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 Sophomore Bianca Melone fired a team-best 76 on Sunday to improve 10 spots in the final standings as the Catamounts placed 9th at the Bonnie Hoover Invitational. |
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April 11, 2005
Cullowhee, N.C. - Poised for a run at the top from ninth place after the first two rounds, the Western Carolina women's golf team carded a 314 in the final round of the Bonnie Hoover Invitational to hold its ground and finish with a top 10 performance, in a two-way tie for 9th with Georgetown. Sunday's score was WCU's best of the all three days, but was better than only three of the final rounds of the 15 teams in the field, all of which finished behind the Catamounts.
Western carded a team score of 956 on the 6,046-yard Lakeview Golf Club course, ranking as the Catamounts' 18th best, three-round team score all-time.
After leading the squad through the first two rounds, junior Brandy Andersen finished off Sunday tying her lowest round of the spring season. She shot a 78 on the final 18 holes to complete the tournament with a 237, her lowest three-round score since firing a 231 in early November at Kiawah Island, S.C., to place in a five-way tie for 33rd.
Andersen's classmate, Ashley Hovda, finished off the final round with a 79 to accompany her first two rounds of 83 and 77 to score 239, tied for 41st. Among those tied with Hovda was sophomore teammate Bianca Melone. The Orlando, Fla., native fired a team-low 76 to rally after shooting in the 80s in each of her first two rounds, improving 10 spots in the final finishing order. Melone's third-round score was her lowest since turning in a round of 72 in mid-October at the Wachovia-Great Smokies Intercollegiate which the team hosted at the Waynesville Country Club.
Freshmen Lucinda Davies and Kandy Carland struggled a bit at the Harrisonburg, Va., course, only recording one round in the 70s between them. Davies could not capitalize on momentum gained with her 79 in the second round, finishing with an 81 on Sunday for a three-round total of 243, tied for 54th on the scoring sheets. Carland shot 86 in the second round, book-ended by a pair of 81's to shoot 248 to stand alone in 66th-place. Playing as an individual, junior Erika Danford finished tied for 58th, concluding her two-days with a 245 (82-83-80).
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The tournament was Western's final tune-up before the season-ending Southern Conference Championships, slated to be contested at the Furman University Golf Course in Greenville, S.C., on Friday, April 22 through Sunday, April 24. The Catamounts won the team tournament for the first-time in school history in 2003, breaking Furman's nine-consecutive SoCon titles. The Lady Paladins, winners last season, have claimed 10 of the 11 championships since the conference began women's golf tournament play in 1994. Andersen, playing as a freshman at the time, was the individual medalist in 2003 for the Cats.
Team Scores
1. Princeton 306-300-294 = 900
2. James Madison 304-301-297 = 902
3. Augusta State 312-301-307 = 920
4. Ohio 318-305-302 = 925
5. Elon 315-312-299 = 926
6. Methodist 302-318-308 = 928
7. Penn State-A 320-316-298 = 934
8. William & Mary 320-315-309 = 944
9. WESTERN CAROLINA 327-315-314 = 956
Georgetown 320-325-311 = 956
11. Boston College 324-330-312 = 966
12. Appalachian State 341-325-320 = 986
13. Columbia 328-329-332 = 989
14. Rutgers 332-337-330 = 999
15. Old Dominion 349-336-336 = 1021
Western Carolina Scores
T33 Brandy Andersen 80-79-78 = 237
T41 Ashley Hovda 83-77-79 = 239
T41 Bianca Melone 83-80-76 = 239
T54 Lucinda Davies 83-79-81 = 243
T66 Kandy Carland 81-86-81 = 248
Individual
T58 Erika Danford 82-83-80 = 245
