By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
SEVIERVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech women's golf team kicked off the seventh annual Bobby Nichols Intercollegiate with a solid first round Sunday afternoon, ranking fourth among the 12 teams competing on the Highlands Course at Sevierville Golf Club in the Golden Eagles' annual spring event.
The Golden Eagles turned in a 303 in their first crack at the course in the three-day event, finishing four strokes better than Lee University and Carson-Newman, both of which tied for fifth place. Tech will head into round two seeking to track down third-place Marshall, sitting 10 shots back of the Thundering Herd.
Leading the way for the purple and gold on Sunday was junior Arianna Clemmer, who tied for 10th place among the 73 golfers in the BNI field. Clemmer turned in a 3-over 74 for her first 18 holes of competition in Sevierville, leading the Golden Eagles with 12 pars on the day. She also tallied a pair of birdies.
Just one shot back of her teammate was fellow junior Shelby Johnson. The Tech veteran tied for 16th overall after carding a 4-over 75. Johnson ranked just behind Clemmer in total pars among the field, tallying 11 of her own with two birdies.
Senior Lindsay Miller tied for 23rd while putting forth a 76, also racking up two birdies on her scorecard. Freshman Heidi Lawson finished not far behind, capturing a first-round 78 to tie for 28th and round out the scoring on the day for Tech. She turned in a team-high three birdies.
Also among the Golden Eagle starting five was sophomore Kate Mashburn, who posted an 82 to tie for 48th. Fellow sophomore Hannah Bratton and Isabel York each competed as individuals on Sunday, with Bratton ranking in a tie for 44th with an 81. York finished the day with a 90.
Ohio Valley Conference rival Eastern Kentucky and Samford tied for first place and a share of the first-day lead, each concluding action with scores of 289. Tying for the individual lead were Shelby Brauckmuller, of Marshall, and Samford's Sophie Membrino, who each tallied 1-under 70s.
Round two of the Bobby Nichols Intercollegiate is set to commence with a 9 a.m. ET shotgun start Monday morning.
Photo by Thomas Corhern