By Rob Schabert, Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Information
RICHMOND, Ky. – The Tennessee Tech women's golf team scorched the Arlington Golf Club Friday on its second tour of the course, and the Golden Eagles leaped all the way from eight place into a tie for second by shooting the lowest score of the day in the later round at the EKU Colonel Classic.
After opening with a 319 to leave them in a three-way tie near the bottom of the standings in the 12-team field, coach Polk Brown's squad bounced back with a sensational 298 in the second round.
The next best single round of the day was a 304 by tournament leader and host Eastern Kentucky, which holds the top spot on the leaderboard at 611. Tech is at 617, tied with Ohio and Ball State, one stroke ahead of IUPUI (618) and two in front of Bowling Green (619).
Tech is led by a pair of newcomers to the roster this season.
Sophomore transfer Allyson Dunn is tied for fourth place at six-over-par 150, after putting together consistent rounds of 76 and 74. Dunn was the most consistent player in the field, scoring 28 pars, the most among the 75 players competing. Freshman Hollee Sadler took five shots off her first round 80, hitting four birdies in the second round on her way to a 75, placing her in a tie for 11th place at 155.
Another Golden Eagle instrumental in Tech's big second-round jump is junior Whitney Robertson, who also saw a five-shot improvement with rounds of 81-76 for a 157 to tie her for 22nd place.
Freshman Lindsay Miller, playing in the Tech lineup for the first time in her career, had the most drastic improvement Friday. Settling down from a first round 87, Miller actually rolled to the team's lowest round of the day with a 73 in the second. She is tied for 36th place at 160 after recording six birdies in her second round. Miller's seven birdies through two rounds is second-most behind the tournament leader.
Senior Maddi Everts rounds out Tech's lineup. She also took advantage of lessons learned in the first round, posting scores of 82 and 79 to place her in 39th place at 161.
Lydia Triplett, one of four Golden Eagles playing as individuals, is tied with Everts at 161. Close behind are Anna Cunningham (163), Megan Williamson (165) and Haley Davidson (171).
Aneta Abrahamova of IUPUI is the individual leader, shooting matching scores of 71-71 for a 142 and a seven-shot lead over the rest of the field. Two players are tied at 149 and Dunn is among three players at 150.
Austin Peay (626), Cleveland State (633), Belmont (638), Northern Kentucky (644) and Dayton (650) round out the standings.
Saturday's final round begins at 9 a.m. EDT.
