SALISBURY, N.C. – The Eagles bettered their 313 first round score by 16 strokes to close out the Patsy Rendleman Invitational with a +34 total outing of 610, good enough for a 7th place finish at the Country Club of Salisbury on Tuesday.
The Eagles shot a nine-over 297 on the second day to move up one spot on the overall leaderboard. Junior Taylor Hayes along with sophomores Reagan Kinnie and Rachel Watts all shot rounds of 76 on Tuesday. Being the lowest score on the team's round, one of those scores was dropped, allowing the team to propel up the leaderboard.
"We made an excellent comeback today and being able to drop a 76 was great," head coach Suzanne Strudwick said of the team's Tuesday performance. "We played much better on the greens and really just played to our potential."
Senior Elizabeth England cleaned up her outing, shaving four strokes off of her Monday score to shoot an even 72 on Tuesday. She finished the event at a tie for 10th 4-over par with a 148 total.
A strong Monday by Allie Fletcher, participating as an individual, allowed her to stay in the top-20 range of the leaderboard. She shot a +6 78 on Tuesday to conclude with a nine-over 153, placing in a tie for 20th in her season debut.
Kinnie and Hayes once again had identical outings, both shooting two strokes less than Monday for a +4 round of 76 on Tuesday, landing them at 25th with a 154.
Freshman Jayla Sims had the biggest day on the team, shooting a one-over par 73, 10 strokes better than the first day. Her first team competition ended at a tie for 35th, a 25-place jump up the leaderboard between the two rounds.
"I am extremely pleased by how Jayla played today," Strudwick said. "Being able to shoot 10 strokes lower than Monday was such a huge finish for her and the team."
Watts was five strokes better on Tuesday with a 76, allowing her to finish with a 13-over 157 at 42nd.
"Overall, I think we did really well," Strudwick mentioned. "We really just need to work on cleaning up our first 18 holes of play."
Lenoir-Rhyne was the top team in the event, shooting a +14 590. Limestone and Anderson (S.C.) came in second and third with 601 and 603, respectively.
North Georgia's Megan Sabol was the leader of the event, closing out with a five-under 139 over two days.
The Eagles have over a week of preparation before their third tournament of the fall. They will travel to the Trevecca Invitational at the Old Hickory Golf Club in Old Hickory, Tenn. for the two-day event from Oct. 23-24.
Carson-Newman 313 297 610 +34 7th
Elizabeth England 76 72 148 +4 T-10th
Allie Fletcher 75 78 153 +9 T-20th
Reagan Kinnie 78 76 154 +10 T-25th
Taylor Hayes 78 76 154 +10 T-25th
Jayla Sims 83 73 156 +12 T-35th
Rachel Watts 81 76 157 +13 T-42nd
