By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. – The Tennessee Tech women's golf team went soaring up the leaderboard at the Edwin Watts – Kiawah Island Classic Monday afternoon, jumping 11 places to qualify for the top-half of the teams that play on the Osprey Point Course at Kiawah Island Golf Resort.
Playing on that same course on Monday, the Golden Eagles shoveled seven strokes off of their first-round output of 310, to leap from 33rd among the 49 teams in contention after Sunday to 22nd overall. Tech turned in a 303 in round two, adding up to a 613.
For the second day in-a-row, Shelby Johnson turned in a 2-over 74 for the purple and gold. The junior captured three birdies and 11 more pars to add to her collection, totaling a 148 for the first two days of play. She ranked in a tie for 39th among the 254 participants.
Senior Lindsay Miller managed two birdies and nine pars as part of a 79 on the scorecard. She finished the day tied for 101st with a score of 153.
Turning in the best performance of the day was sophomore Kate Mashburn, who slashed 10 shots from an 83 in round one. She carded a 1-over 73 while racking up 13 pars and a pair of birdies. She jumped up the leaderboard as well, round out in a tie for 134th with a 156.
Arianna Clemmer was next among the Golden Eagles in the rankings, carding an 81 to go with a first-round 79 for a 160 through two days. She totaled 10 pars and a birdie to rank 171st. Isabel York rounded out the lineup for Tech, trimming nine strokes from her first day of action. The sophomore tallied a 5-over 77 on the strength of two birdies and 10 pars to complete the first two rounds with a 163.
Leading the event at 577 (293-284) was North Florida, which featured two of the top-five golfers on the leaderboard. Individually, it was USF's Ramya Meenakshisundaram and Western Carolina's Amy Wooten tying for first overall, each with a 139 with a round to play.
The third and final round of the tournament is set to begin on Tuesday with a 7:45 a.m. CT shotgun start. As a team finishing the first two days in the Top-24, Tech will compete for the tournament championship on the Osprey Point Course for the second straight day. The 25 remaining teams in field will compete for a flight championship on the Oak Point Course.
Photo by Carla Hazelwood