MONROE, N.C. – The Carson-Newman women's golf team is in third-place, 11 strokes off the lead, after Saturday's first round of the Wingate South Atlantic Conference Preview at Monroe Country Club in Monroe, N.C. while two Eagles are tied for sixth individually.
Freshman Taylor Hayes (Lake Ozark, Mo.) and senior Kelli Pemberton (Knoxville, Tenn.) each carded rounds of 78 to sit in a four-way tie for sixth.
"I thought we recovered well from a very slow start. Three of our players started with tough opening holes but bounced back to respectable scores," coach Suzanne Strudwick said. "I'm very pleased with freshman Taylor Hayes and how she is fitting in and now a valuable member of the team. Kelli also had a nice start with a 78 and tied for the low for the day. Elizabeth had a poor opening round for her, but hopefully, the practice we did after the round will help her confidence going into tomorrow."
Hayes had the lone below-par score on par-threes as the freshman shot one-under on the shortest holes; she averaged 2.75 strokes on the par-threes. The Lake Ozark, Mo.-native also had three birdies during her round.
Pemberton led the Eagles on par-fours with an average stroke of 4.30 per hole. Pemberton tallied two birdies on Saturday.
Senior Meridith Hawkins (Powell, Tenn.) fired a nine-over 81 and is tied for 16th. Hawkins had 11 pars on the day to lead the Eagles.
Freshman Elizabeth England (Oakland, Tenn.) carded an 11-over 83 and is tied for 24th. England had two birdies, which was second most on the team.
Senior Rebekah Pruett (Niceville, Fla.) rounded out the team's performance with a 14-over 86 and is in a tie for 38th. Pruett's round was highlighted by a birdie and an average of 5.25 strokes on par-threes, which ranks third on the team.
Junior Jessica Hart (Roanoke, Va.) shot a 13-over 85 and is tied for 35th .
"As a team, we are working on our mental toughness, acceptance of shout outcomes and being more task-orientated, not carrying poor shots into the next shot. We are doing much better, but I expect we can become tougher at that. This week is a great opportunity to see what we need to practice on for the spring," Strudwick said.
Host Wingate leads the lone non-SAC team participant, North Carolina – Pembroke, by six strokes, while the Eagles are 11 strokes off the pace. Pembroke's Savannah Thompson leads the tournament by three strokes after shooting the lone below-par round of the day with a 71. Wingate's Caitlin Starrs is second and Bella Harris of Coker is third.
The Eagles conclude the fall season with Sunday's final round of the Wingate SAC Preview at Monroe Country Club.
3 Carson-Newman 320
T6 Taylor Hayes 78
T6 Kelli Pemberton 78
T16 Meridith Hawkins 81
T24 Elizabeth England 83
T35 Jessica Hart 85
T38 Rebekah Pr
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