University of South Carolina Upstate Athletics
Edwin Watts/Kiawah Island Classic
Reiling Leads Upstate at Edwin Watts/Kiawah Island Classic
3/1/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
Kiawah Island, S.C. – Rachel Reiling shot a 77 in the rain-soaked first round of the Edwin Watts/Kiawah Island Classic to lead the USC Upstate women's golf team Sunday afternoon in the largest tournament field in women's college golf.
Upstate is one of 40 teams competing in the tournament which is being played on the Oak Point and Osprey Point courses at the Kiawah Island Golf Resort. Upstate competed on the Oak Point Course in the first round and opened with a 331. The Spartans counted the 77 from Reiling along with an 81 from Payton Culler, 86 from Eden Howard and 87 from Sidney Dermody. Kinsey Soniat opened with a 91.
Reiling finished the round with three birdies and played the front nine at 1-over par en route to shooting her 77. She will enter Monday's second round in a tie for 41st out of 210 players in the field.
"Rachel was great at overcoming a couple of bad holes and made some birdies along the way," said Upstate head coach Todd Lawton. "I am very proud of her score and effort today."
Culler made a birdie and 12 pars, and her 81 was a result of a few bad breaks on five holes. Dermody also recorded a birdie in her round as the Spartans recorded five on the day in dealing with poor weather conditions.
North Florida opened the tournament with a 297 to take the lead after the first of three rounds in the tournament. Troy was second at 298 and was followed on the leaderboard by Chattanooga (299), College of Charleston (300), Western Carolina (300), Stetson (304), Samford (305), Elon (306), Jacksonville (310), Savannah College of Art & Design (311), Jacksonville State (311), Illinois State (312), Georgetown (314), William & Mary (314), USC Beaufort (314), Delaware (318), Boston College (318), Marshall (318), UNC Greensboro (319), Rutgers (319), Charleston Southern (319), Western Kentucky (321), South Alabama (322), Towson (323), Boston U. (324), Bethune-Cookman (324), Florida Gulf Coast (325), High Point (325), Ball State (326), Seton Hall (328), Longwood (328), Richmond (330), Radford (330), Upstate (331), Loyola (339), St. John's (340), The Citadel (341), Navy (351), Presbyterian (361) and Bucknell (363).
"The weather was a factor today as much as any day I have ever seen on the course," said Lawton. "We had rain for the better part of the six hours we were on the course with play backing up on several holes. It is not an excuse for any poor shots or play, but the experience was tough and it will make us stronger in dealing with difficult situations. Tomorrow's weather should be better and we play a course (Osprey Point) we have never played, so there is excitement to get back out on the course and get going."
Eight of the Top 10 teams on the leaderboard played the Osprey Point course Sunday. Jacksonville State's Melania Bajo Geijo opened the tournament with a 68 to take the first round lead on the individual leaderboard.
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