BLUFFTON, S.C. – A three-over day from Rachel Watts (Newport, Tenn.) led Carson-Newman in a 31-over effort through Monday's round at the Low Country Invitational to sit at sixth by the end of the day.
Watts heads into the final round tied for seventh, just three shots out of the lead and two back of the top three. She led the field with a one-under scoring average on par-3 scoring with a 2.80 clip.
"Rachel Watts was a standout today with a 74 in very tough, windy conditions," Carson-Newman coach Suzanne Strudwick said. "The course is very tight from the tee with small, well-protected greens. With today's gusty conditions, any score under 77 was excellent. With more knowledge of how to play the course tomorrow, I'm hopeful we can improve."
As a whole, Carson-Newman accounted for just four birdies in its 315 round, going for bogey or higher on 39 holes.
Watts accounted for 75 percent of C-N's birdies in the round, carding three of them. Her highest hole of the day came on the par-4 18th where she went two over.
Four shots behind the senior was Maeve Cummins (Waringstown, Northern Ireland), tied for 22nd after scoring a 78. Cummins was on par for 11 holes throughout the opening round, going for bogey on the remaining seven. Four of her bogeys came exclusively on par-3 holes. She was the only Eagle to keep a double-bogey off of her scorecard in the round.
Ellie Haughton (Lincolnshire, England) entered the clubhouse tied for 38th after a 10-over round. The freshman went for bogey or higher on eight holes in the round, including a pair of double-bogeys on a couple of par-4s.
"Ellie has injured her back but still fought through the pain for a strong 81 to help the team," Strudwick said.
Tying for 43rd by the end of Monday was Jayla Sims (Soddy-Daisy, Tenn.) after an 11-over round. The junior was four-over through the front nine because of bogeys. Her back-nine opened on a double-bogey followed by five more bogeys in the round for an 82.
One-shot behind Sims was Matilda Frövenholt (Öjersjö, Sweden) with an 83, tying her for 48th. The junior saw a birdie on the par-4 4th hole but five bogeys and four double bogeys pushed her round score out to a 12-over outing.
As the individual, Olivia Williams (Cleveland, Tenn.) ended the first round in a tie for 67th with a 17-over 88.
Both Wingate and Montevallo head into Tuesday tied for first after a 13-over round of 297. Western Michigan, the event's reigning back-to-back champion, trails the duo by one-shot in third.
Wingate's Mind Puangcharoen and Montevallo's Kayla Shelton lead the field with an even 71. Eastern Michigan's Preaw Sripatrprasite and Wingate's Marie Schrader sit one-shot behind the pair in third.
The Low Country Invitational finishes up Tuesday with one final round of play starting at 8:30 a.m. C-N will take to the links beginning at 9:10 a.m.
