SEVIERVILLE, Tenn. – No. 21/25 Carson-Newman was 26-over in an opening round that was marred by bogeys, leaving it at seventh-place through day one of the Bobby Nichols Intercollegiate on Sunday from the Sevierville Golf Club's Highlands Course.
The 310 score came on 33 holes of a bogey or higher, 10 of those being double-bogeys. Each Eagle shot at least one double-bogey in the round.
Three Eagles accounted for a combined seven birdies, six of those coming on par-5 holes. Maeve Cummins (Waringstown, Northern Ireland) and Olivia Williams (Cleveland, Tenn.) led the way, tallying three each.
Carson-Newman goes into the second round 13-shots back of the lead.
"Not a good day for us," Carson-Newman coach Suzanne Strudwick said. "Team played hesitant and nervous. I expect better the next two days. Too many unforced errors off the tee into penalty errors and not taking advantage of good shots. It felt like a battle today, so I would hope for a much nicer start tomorrow."
Cummins led the team in a tie for 15th at five-over. The junior was five-over by the time she hit the turn for the day on a pair of bogeys and double-bogeys but shot for birdie on the par-5 9th hole before the afternoon. She was even in back-nine on two birdies and two bogeys. She was the only Eagle to go for even on either half of the course throughout the entire round.
Her 76 matches her second-lowest single-round score of the season. She heads in the second round six-shots out of first.
Ellie Haughton (Lincolnshire, England) heads into the second round with a share of 20th after a 6-over 77 on Sunday, matching her lowest round of the year. The sophomore shot for par on all but one hole in the front-nine that she double-bogeyed, giving her the team's best morning outing. She wrapped up three-straight bogeys with a birdie on the par-5 14th before going for double-bogey again down the stretch.
Haughton had the most holes for par among the Orange and Blue with 12.
One-shot behind Haughton sits Williams, tied for 26th at 7-over. The senior was the only Eagle to shoot for birdie twice in the front nine with both of hers coming within the first three holes of the day. She tacked on three bogeys and a double-bogey to hit the turn at 3-over. Williams carded an additional birdie in the back-nine but also fired a bogey and two double-bogeys.
Jayla Sims (Soddy Daisy, Tenn.) went to the clubhouse with an 8-over 79 that was enough to tie for 33rd on the leaderboard. She was on par for 11 holes in the round. The rest of her day came with six bogeys and a double-bogey on the par-4 12th, a hole that the entire team shot over par on.
Checking in seven shots behind Sims with a share of 58th was Alice Thomas (Mid Glamorgan, Wales), going 15-over in the round. She was forced to battle back after carding a quadruple-bogey on the first hole of the day. She closed out the front-nine at eight-over before going 7-over in the back-nine with a triple-bogey that was sandwiched in a sequence of four bogeys.
Eastern Kentucky leads the field after a 13-over round of 297. Findlay, also ranked in the Golfstat and Women's Golf Coaches Association polls at No. 7 and No. 6, respectively, was second by the end of Sunday with a 300 while Tusculum was third on a 302.
Tied for the top spot on the leaderboard through the opening 18 holes are Eastern Kentucky's Ragga Kristinsdottir and Tusculum's Jennifer Keim with the only under-par scores of the entire field with one-under 70s. Western Carolina's Victoria Ladd is third with an even 71.
The Intercollegiate rolls on tomorrow from the Highlands Course starting at 8:30 a.m. with staggered tee-times. Live scoring can once again be found through Golfstat.
