University of South Carolina Upstate Athletics
Rutgers Invitational
Pleier 12th, Upstate 10th At Rutgers Invitational
10/16/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
Piscataway, N.J. – USC Upstate women's golfer and Spartanburg native Taylor Pleier finished 12th to lead the Spartans to a 10th-place finish in the 20-team Rutgers Invitational Saturday afternoon. Fairleigh Dickinson claimed the team championship.
The teams battled cold and windy conditions in both rounds and the scores reflected the tough conditions. Friday's first round was halted due to darkness with three teams remaining on the course. The teams completed the first round this morning prior to the start of the final round Saturday.
Upstate carded rounds of 334 and 338 for a 672 total. The Spartans finished 14 strokes ahead of Long Island – Brooklyn, which finished 11th.
"Conditions were tough, to say the least, over the past two days," said Upstate head coach Todd Lawton. "Cold and windy is always challenging. Overall, I feel we did some very positive things. We had good composure and focus, considering most of our players have very little experience on northern grasses in the U.S. Taylor, Amanda and Rachel are showing that they each have talent and will grow as they play more collegiate golf. I'm proud of the team's effort."
Fairleigh Dickinson claimed the team championship with a 642 total and was followed in the top 10 by Bucknell (649), Siena (655), St. John's (656), Lehigh (657), Boston College (658), Sacred Heart (663), Fairfield (666), Rutgers (668) and Upstate (672).
Pleier carded rounds of 79 and 83 to finish tied for 12th individually as the low Spartan in the tournament. Rachel Lewis (Llanishen, Wales) shot rounds of 83 and 81 to finish tied for 17th to give Upstate two players in the top 20.
Amanda Hall (Fort Mill, S.C.) finished tied for 33rd after rounds of 86 and 81. Summer Wall (Chesnee, S.C.) turned in rounds of 86 and 93, while Johanna Ebenhag (Gothenberg, Sweden) shot 92 and 93.
