VIDEO: Suzanne Strudwick Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – The Carson-Newman women's golf team kicks off the spring portion of its schedule for the third-straight year at the Kiawah Island Intercollegiate hosted by Tusculum at Cougar Point Golf Course in Kiawah Island, S.C. that is slated to be played on Saturday and Sunday.
The Eagles finished the fall with three-straight top-three finishes including back-to-back second-place showings at the Smokey Mountain Intercollegiate and the Lady Flames Shootout.
"I'm actually encouraged; they are not looking that bad," coach Suzanne Strudwick said of her team since its return to Jefferson City in January. "We had a qualifier for two days over this past weekend and the scores were bunched, which shows we have a lot of depth. With the exception of two, everybody was within five shots of each other, which is nice. That means moving forward we will have some choices."
The five student-athletes competing in the Palmetto State will be freshman Taylor Hayes (Lake Ozark, Mo.), sophomore Elizabeth England (Oakland, Tenn.), junior Jessica Hart (Roanoke, Va.) and seniors Meridith Hawkins (Knoxville, Tenn.) and Kelli Pemberton (Knoxville, Tenn.).
Hayes had the second-lowest average on the team in the fall with an average score of 78.9. England shot a career-low even-par 72 during the first round of last year's tournament. The reigning first-team All-South Atlantic Conference honoree averaged 78.1 strokes during her nine fall rounds with her best finish coming with a tie for third at the Lady Flames Shootout. Hart is appearing in her fourth tournament of the year with her low score of 79 coming in the first round of the SMI.
Pemberton posted an average of 79.7 during her first three tournaments of the year with a low-round of 77 at the SMI and the Wingate SAC Preview. Hawkins posted an 80.1 average in nine rounds and shot back-to-back 76s in the final round of the Smokey Mountain Intercollegiate and the first round of the Lady Flames Shootout.
Last season, England and Hawkins led the team with a score of nine-over 153 and finished in a tie for 13th in the individual competition. The Eagles finished in ninth-place; Florida Southern is the reigning tournament champions and they are competing once again this year.
"This is a new venue for (Taylor Hayes) but she is so steady that I see that one practice round and the other girls have talked about the course that she will be fine," Studwick said of her lone freshman making the voyage. "The other girls have some familiarity; the weather is meant to better than this year than we have ever had there. I feel as though the girls can go in with some confidence."
Cougar Point Golf Course was recently rated the "Golf Course of The Year", by the South Carolina Golf Course Owners Association. Originally named Marsh Point, Cougar Point was redesigned by Gary Player in 1996 and plays 6,875 yards. It features a blend of short and long par-4s, great risk/reward par-5s and extremely scenic and challenging par-3s.
The field features eight teams from the SAC including all three teams that hail from the Volunteer State as Lincoln Memorial joins host Tusculum and C-N in Kiawah Island. Catawba, Lenoir-Rhyne, Newberry, Wingate and Anderson (S.C.) are the other conference foes opening spring at Cougar Point. The University of North Carolina – Pembroke Braves and Armstrong State Pirates are the two highest-ranked nonconference teams competing; UNCP is ranked 26th and the Pirates are right behind them at 27. Also competing at the event will be: West Alabama, Faulkner, Pfeiffer, Barton, Belmont Abbey and Converse.
The Kiawah Island Intercollegiate hosted by Tusculum tees off on Saturday morning with 18 holes on the docket and will conclude with the final 18 holes of the 36-hole tournament on Sunday. A full rundown of each day's events will be available on cneagles.com following the conclusion of the round.
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