England sets new SAC Tournament record, captures conference title
GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – Elizabeth England (Oakland, Tenn.) shot a three-over 75 for a three-day total of 214, putting her two-under and setting a new South Atlantic Conference Championships record and earning the title of SAC Tournament champion on Tuesday at the Link Hills Country Club in Greeneville, Tenn.
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GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – Elizabeth England (Oakland, Tenn.) shot a three-over 75 for a three-day total of 214, putting her two-under and setting a new South Atlantic Conference Championships record and earning the title of SAC Tournament champion on Tuesday at the Link Hills Country Club in Greeneville, Tenn.
England entered the final day of play with a two stroke lead over SAC Player of the Year Abbey Hartsell of Lenoir-Rhyne, but the junior from Mossy Creek held off her challenger all day. England shook off a double bogey on the second and birdied the sixth to finish one-over on the front nine. She then bounced back from a bogey on the 11th with a birdie on the 12th and when Hartsell stumbled with consecutive holes in the black, England took a three shot lead into the final six holes. That edge would prove to be just enough for the Oakland, Tenn. native, who captured the title by a single shot, becoming the first Eagle since Sarah Jane Sinard in 2009 to capture the league's tournament crown. She also shattered the old SAC Championships record, which was set in 2012 by Maria Luz Besio, who put up a score of 218.
In capturing her third tournament victory of the 2016-17 campaign, England dominated the statistics. She was the event's best player on par three's, the only one with stroke average in the red and she also tied for the best average score on par fours at 4.07. By collecting 38 pars, she also topped all competitors in that category.
"It was a lot of fun," said England. "There was actually a lot of stress, too, but I enjoyed playing and seeing how low I could go. I went into [today] like it was the first day of the tournament and tried not to think about [where I was on the leaderboard]."
Despite a difficult last day, Allie Fletcher concluded her freshman season with the highest finish she's recorded in the Blue and Orange. The Cumming, Ga. native finished strong with four pars in-a-row and entered the clubhouse with a 10-over 82 and her overall mark of 16-over earned her 17th.
Taylor Hayes (Lake Ozark, Mo.) took advantage of the last 18 to post her best day of the competition. Her first nine holes included a birdie on the second and ended with a mark of even. She did register a five-over 41 after the turn, but finished with a 77, allowing her to move up from 30th and leave Link Hills in a tie for 26th.
Also saving her best for last was Reagan Kinnie (Murfreesboro, Tenn.), who put together a nine-over 81 on Tuesday, her top score over three rounds. Her day started with six pars and a bogey through seven, but the freshman was +8 over the last 11 holes and, as a result, she tied for 46th.
The last conference tournament in the career of Jessica Hart (Roanoke, Va.) ended with her sharing 49th following an afternoon in which she was 13-over. The highlight of her day came in the form of a birdie on the par five 10th. The senior's final score was a 41-over 257.
Rachel Watts (Newport, Tenn.) completed her freshman season by tying for 42nd as an individual, totaling a 29-over 245 after shooting eight-over for the day. Watts final nine holes were also her best nine holes, as she knocked in a pair of birdies and was one-over on the back nine.
As a team, the Eagles finished seventh in Greeneville, with a final score of a 65-over 929. Lenoir-Rhyne took home the SAC Championship, shooting +44 to beat out the host school, Tusculum, by three strokes. Lincoln Memorial was 10 shots off the pace at 54-over. In fourth was Wingate at +60 and Anderson (S.C.) took fifth, shooting 63-over.
What lies ahead for the Eagles is to wait and see if they receive a bid to the NCAA South/Southeast Regional, which will be held on May 8th – 10th at The Members Club at Woodcreek in Elgin, S.C. For news and updates regarding the program, visit cneagles.com and follow @cnathletics on Twitter.
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