March 5, 2013

Eagles finish ninth behind eight nationally ranked teams at the Peggy Kirk Bell Invitational

WINTER PARK, Fla.-Carson-Newman women’s golf team finished in front of an 11th-ranked St. Leo club before taking ninth place Tuesday at the 38th Annual Peggy Kirk Bell Invitational in Winter Park, Fla. at the Tuscawilla Country Club. In a highly competitive field, the Eagles finished behind eight members of the top 25 in the latest WGCA poll.

WINTER PARK, Fla.-Carson-Newman women's golf team finished in front of an 11^th-ranked St. Leo club before taking ninth place Tuesday at the38th Annual Peggy Kirk Bell Invitational in Winter Park, Fla. at the Tuscawilla Country Club. In a highly competitive field, the Eagles finished behind eight members of the top 25 in the latest WGCA poll.

Carson-Newman sits just out of the top 25. The Eagles are ranked 29^th.

The Eagles finished the three-round invitational, behind four-time national champion and first place team no. 1 Nova Southeastern University second place team no. 4 Lynn University.This tournament marks the fifth time that Nova Southeastern University has won the Peggy Kirk Bell Invitational.

For day one, the Eagles finished in the tenth spot with scores of 327 and 332 for rounds one and two. The Eagles then turned around their game with a 323 to move them up to ninth.

Head coach Amanda Moore was pleased with her team's performance on day two.

"I was happy that we played a little better today and we moved up a spot, which is good," Moore said.

Sophomore Danielle Baiunco (Melbourne, Fla.) who tied 39^th, led the Eagles with scores of 81(+9), 82 (+10), and 80(+8), giving her a combined score of 243.

One stroke behind Baiunco was freshman Meridith Hawkins (Powell, Tenn.) who finished tied for 43^rd.

Sophomore Chelsea Passmore (Knoxville, Tenn.) ended the two day event with a combined score of 247 putting her in 49^th place. Right behind Passmore, junior Lauren Hodge took the 50^th spot after shooting a combined score of 248 for the three rounds. Junior Mary Tunnell (Cordova, Tenn.) was not far behind her teammates, ending the invitational in 52^nd place with a combined score of 257.

Moore believes that her team is moving in the right direction and will continue to get better as the season goes on.

"We will keep working on getting better each round," Moore said, "we just need to stay focused on the process of improving."

The Eagles will play again March 18, at the Pinehurst Challenge in Pinehurst, N.C.

-CN-

9	Carson-Newman	327	332	323	982
T39	Danielle Baiunco	81	82	80	243
T43	Meridith Hawkins	84	82	78	244
49	Chelsea Passmore	81	83	83	247
50	Lauren Hodge	81	85	82	248
52	Mary Tunnell	87	85	85	257