By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
MURRAY, Ky. – A round for the ages from the clubs of sophomore transfer Allyson Dunn proved to be enough to lead the Tennessee Tech women's golf team up the leaderboard Tuesday afternoon as the Golden Eagles tallied a third-place finish at the Murray State Invitational.
Tied for 33rd place overall heading into the second and final round of play, Dunn channeled exactly what it took to fire off the best 18-hole performance of her young career. The Kingsport, Tenn. native carded a career-low 3-under 69 on the final day of the event, matching the second-lowest round in program history shot by Katherine Bell back in 2010. Only teammate Maddi Everts ever produced a lower score for the Golden Eagles, a 67 at the Great Smokies Intercollegiate in 2013.
"I'm very proud of the turn around today by both the team as a whole and Allyson as an individual," head coach Polk Brown said. "There were plenty of positives for us to build on as we enter a two-week stretch away from competition and before we end the fall with four straight events. We are all looking forward to what lies ahead."
After fighting blistery conditions on Monday to a tune of a first-round 81, Dunn rebounded as well as anyone could dream, shaving 12 strokes off her game for round two to tie for fourth place overall and collect her first career All-Tournament honor. She finished the event with an 81-69=150, leading the Golden Eagles to a jump of their own up the standings.
As a team, Tech jumped two places in the rankings to finish third at the tournament, leapfrogging Ohio Valley Conference foes SIUE and Belmont to finish second among the six league teams in the event. Host Murray State claimed the title by an impressive 11 strokes. Southern Illinois' Brooke Cusamano took home individual medalist honors with a 74-74=148.
Helping the Golden Eagles climb the leaderboard on day two of the event was the veteran Everts. The senior trimmed three strokes off of her first-day 79 for a 4-over 76 and 155 overall. She tied for ninth place in the event.
Finishing closely behind was junior Whitney Robertson, who tied for 12th place in the field of 75. She rounded out the two-day event with a second-round 79, combining with a 77 in the first round for a 156 overall.
Rounding out Tech's rotation of five were senior Megan Williamson and junior Haley Davidson. Williamson tied for 35th after posting a 79-83=162 while Davidson carded two rounds of 89 for an overall total of 178.
Participating as an individual, true freshman Hollee Sadler looked much more relaxed on the second day on the links at Miller Memorial Golf Course. She also tied for 35th in the event after recording an 84-78=162.
The Golden Eagles will have a couple of weeks away from competition before hitting the links again on Monday, Oct. 5 for the first day of the CSU Wendy's Invitational. The two-day event, hosted by Charleston Southern, will be held in Mt. Pleasant, S.C.
Photo by Dave Winder, Murray State Sports Information
