Smokey Mountain Intercollegiate Sights and Sounds
Hayes leads Eagles to second-place finish at Smokey Mountain Intercollegiate
SEVIERVILLE, Tenn. – Carson-Newman freshman golfer Taylor Hayes (Lake Ozark, Mo.) guided the Eagles on the final day of the Smokey Mountain Intercollegiate with her second consecutive round of 76 as the team finished second with a two-round total of 620 at Sevierville Golf Club's Highlands Course on Monday.
Hayes finished her second collegiate tournament in third-place with a combined score of eight-over 152. The Carson-Newman "B"-team finished in seventh at the event.
"I think this was the perfect fit for her. In recruiting her and when she came for her visit, the school and her teammates are the perfect fit; when she got here early on, she's fit right in and perfectly, even coming in from Missouri. She's very comfortable," coach Suzanne Strudwick said.
Hayes started her round three-straight pars on three par-fives, before five-consecutive bogies put her at five-over through the first eight holes. Birdies on the par-five nine and par-four 10 were the freshmen's only two birdies heading into the final hole. Hayes birdied the par-three, 150-yard 18th to finish her round at four-over.
"The last four or five holes I was making some clutch six-footers for par and it just worked out. I made a great shot onto the green and made birdie there, so that was a great way to finish up," Hayes said. "I didn't hit it that great, but I was just making some important putts to save par and make a couple birdies."
Senior Kelli Pemberton (Knoxville, Tenn.) dropped two strokes off her first round score to finish the SMI with a 77 on Monday and finished tied for eighth at 12-over. Ten pars highlighted the senior's final round in her home tournament as the Knoxville-native tied her career-low round in the Blue and Orange for the third time after shooting that score in the final round of the Ross Resorts Invitational and the 2015 South Atlantic Conference Championships.
Sophomore Elizabeth England (Oakland, Tenn.) and senior Meridith Hawkins (Powell, Tenn.) tied for 15th at 14-over 158. England entered the round in second-place, but a score of 85 led her to the 15th-place finish; the sophomore birdied the par-five second and added nine pars to her score. Hawkins dropped six shots from her Sunday round to tie Hayes for the team-low of 76. The senior shot an even-par 38 on her front nine, which included a birdie on the 467-yard, par-five nine. Hawkins's round of 76 tied for her eighth-lowest round in her historic career.
Senior Rebekah Pruett (Niceville, Fla.) capped off the "A"-team with a finish in 26th after firing an 81 on Monday. Pruett's final round was three shots better than her first round and featured three birdies. The Floridian birdied the third and fourth holes back-to-back and capped off the day with a birdie on the par-five 14.
Junior Jessica Hart (Roanoke, Va.) led the "B"-team with a finish in 19th-place. Hart carded an eight-over 80 to finish the tournament at 15-over, which is her best score at a multiple-round tournament. The Roanoke, Va.-native birdied the second hole and added pars on 11 others.
Sophomore Mikaela Thibodeau (Davie, Fla.) shot an 88 on Tuesday to finish her second tournament of the year at 28-over 170. Two birdies on the seventh and 14th-holes propelled Thibodeau to her third-best career finish.
Freshman Summer Smit (Knoxville, Tenn.) finished her first-collegiate tournament with a round of 87. Smith used six pars to lower her score from Sunday by two strokes and pared four-consecutive holes starting on the ninth to the 12th and finished tied for 36th.. Sophomore Ashley Kay (Palos Heights, Ill.) shot three pars and ended her round with a birdie on 18 for a second round total of 91. She finished the tournament at 33-over in 36th-place.
Limestone won the tournament by 15 strokes over the Eagles, while Wingate and King tied for third nine strokes off Carson-Newman. King's Nicola Robertson beat Limestone's Hannah Luckett for individual honors in a playoff and Hayes placed third.
Carson-Newman has a week off before traveling to the Myrtle Beach Intercollegiate at Sea Trail Golf Club on October 6th and 7th.
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