BRISTOL, Tenn. – With six of its seven participants sitting in the top-10 of the field, Carson-Newman is currently the top team on the leaderboard through the first day of the King Invitational on Monday at the Country Club of Bristol.
The Eagles as a team shot a 301 total at +17 in the first round, giving them a 17-stroke lead on the entire field. This marks the second lowest round score a C-N team has ever carded in the event, just behind the 296 scored in the second round back in 2016.
"Decent start but still a couple of times we lose focus and drop a double bogey," coach Suzanna Strudwick said. "We just cannot do that if we want to reach our ultimate goal. But, saying that, we are definitely on the right path. If on an OK day we shoot 301, that's better than last year's average of 310."
Of the six in the top-five of the player leaderboard at the King Invitational, four are representing #CNWG. pic.twitter.com/42JGnwUcaN
— C-N Athletics (@CNathletics) September 24, 2018
Third-seeded Taylor Hayes (Lake Ozark, Mo.) and individual Maeve Cummins (Waringstown, Northern Ireland) sit in a tie for second after a three-over first round. They both shot a 74 on the first day, the lowest 18-hole score for Cummins in her career thus far and the round score Hayes has carded in her five rounds of play at the event over these last three seasons.
Cummins was also the best Par-5 scoring player in the field on the first day at one-under on such holes while being second best on Par-4s at one-over. She was tied for the most birdies in the opening round at four with the tournament's individual leader Claire Page of Southern Wesleyan.
"Right now it's a collective effort," Strudwick said, "but Maeve shot 74 as an individual and that's great for her confidence."
One shot behind the pair is second-seeded Rachel Watts (Newport, Tenn.) at fifth with a 75, also her lowest round score in the three showings she has had in Bristol.
"Rachel continues to learn how to score lower even when she doesn't hit the ball as solid," Strudwick said. "She's learning about determination and perseverance. That's what the team needs to get better at."
Tied with the junior is fifth-seeded Anna Davenport (Roswell, Ga.) who matched her lowest career 18-hole score. She tied with North Greenville's Allison Avery for the most birdies with four on the day.
C-N's team leader Jayla Sims (Soddy Daisy, Tenn.) and individual Reagan Kinnie (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) rounded out the corps of Eagles sitting in the top-10, each holding a share of seventh place. They were six-over through the first 18 holes with a score of 77.
Sims, Watts and Hayes fell into a four-way tie for sinking the most pars at 13 holes. Tied with them was Converse's
Olivia Williams (Cleveland, Tenn.), the No. 4 placeholder on the team, was 15-over par on Monday. Her first round score of 86 was enough to land her at 27th on the leaderboard.
Southern Wesleyan's Page is currently the top player in the field of 38. She was one-over par on Monday, putting her two shots ahead of Hayes, Cummins and Converse's Vienna Winalski.
Converse is the next closest team to Carson-Newman on the leaderboard at 34-over, followed by Southern Wesley at 35-over.
The tournament concludes on Tuesday with one final round of play. A full recap with results can be found on cneagles.com after the event wraps up.
