VIDEO: Suzanne Strudwick Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – With a nearly three-week respite from tournament play behind it, No. 24 Carson-Newman now gears up for three-straight weeks of competition, beginning with a trip to the Waterford Golf Club in Rock Hill, S.C. for the Winthrop Invitational on Monday.
The Eagles opened the season with a ninth-place finish at the UINDY Invitational before taking third at the State Farm Intercollegiate in mid-September. So far, the group is averaging a 306.6 score through five rounds of play.
"They've had a really good preparation," Carson-Newman coach Suzanne Strudwick said. "We've got a three-week stretch, which is going to be tough, but I feel as though we're ready for it."
Just nine shots separated the entire No. 25 #CNWG group by the end of Tuesday, helping the Eagles to take third at the State Farm Intercollegiate. @CumminsMaeve tied for second, landing her on the All-Tournament Team.
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CNathletics) September 17, 2019
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C-N gets to take six players to this event with all six seeing playing time through the first two events of the year. Of her five starters, all five have started in at least one event this season.
Rachel Watts (Newport, Tenn.) will lead the charge once again for the Orange and Blue while Maeve Cummins (Waringstown, Northern Ireland) will play at the No. 2 spot. The pair hold the two-best scoring averages of the team thus far, Cummins leading the way at 74.2 while Watts is at 77.4.
Senior Reagan Kinnie (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) moves to the third-slot after playing as the No. 2 at the State Farm Intercollegiate. She will be looking to build off of her 21st-place performance there.
Rounding out the starting five are Matilda Frövenholt (Öjersjö, Sweden) and Jayla Sims (Soddy Daisy, Tenn.) at the four and five, respectively. This will be the third-straight event of the season for Frövenholt but just her second as a starter. The junior holds a 78.8 scoring average after an eight-over showing at the State Farm Intercollegiate. There she also reset her career-low single round score with a 73 in the opening 18 holes. Sims is making her third-straight start of the season his week. The junior is averaging a 78.4 score this season.
Olivia Williams (Cleveland, Tenn.) will make the trip with the Eagles to play as an individual for the second time this season. She opened the year as C-N's individual at the UINDY Invitational when she went 30-over par to land in a tie for 57th.
This is Carson-Newman's first-ever appearance in the event hosted by Division-I team Winthrop. C-N will join seven other teams in the field, including North Carolina A&T, USC Upstate, Gardner Webb, Appalachian State, Wofford, Presbyterian and Western Carolina. The single day of action will consist of 36 holes.
"I think, for me, it was an intriguing event because it was only the practice round and the 36," Strudwick said. "We need more practice of 36 holes in one day so that was one of the benefits of playing in this. The other benefit is it's fairly close so it's not a big travel and then also playing in a smaller D-I, it gives us some confidence that, yeah, we can compete on that level."
The event is set to begin at 9 a.m. Monday with a shotgun start. Results and full recap will follow the single day of play at cneagles.com.
