University of South Carolina Upstate Athletics
Holiday Inn Express/CFSC Classic
Spartans Solid In Final Round At Hatter Invitational
11/3/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
Nov. 3, 2009
DeLand, Fla. -Jennifer Judge shot a 75 and finished tied for 11th individually, and the rest of the Spartans were solid as well as the USC Upstate women's golf team posted a 318 in the final round of the Holiday Inn Express/Hatter Invitational Tuesday afternoon at Victoria Hills Golf Club.
"It was definitely very exciting to see us put together another solid round," said Upstate assistant coach Sandy Halkett. "I think the round showed our true potential. We can go low. To throw out an 83 is good for us. It goes to show that it was a true team effort for three days. Even though we scored well over 36 holes, we were tired. We need to improve our conditioning as we move toward the spring. We have to improve our ball-striking and putting and just keep things going."
Judge finished the tournament with a 230 total, lowering her score in each round. She opened the tournament with a 79 Monday morning and followed that with a 76 in the afternoon. Tuesday's 75 allowed her to move close to the top 10, settling for a tie for 11th. It marked her third straight top 15 performance on the year. She finished the tournament tied for fifth in par-3 scoring, sixth in par-4 scoring and ninth with six birdies.
Upstate's 318 Tuesday followed a solid 307 Monday afternoon as the Spartans played well in their final two rounds of the tournament. Upstate finished with a 958 total, 56 strokes ahead of A-Sun foe Lipscomb to finish sixth in the tournament. Stetson, the host of the tournament, claimed the team championship with a 904 total and was followed by Daytona State (905), Florida Southern (910), Florida Atlantic (912), Bethune-Cookman (934), Upstate (958) and Lipscomb (1014). Stetson's Alex Buelow won the individual title with a 218 total after rounds of 72, 74 and 72.
Cheryl Lo claimed a top 25 finish for Upstate, carding an 83 Tuesday to post a 240 total. Johanna Ebenhag, who ranked 11th in par-3 scoring in the tournament, finished with an 83 Tuesday and 29th individually. Natalie Buch finished with the third-lowest round of the day for Upstate, an 81, and claimed 33rd with a 249 total, while Marissa Clontz turned in the best round of her collegiate career with a 79 as the second-lowest Spartan on the day. Clontz had previously turned in rounds of 94 and 97, but turned things around Tuesday.
"Marissa's 79 was the most impressive score in the tournament," said Halkett. "We met for about an hour last night and talked about strategy and the importance of staying positive. That seemed to make a difference in her round today."
