third-place, ten strokes behind the Eagles, Mount Olive placed fourth and Division I Bucknell rounded out the top five.
This was the final event on the Eagles' regular season schedule. The next time they're on the course will be at the South Atlantic Conference Championships, which are set for April 9th – 11th in Greeneville, Tenn. For information leading up to the event, visit cneagles.com.
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