University of South Carolina Upstate Athletics
Great Smokies Intercollegiate
Culler Leads Strong Spartan Effort at Great Smokies Intercollegiate
9/13/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
Waynesville, N.C. – Payton Culler, a freshman playing in her first collegiate tournament for USC Upstate, shot a 73 in the first round of the Great Smokies Intercollegiate to lead the Spartans' women's golf team to a 298 team score Saturday afternoon at the Waynesville Inn and Golf Club.
Upstate opened with a 298 with 12 birdies as a team and stands fourth on the leaderboard heading into the final round Sunday. Mercer opened with a 288 and is followed on the overnight leaderboard by Western Carolina (290), Western Kentucky (294), Upstate (298), Presbyterian (311), Sandhills CC (327) and The Citadel (330).
"It was a great effort by all of our players today, and it was fun to see some success early on in nearly every area," said Upstate head coach Todd Lawton. "We had several birdies and recovered well from our mistakes. As a group, we showed composure and competitive will. As a coach, you hope for a good start and confidence, and I feel this round indicated both."
Culler turned in a steady round and led the Spartan cause with a 1-over-par 73. She led an Upstate squad that had all five players shoot in the 70s, something that did not happen last year and was achieved once in 2012-13. The Spartans got rounds of 73 from Culler, 74 from Malika Allie, 75 from Rachel Reiling, 76 from Allea Hawkins and tossed the solid 77 turned in by freshman Sidney Dermody. Allie played her final 10 holes 1-over to post her 74.
"Payton was steady the entire round, got in a rhythm of good shots and never looked back," said Lawton. "What a great start to her collegiate career. Malika was able to play her last 10 holes 1-over and posted a great score."
Mercer's Katy Harris opened with a 68 and owns the overnight lead. Culler stands tied for seventh, Allie is tied for 12th, Reiling is tied for 15th, Hawkins is tied for 18th and Dermody is tied for 21st. All five Spartans are in the top-25 and four are in the top-20.
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