University of South Carolina Upstate Athletics
Lowcountry Open
Spartans Hit Hilton Head Island for Lowcountry Open
3/20/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
Complete Release in PDF Format
Spartanburg, S.C. – The USC Upstate women's golf team will play its fifth tournament of the spring when it heads to the coast of South Carolina to take part in the Lowcountry Open Sunday and Monday at Moss Creek Golf Club on Hilton Head Island.
Upstate is coming off a second-place finish in the three-team Spring Fling Invitational and will look to build on the momentum gained from the performance in the tournament. Amanda Hall, in particular, had a solid showing and finished fourth individually.
The Lowcountry Open is a 15-team tournament which will be played over 36 holes. The teams will play 18 holes on each of the next two days on the 6,511-yard Moss Creek Golf Club course that is a par-72 layout. Upstate will be joined in the tournament by Appalachian State, Brown, The Citadel, Gardner-Webb, Jacksonville, Presbyterian College, Radford, Richmond, Samford, Savannah College of Art and Design, Tennessee Tech, Western Kentucky, Winthrop and Wofford.
Upstate will send the lineup of Rachel Lewis, Hall, Taylor Pleier, Johanna Ebenhag and Madison Bryant into action this week. Lewis tops the Spartans with an 80 stroke average, having finished as the lowest Spartan in six of the eight tournaments this season. Amanda Hall is second on the team with an 81.6 stroke average and became the first Spartan to earn a top five finish with her fourth-place showing in the Spring Fling Invitational. Pleier has had a solid spring and looks to continue to turn in lower scores. She ranks third on the team with an 83.2 stroke average. Ebenhag is the only non-freshman in the lineup and the senior has played some of her best golf this season. Bryant is the fourth freshman in the lineup and will look to improve on her scores as well.
Looking Back at the Spring Fling Invitational
Upstate opened the tournament with a 326 to take the lead by seven strokes over Boston College. However, the Eagles fought back with two strong rounds in the low-300s and Upstate fell to a second-place finish in the Spring Fling Invitational at Mission Inn Golf Club in Howie-In-The-Hills, Fla. Upstate totaled 973 with rounds of 326, 331 and 316. The Spartans finished 45 strokes ahead of Bethune-Cookman in third place. Amanda Hall led the Upstate attack, finishing fourth with a 238 total, 12 strokes behind the tournament champion. It marked her second top 10 finish of the season and the first top five finish for any Spartan this season. Taylor Pleier turned in two rounds in the 70s and finished seventh, while Rachel Lewis was eighth. Johanna Ebenhag finished 12th and Marissa Clontz came in 14th.
Pleier Turns in Strong Outing
Freshman Taylor Pleier has been a steady player for Upstate this season. She had a strong outing in the Spring Fling Invitational, turning in a pair of rounds in the 70s. A little inconsistent during the fall season, she has started to put together better rounds on a more consistent basis, which has led to Upstate shooting lower team scores. She may very well be peaking at the right time with the A-Sun Championships are less than a month away.
Lewis Battling Painful Knee Injury
Though it is not an injury that would prevent her from playing in tournaments, freshman Rachel Lewis nonetheless has had to battle a nagging knee injury that causes her to walk with a noticeable limp, especially late in rounds. Despite her injury, she continues to battle and leads the team with an 80 stroke average and has finished as the low Spartan in six of the eight tournaments this season.
Freshmen Continue to Pace Spartans
From the start of the season back in September, the freshman class has been the catalyst for the Spartans this season. As few as three and as many as four freshmen have dotted the lineup in tournaments this season. Rachel Lewis, Amanda Hall and Taylor Pleier have emerged as steady players in the lineup, routinely qualifying and finishing in the top three spots on the team in every tournament. Lewis leads the team with an 80 stroke average. Hall is second at 81.6, while Pleier is third at 83.2. The three are very close on the course and have established a solid foundation as freshmen as Upstate plays in its final year in the transitional period from Division II to Division I membership.
Lewis, Hall Earn Top 10 Finishes
Last year, Upstate relied heavily on the game of Jennifer Judge. She claimed one top 10 finish on the year and was the only Spartan to finish in the top 10 in any tournament. This season, freshmen Rachel Lewis and Amanda Hall have each recorded two top 10 finishes to lead the Spartans.
