University of South Carolina Upstate Athletics
RiverTowne Invitational
Spartan Resilience Shines: USC Upstate Women's Golf Battles Adversity for 6th of 15 Teams at RiverTowne
2/27/2024 5:32:00 PM | Women's Golf
Nontarux notches runner-up finish to lead the Spartans
MOUNT PLEASANT, SC—The USC Upstate women's golf team showcased their resilience at the RiverTowne Invitational in Mount Pleasant, SC, finishing sixth in a 15-team field packed with multiple top-125 teams. Despite facing numerous challenges, including a bout with the flu during their road trip, the Spartans delivered a strong performance in Mount Pleasant.
Leading the charge for the Spartans was redshirt senior Preaw Nontarux, whose performance secured her a tie for second-place overall. Nontarux's impressive rounds of 72-71-70-213 helped buoy the Spartans in the tournament, with her final-round score of 70, tying for the second best round of the day. This marks Nontarux's sixth top-five finish in her career and her best performance since claiming victory at the 2023 Sea Best Intercollegiate.
The Spartans, as a team, had the lowest second-round score of 290. Suwarin Yord-in had a strong outing, narrowly missing the top 10 with her scores of 74-70-75-219. The senior from Bangkok excelled in the birdie department, tallying the second-highest number of birdies in the invitational with 13.
Head Coach Todd Lawton commended his team's resilience in adversity, particularly highlighting Nontarux's remarkable performance despite battling illness. "I've been doing this a while and can't remember a time when we've had as many challenges due to illness. Preaw could barely warm up this morning. I am so proud of the efforts of all our players. Simply an incredible round with grit and perseverance. So proud of her," said Lawton.
Despite challenges, the Spartans posted a team score of 298-290-306-894. Rylie Kosney contributed solid rounds of 74 in the first two rounds while reigning Big South Golfer of the Week, Supatta Puttanavarat shot a 78-75 in the first two rounds before withdrawing due to illness in the third round. Eliza Whiteside (82-84-82-248) answered the call and performed well after being added to the lineup moments before the team's departure for the event.
Overall, the tournament saw sophomore Annie Wu of Elon emerge atop the leaderboard with a score of -4. In the team category, the Richmond Spiders secured the title with a collective score of 283-293-293-869, edging out Coastal Carolina by three strokes.
Up Next for the Spartans
The Spartans get a breather before heading to the Low Country Intercollegiate in Hilton Head, SC on March 15-17.
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