University of South Carolina Upstate Athletics
Low Country Invitational
Upstate 10th at Low Country Invitational
3/25/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
Hilton Head Island, S.C. – The USC Upstate women's golf team opened the Low Country Intercollegiate with a 327 Sunday afternoon and is 10th on the leaderboard heading into Monday's final round.
The Low Country Intercollegiate is being played at Moss Creek Golf Club, a par-72 layout that plays at 5,583 yards. Upstate opened the 36-hole tournament with a 327 and is 11 strokes out of fifth and seven out of a top seven finish.
Appalachian State opened the tournament with a 313 and holds the lead by one stroke over Jacksonville (314). Radford, Newberry and Presbyterian College are all tied for third at 316 and are followed by Elon (318), Gardner-Webb (320), Bowling Green State (322), Wofford (325) and Upstate (327) in the top 10.
Princeton is 11th at 328 and is followed by Brown (333), Western Kentucky (336), The Citadel (340) and Tennessee Tech (341).
"In general, the team struggled with finding greens," said Upstate assistant coach Audrey Church. "However, we were able to grind through it and roll in some putts to keep us in the game. The tight leaderboard gives us a great opportunity to move up in the final round."
Spartanburg native and freshman Brittany Lowe led the Upstate cause with an 80 on Sunday. She is tied for 22nd. Marissa Clontz (Greenville, S.C.), playing in her first tournament of the season where her score will count toward the team total, was the second-lowest Spartan on the day, turning in an 81 and is tied for 26th.
"Brittany got off to a rough start this morning, but had a great comeback, shooting 43 on her front nine and following it up with a 37," said Church. "Her energy and positive attitude were crucial in turning it around. I'm extremely excited for Marissa. This was her first tournament this year playing for us in the lineup. Not only did she contribute as a strong member of the team, but she also tied for the lead in the field with four birdies."
Amanda Hall (Tega Cay, S.C.) and Taylor Pleier (Spartanburg)) are tied for 45th after shooting 83, while Madison Bryant (Chapin, S.C.) opened with a 96.
Three players opened the tournament with rounds of 74 to share the lead heading into the final round on Monday. Newberry's Maria Luz Besio, Princeton's Wonji Choi and Wofford's Alex Henricks each shot 74 and enter Monday with a one-stroke lead over Princeton's Kelly Shon.
