GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – A pair of Eagles are among five players tied for second while the Carson-Newman women's golf team is in eighth with one round of play in the books at the South Atlantic Conference Championships at Link Hills Country Club in Greenville, Tenn. on Sunday.
Elizabeth England (Oakland, Tenn.), who entered the tournament fresh off garnering All-SAC First-Team honors for the third consecutive season, continued her outstanding play of late by carding a 73 and she sits just two strokes off the lead. She started her day with two early bogeys, but consecutive birdies on the ninth and 10th moved her up the leaderboard and allowed her to shoot even on the back nine.
"Elizabeth was fantastic," said coach Suzanne Strudwick. "She wants to win this tournament after not getting SAC Player of the Year honors. She's determined and she has a score in mind. I'm thrilled to see that type of intensity and passion."
The other member of coach Strudwick's roster sharing second is Allie Fletcher (Cumming, Ga.) following her best round as a collegiate golfer. Her 73 bettered her previous best score as an Eagle by three strokes. The freshman shook off a bumpy start that included a pair of bogeys on the first four holes to put together a stretch of 13 pars in 14 holes. The only interruption in her streak came in the form of a birdie on the 12th.
"I'm tremendously pleased with Allie's play," said Strudwick. "She's put in a lot of hard work. Being here for the first time, it's a lot to take in, but she put together a really good round. Hopefully she can keep it going. If we can have a couple more players shoot what they're accustomed to, we'll be right back in it."
The day started out well for Taylor Hayes (Lake Ozark, Mo.), who was one-over at the turn after collecting birdies on the first and the sixth, but a rough final nine in which she was five-over left her at +6. As a result, she is tied for 29th.
C-N's fourth score on day one came from Reagan Kinnie (Murfreesboro, Tenn.), who is tied for 46th. The freshman shot nine-over on the front nine, but finished strong with five consecutive pars and entered the clubhouse with a 13-over 85. She did pick up one birdie during her round, which came on the 10th.
Tied for 53rd is Jessica Hart (Roanoke, Va.). The senior was only able to accumulate five pars on her way to a 16-over 88.
Rachel Watts (Newport, Tenn.) is in the field as an individual and her day included her first collegiate eagle on the par five fifth. She also picked up consecutive birdies on the 11th and 12th, but is in a tie for 46th with Kinnie and four other student-athletes.
The leader after 18 holes in Greenville is Lise Malherbe from Lincoln Memorial. She is the only player in the red after a one-under 71 and is two shots up on the five participants who are in a deadlock for second.
Tusculum owns the best team score at +10, but LMU is only two shots back with an even 300. Third place belongs to Queens (N.C.) with a 14-over 302 while Anderson (S.C.) and Coker are seven shots behind Tusculum and are even in fourth.
Round two of the SAC Championships is scheduled for Monday morning. Results of the second round, along with a recap will be available on cneagles.com.
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