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 Sophomore Kandy Carland won her first collegiate event on Tuesday, leading Western to its school-record ninth, top five finish of the season. |
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April 4, 2006
High Point Spring Invitational - FINAL RESULTS
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Cullowhee, N.C. - Led by the first career individual championship by sophomore Kandy Carland, the Western Carolina women's golf team outlasted severe weather on Monday and windy conditions on Tuesday to secure its school-record ninth top five finish of the season by placing second at the High Point Spring Invitational. WCU was edged by eight-time Division III National Champion, Methodist College, by three strokes as the Catamounts shot 626.
Tied for first with identical scores of 152 after the regulation 36-holes were completed on Tuesday afternoon, Carland and first-round leader, Methodist College's Katie Dick, settled the individual medalist honors in a sudden death playoff. Teeing off on the par 4, 401-yard 18th hole, both players drove within 190 yards of the green down the middle of the fairway, fighting through a tough head wind that burdened players all day. On their second shot, Dick found the putting surface within 40 yards from the pin while Carland was pin-high, equidistance from the stick but mired in the rough. Chipping from just outside the fringe, Carland's offering rolled down the pitch and came to rest approximately 10 inches from the cup. Dick left her birdie putt about three feet shy and her attempt to save par circled the cylinder, rimming out leaving her with a bogey, and Carland tapped in to secure the victory.
Carland, a native of Hendersonville, N.C., reached her career-best, two-round score of 152 by shooting 77 and 75 and leading the field in par four scoring (4.15), tallying 21 in the tournament. The first-place finish gives Western Carolina four individuals on the roster who have tasted individual victory and three Catamounts have won individual honors this season alone.
All five Catamounts competing at the HPU Spring Invitational finished inside the top 40. Senior Ashley Hovda finished in a three-way tie for third after following up her opening-round 75, which was tied for second after 18 holes, with an 80 to fall back with a 155. Hovda led the field in birdies, scoring five total. Sophomore Malin Fryk whittled three strokes off her opening round of 80 to shoot 77 over the final round to place in a four-way tie for eighth, just one stroke in arrears of Hovda and third. Fryk posted the most holes in regulation scoring 25 pars to lead all competitors.
Rounding out the field for WCU were junior Bianca Melone tied for 26th and senior Brandy Andersen in a two-way tie for 39th place. Playing as an individual, senior Erika Danford placed in a three-way tie for 29th, second among all of the unattached players.
Heavy rains forced the start of the 36-hole tournament at the par 72, 5,937-yard Meadowlands Golf Course to be delayed for nearly six hours on Monday, then late afternoon thunderstorms forced the suspension of play. Completing the opening round Tuesday morning and continuing with the final 18 holes, the golfers battled heavy winds throughout the day. Rounding out the top five finishing teams behind Methodist College and Western were Gardner-Webb (627), Elon (643) and Wofford (645). WCU also defeated additional SoCon foes Appalachian State (8th, 665) and The Citadel (11th, 696).
As a team, the Catamounts led in par 4 scoring (4.45) and total pars (104), while ranking second in the number of birdies in the tournament with 11. WCU has nine top five finishes this season, tying a school record with three victories and back-to-back runner-up finishes.
Western returns to action on April 21-23 at the annual Southern Conference Women's Golf Championship, held this year at the par 72, 6,387-yard Mill Creek Golf and Country Club in Mebane, N.C. In the 12-year history of SoCon women's golf championships, the Catamounts are only one of two schools to have ever captured the team title with the Furman Lady Paladins dominating the league with the other 11 titles. WCU claimed the team crown in 2003 with current WCU senior, Brandy Andersen, winning the individual championship. Last season, the Catamounts finished in fourth as a team, but Hovda claimed the runner-up position with the second-best WCU individual score at the conference event.
Fin. School Scores RD1 RD2 Total Par 1 Methodist College 313 309 622 +46 2 Western Carolina 310 316 626 +50 3 Gardner-Webb 314 313 627 +51 4 Elon 319 324 643 +67 5 Wofford 320 325 645 +69 6 High Point 330 317 647 +71 7 Kennesaw State 326 338 664 +88 8 Appalachian State 340 325 665 +89 9 Old Dominion 337 333 670 +94 10 Radford 341 339 680 +104 11 The Citadel 351 345 696 +120 12 Hampton 365 361 726 +1502 Western Carolina 310 316 626 1 Kandy Carland 77 75 152 T 3 Ashley Hovda 75 80 155 T 8 Malin Fryk 80 77 157 T 26 Bianca Melone 78 84 162 T 39 Brandy Andersen 80 87 167
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