VIDEO: Elizabeth England Interview
VIDEO: Suzanne Strudwick Interview
SEVIERVILLE, Tenn. – Elizabeth England (Oakland, Tenn.) fired a final round 75 on Tuesday for an overall score of six-over to capture the individual title at the Bobby Nichols Intercollegiate atthe Sevierville Golf Club in Sevierville, Tenn.
"Everything went pretty well," said England. "I was hitting the ball solidly and putting well, but mostly, I was mentally focused on going one shot at a time. I wasn't thinking about having the lead. I was just trying to stay calm and have a good score today."
After shooting a 72 on both Sunday and Monday, England remained steady over the final 18 to hold off a pair of challengers and take home the hardware. The junior, who held a two-shot lead entering the last day, collected her fourth victory as an Eagle by a single stroke. She edged out Kayla Katterhenry of the University of Evansville and Allyson Dunn of Tennessee Tech, who was three-under for day. England benefitted from outstanding play on par fours, where she tied for the tourney's best mark at +3. She also totaled seven birdies, a mark that was bested by only three competitors, and her 34 pars ranked fifth. She's the first member of the team in recent memory to win two tournaments in one season.
"It's awesome," said coach Suzanne Strudwick. "This is a tough [event] because there are four rounds, including the practice round and she sat on the lead every day. She had to go home, sleep on it, think about it, come back and perform. In the past, finishing off a tournament has been a problem when she's had the lead, so this is a big breakthrough for us."
As a team, Carson-Newman placed fourth, ahead of Division I schools Evansville, Radford and Tennessee State. Their second-best score was provided by 19th-place finisher Taylor Hayes (Lake Ozark, Mo.), who improved for the second consecutive round. Her 74 on Tuesday was five shots better than the mark she concluded Monday with and put her final score at +23. Hayes was in the top 10 in stroke average on par threes and par fives and was in the top 20 with 29 pars.
One spot behind Hayes was Allie Fletcher (Cumming, Ga.), who whittled off five strokes to a 76 and left Sevierville tied for 20th at +25. She tied England with seven birdies and her score of +5 on par threes was in the competition's top 10.
Rachel Watts (Newport, Tenn.) finished 26that 29-over, the highest she's placed as an Eagle, following a final round 80. She picked up five birdies during three days at the Sevierville Golf Club.
The final score for C-N was provided by Jessica Hart (Roanoke, Va.), who carded a 79 for the second straight afternoon and tied for 29th. Reagan Kinnie (Murfreesboro, Tenn.), in the field as an individual, shot an 84 to finish at 40-over and even for 32nd.
The team championship was captured by Lee University, as the Flames' score of +43 bested Tennessee Tech by 11 strokes and Belmont University by 21.
Coach Strudwick and her squad have less than a week off before they travel to Wallace, N.C. for the Sunoco Oil Campbell Classic. For updates regarding Carson-Newman women's golf, visit cneagles.com.
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