By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – The Tennessee Tech women's golf team concluded action at its first competition of the spring, putting a cap on round three of the Islander Classic with a top-10 finish while competing at Corpus Christi Country Club.
The purple and gold finished off the final day play seventh among 15 teams vying for the top spot, turning in a 326 for an overall total of 962. Tech edged Drake for seventh while Houston Christian fired the lowest round of the tournament, 300, to jump past UTRGV for the title. HCU's Elise Parel took home individual medalist honors with a 72-77-77=226.
Senior Elisabeth Toennessen turned in Tech's top finish, tying for seventh among 80 individuals with a 235. The veteran turned in an 83 to wrap up the day. Finishing just three shots back was Ainsley Simms, carding a team-best 80 in the third round. The junior tied for 17th on the leaderboard with a 238.
Rookie Sydney Branson bounced back from an 86 in round two on Monday to post an 81 and two birdies on Tuesday. She tied for 44th with senior Gittle Sciolis after the pair completed the event with scores of 247. Sciolis kept her consistency through the tournament rolling, delivering an 82 after rounds of 83 and 82 on Monday.
Rounding out the Golden Eagle effort was sophomore Reagan Stuke, tying for 56th overall. The youngster posted an 88 in round three, finalizing the week with a 252.
Tech will take two weeks off from the links, competing next in Sevierville, Tenn. The Golden Eagles will play host to the 10th annual Bobby Nichols Intercollegiate at Sevierville Golf Club from Sunday, Mar. 12 to Tuesday, Mar. 14.
| Top 5 Teams: | ||||||
| 1. | Houston Christian | 308-313-300=921 | +57 | |||
| 2. | UTRGV | 303-314-315=932 | +68 | |||
| 3. | Creighton | 314-316-319=949 | +85 | |||
| 4. | Lamar | 318-319-318=955 | +91 | |||
| 5. | Texas A&M-Corpus Christi | 313-316-327=956 | +92 | |||
| 7. | Tennessee Tech | 314-322-326=962 | +98 | |||
| Leaderboard (80 Golfers) | ||||||
| 1. | Elise Parel (Houston Christian) | 72-77-77=226 | +10 | |||
| T-7. | Elisabeth Toennessen | 77-75-83=235 | +19 | |||
| T-17. | Ainsley Simms | 75-83-80=238 | +22 | |||
| T-44. | Sydney Branson | 80-86-81=247 | +31 | |||
| T-44. | Gittle Sciolis | 83-82-82=247 | +31 | |||
| T-56. | Reagan Stuke | 82-82-88=252 | +36 | |||
File photo by Emily Armstrong