University of South Carolina Upstate Athletics
CFSC/Hatter Classic
Spartans Finish 5th, Place Two in Top 20 at Hatter Classic
11/8/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
DeLand, Fla. – Spartanburg natives and Dorman High School graduates Taylor Pleier and Brittany Lowe both claimed top 20 individual finishes to lead the USC Upstate women's golf team to a fifth-place finish at the Hatter Classic Tuesday afternoon.
Upstate ended its fall season by posting a 317 in the final round of the tournament played on the Victoria Hills Golf Club. The Spartans totaled 953 to finish fifth, 18 strokes ahead of Florida Atlantic and Seminole College and 34 ahead of A-Sun rival Lipscomb.
"I am really proud of the girls and how they battled today," said assistant coach Audrey Church. "We had similar scores as yesterday, but the golf was completely different. The girls weren't hitting as many greens as yesterday, but we were rolling in a few more putts. It kind of balanced out. We did put ourselves in some tough situations, but we played it out."
Pleier led the Upstate cause individually. She shot a 79 in the final round on Tuesday and finished the tournament in 16th place with a 54-hole total of 235. She was just three strokes out of a top 10 finish.
"Taylor led us with steady golf throughout the tournament," said Church. "She got off to a rough start today. But, midway through the round, she told me that she was going to turn it around and then went on to make three-straight birdies."
Lowe posted the lowest round of the day for Upstate on Tuesday. She shot a 78 to move into a top 20 individual position. She finished tied for 20th with a 238 total, just six strokes out of a top 10 position.
Stetson, one of five A-Sun schools in the tournament and which owned the team lead heading into the final round, posted a 293 in the final round and won the team championship with an 897 total. The Hatters were the only team under 900. Daytona State was second at 924 and was followed by A-Sun member Jacksonville (925), A-Sun member Florida Gulf Coast (936), Upstate (953), Seminole State (971), Florida Atlantic (971) and Lipscomb (987).
Amanda Hall (Tega Cay, S.C.) claimed a top 25 individual finish with a 242 tournament total. She shot an 81 on Tuesday. Rachel Lewis (Llanishen, Wales) finished in a tie for 29th with a 244 total. Kristi Goodman (Easley, S.C.) shaved 15 strokes off her second round score on Monday to post a 79 on Tuesday to help the Spartan cause. She finished with a 261 total.
Stetson's Alex Buelow turned in a 72 on Tuesday to finish with a 215 total and the individual championship. She won the title by eight strokes over her closest competitor.
