University of South Carolina Upstate Athletics
Wendy''s Invitational
Upstate Makes History in Wendy's Invitational
10/15/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
Charleston, S.C. – For the first time in school history, all five members of the USC Upstate women's golf team shot rounds in the 70s in a single round, posting the scores in the first round of the Wendy's Invitational Monday. By the end of the day, Upstate shot team scores of 309 and 321 and stands ninth in the 13-team tournament being played at Rivertowne Country Club.
Prior to Monday's opening round, Upstate had only had four of its five golfers in the lineup shoot in the 70s in a single round on two occasions since the inception of the program in 2005-06. One of those tournaments was earlier this year at the Great Smokies Intercollegiate. On Monday, the Spartans got all five rounds in the 70s in the first round to shoot a 309. Taylor Barnes (Spartanburg, S.C.) and Amanda Hall (Tega Cay, S.C.) each shot 76, while Marissa Clontz (Greenville, S.C.) shot a 78. Brittany Lowe (Spartanburg, S.C.) and Rachel Reiling (Littleton, Colo.) both shot 79.
"This morning's round was special because even though we didn't start our first few holes well, we finished our last ones well," said Upstate head coach Todd Lawton. "To drop a score in the 70s for the first time ever shows me we have some much-needed depth and can work toward par golf on an individual basis. Seven of our eight players have scored 78 or better this fall alone, another first."
Upstate stood sixth after the first round. However, just as the majority of the scores went up in the second round, so did Upstate's. The Spartans shot 321 in the second and fell to ninth with a 630 total heading into Tuesday's final round.
Richmond owns the lead with a 587 total after rounds of 293 and 294. The Spiders own a 10-stroke lead over Charleston Southern (597). The Buccaneers are followed by Wofford (604), Appalachian State (607), Armstrong Atlantic State (610), Western Carolina (616), Radford (617), USC Beaufort (617), Upstate (630), The Citadel (635), Loyola (642), Limestone (649) and Presbyterian (651) on the leaderboard.
Hall and Reiling are the top Spartans in the tournament. The two are tied for 30th with a 151 total. Hall shot rounds of 76 and 81, while Reiling turned in rounds of 79 and 78. She was one of two Upstate golfers to shoot both rounds in the 70s. Lowe also shot both of her rounds in the 70s, turning in back-to-back rounds of 79 for a 158 total. She is tied for 37th. Barnes is tied for 47th after rounds of 76 and 83 (159), while Clontz owns a 169 total. Upstate posted seven of the 10 rounds in the 70s Monday.
"All our players played with focus and set goals for today," said Lawton. "We had some hiccup holes, but generally overcame them on the next hole."
Armstrong Atlantic State's Jenna Birch and Western Carolina's Maria Kjelldorff are tied for the individual tournament lead with a 142 total.
