VIDEO: Suzanne Strudwick Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – In the midst of a back-to-back tournament sequence, Carson-Newman prepares to head to Columbus, Ga. for the first time since 2013 to take part in Columbus State's Lady Cougar Classic this Monday and Tuesday at the Country Club of Columbus.
This marks the first of two consecutive event weeks that the Eagles will endure this month. They have recorded five-straight top three finishes this season, dating back to the second event of the year where they won a third-consecutive King Invitational title.
"Sometimes it actually works to your advantage because the players that are playing well, there's no break. We just go straight on in," Carson-Newman coach Suzanne Strudwick said. "So hopefully you keep the momentum and keep the same mindset. It's a new venue, new course so I think we'll do ok."
Coming off a tie for fifth at the Battle at Hilton Head, Maeve Cummins (Waringstown, Northern Ireland) will lead the charge for a second-straight event. Through 13 rounds of action in her freshman year, she leads the team with a 75.7 scoring average.
"That was my conversation with the girls last week that we need some of the juniors and seniors to kind of show some pride and let's get on it a little bit more," Strudwick said. "But, not taking anything away from Maeve, I mean, she's doing exactly what Elizabeth England did in her freshman year so if she has any career that Elizabeth had, you know, I'm really excited.
"She's a competitor and she accepts nothing, you know, no slack from herself. She pushes herself and that's what I want that for the rest of the girls. I don't want them to be satisfied with just mediocre and, right now, a couple of them are allowing that."
Juniors Reagan Kinnie (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) and Rachel Watts (Newport, Tenn.) will hold down the No. 2 and No. 3 spots, respectively.
Reagan moves into the second-line following a +10 outing at Hilton Head that landed her in a tie for 16th.
Matilda Frövenholt (Öjersjö, Sweden) makes a second-straight starting trip this season, this time as the fourth-seed. The sophomore was 12-over last week tied for 21st. She moved her adjusted scoring average on the year to 78 through three events.
Making her spring debut on the travel team at the No. 5 spot is Anna Davenport (Roswell, Ga.). Her last A-team appearance came as the three-seed for the Eagles at the Music City Invitational in October. Through the fall, the senior hit the links for six rounds to accumulate a 77.3 scoring average.
Olivia Williams (Cleveland, Tenn.) will play as an individual for the first time this year. Her last travel team even was the King Invitational in September when she competed as the No. 4 seed in C-N's win. This year, the sophomore has posted an 81.5 scoring average through four rounds of play including an 11th-place performance at the Bob Dibble Classic where she finished at 15-over.
The Eagles finished 10th in their last appearance in the field at Columbus back in 2013. The Cougars have hosted the tournament every year since 2010, moving the event from the fall to the spring in 2012.
The event will span across 54 holes of play, marking just the second three-round event the Eagles have taken part in this season. The last one was the UINDY Invitational to start the 2018-19 campaign.
This trip also marks the first return to the Peach State since the spring of 2015 when the Eagles played in the Armstrong Pirate Women's Invitational.
The field at the Lady Cougar Classic will be similar to the field at September's King Invitational in that it holds a smaller field that will consist of just seven teams. Joining the Eagles in the field is South Atlantic Conference rival Lincoln Memorial.
South Carolina Beaufort, ranked 11th nationally among NAIA schools according to Golfstat, returns to the event after being the top team in the field last year with a +97 score of 961 with Young Harris and North Georgia following at second and third, respectively.
Dalton State, the No. 5 NAIA team in the Golfstat ranking, also appears in the field along with West Georgia and Post University.
The Country Club of Columbus possesses a Donald Ross course that holds a 71 par across 6,515 yards. This will be the second consecutive week of the Eagles taking on new courses.
"I think (this course) is more of what we're used to," Strudwick said. "Last week's course was a true championship golf course. It will be the best course they play all year, last year and this year, and, you know, we performed very well. This course, it's the same course the boys won last year in the fall so we're hoping to go Carson-Newman back-to-back.
The 54-holes event tees off Monday morning for two rounds of action. Fans can follow live scoring through BirdieFire for the tournament.
