University of South Carolina Upstate Athletics
Holiday Inn Express Hatter Classic
Hall Finishes Second at Hatter Classic
11/6/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
DeLand, Fla. – USC Upstate's Amanda Hall turned in a final round 78 and capped off a strong tournament by finishing second at the Holiday Inn Express/Hatter Classic Tuesday afternoon.
The tournament, played at Victoria Hills Country Club, was the final event of the fall schedule for Upstate, and Hall and the Spartans finished on a strong note. Upstate claimed a tie for fourth in the tournament, just one spot off of the all-time best finish in six appearances in the event.
For Hall (Tega Cay, S.C.), she not only led Upstate throughout the tournament, she also topped all current and former Spartans in the event by placing second. Prior to her effort Monday and Tuesday, the best Upstate finish came from Richia Wedzik in 2008 when she finished seventh.
"Amanda kept it simple the entire tournament," said Upstate assistant coach Audrey Church. "She hit solid shots, made putts when she needed to and stayed away from big numbers."
Upstate finished the tournament with a 322 on Tuesday, finishing in a tie for fourth with Bethune-Cookman with a 951 54-hole total.
"As a team, we got off to a slow start," said Church. "We were not rolling in as many putts today. Amanda and Taylor (Barnes) led us in two entirely different ways, which is the beauty of this sport."
Stetson won the tournament after shooting 313 in the final round and posting a 931 tournament total. McNeese State was second with a 933 total and was followed by Daytona State (938), Upstate (951), Bethune-Cookman (951), North Florida (965), Florida Atlantic (972), Lipscomb (991) and Webber International (1074) in the nine-team field. Upstate was one of four A-Sun teams playing in the tournament and the Spartans finished ahead of two, North Florida and Lipscomb.
Hall finished second by posting a 54-hole total of 229 with rounds of 74, 77 and 78. She finished second in the tournament with seven birdies. She was joined in the Top 5 by teammate Taylor Barnes (Spartanburg, S.C.), who capped off a solid fall season by tying for third. She turned in rounds of 76, 78 and 76 for a 230 total, just one stroke back of Hall in second. She led the tournament in par-4 scoring and with eight birdies. It marked the second tournament in a row and the third time overall that Upstate had two players shoot all three rounds in the 70s in the same 54-hole tournament.
Rachel Reiling (Littleton, Colo.) finished tied for 27th with a 247 total after posting 85 on Tuesday. Marissa Clontz (Greenville, S.C.) shot an 83 on Tuesday and finished 36th with a 254 total, while Brittany Lowe (Spartanburg, S.C.) finished tied for 37th with a 255 total.
Despite shooting 80 in the final round, Stetson's Sammi Smith held on to take the individual championship with a 224 total, taking the win over Hall.
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