Bell leads way with one-over 73

WAYNESVILLE, N.C. — Katherine Bell shot a one-over 73 to lead Tennessee Tech in the first round of the Great Smokies Intercollegiate at Waynesville Inn Golf Resort and Spa.

With one round in the books and another to follow on Tuesday, the Golden Eagles were in a tie for 16^th in the strong 21-team field hosted by Western Carolina.

Bell was the pacesetter, finishing in a tie for 13^th overall and shooting an even-par 36 over the front nine and a 37 on the back.

Freshman Madalyn Everts was the second Golden Eagle to finish, following up an impressive final round at the Drake Creek Invitational last week with a strong showing in the first round at the Great Smokies, where she shot a 76.

Brandy Van Etten was the third Tech golfer to finish, coming in at 77, while Katy Beth Glover (80) and Amber Shepherd (84) rounded out Tech's five. Amanda Randolph played as an individual and shot a 77.

As a team, Tech shot a 306 to tie with Northwood University going into the final round.

The Golden Eagles find themselves just 16 strokes off first place, which is occupied by Western Carolina, the host squad, with a 290.

Louisiana-Monroe is in second with a 291, while Ohio Valley Conference squads Eastern Kentucky and Jacksonville State are tied for third at 292. UNC Greensboro and South Carolina State round out the top six, both shooting 294.

The rest of the field consists of Rollins (295), USC Upstate (297), Presbyterian (301), Gardner-Webb (301), South Alabama (302), UAB (303), Newberry (303), Appalachian State (303), Bowling Green State (305), Northwood (306), Tennessee Tech (306), Radford (307), Western Kentucky (311), Belmont (314), Methodist (317), The Citadel (317) and Savannah College of Art and Design (317).

Individually, Louisiana-Monroe's Jennifer Park set the pace, firing a four-under 68 in the first round.

The second and final round will begin with a shotgun start at 8 a.m. CDT Tuesday morning.