Cheeranont Leads Field, HPU Women’s Golf Tied-4th At William & Mary Invite

• High Point moves up five spots and is now t-4th after shooting a combined 298 in the second round
• Senior Tan Cheeranont sits in first place with a 36-hole total of 141 (-3)
• Junior Danielle Fuss and sophomore Cayla Smith both posted solid scores of 75 Monday

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – Behind the strong play of senior Tan Cheeranont, the High Point University women’s golf team soared to a fourth place tie after the second round of the William & Mary Invitational at the Kingsmill Resort Monday.

Cheeranont had another incredible day, holding onto the first place position after teeing up a one-under 71. Cheeranont leads the field of 65 golfers with a 36-hole score of 141 (70-71, -3). She posted two birdies and 15 pars in her second round and leads all competitors in total pars (29) and par-4 scoring (-2) through 36 holes. The Bangkok, Thailand native holds a two-stroke lead over Radford’s Khushboo Thiagarai (143, 72-71) and Alessandra Liu (143, 74-69) of William & Mary. The final round will begin Tuesday morning.

“Tan played another very solid round,” head coach Vici Pate Flesher said. “She just missed another couple of putts that lipped out again, but she is staying patient and playing her own game. Her maturity is really showing.”

The Panthers have fired a combined 609 (311-298) over the first 36 holes of action. The team’s second round score was 13 strokes better than its opening round effort and marked the third best score of the day amongst all teams.

Junior Danielle Fuss and sophomore Cayla Smith posted matching scores of 75 Monday to help the Panthers register their solid second round.

Fuss carded 15 pars and holds a two-day score of 153 (78-75). She moved up 11 spots from her Sunday position and is tied for 21st along with three other competitors.

Smith ends day two with a combined score of 155 (80-75), along with four other golfers in the 31st position. She improved 10 spots from her Sunday position.

Freshmen Landrie Grace and Jenny Zhang both shot under-80 Monday. Grace has posted a combined 155 (83-77), while Zhang has carded a 169 (91-78) through 36 holes.

“Danielle and Cayla hit 25 out of 28 fairways between them. They were much better off of the tee and kept the ball in play,” Pate Flesher said. “Landrie hit a lot more greens today and had some close birdie attempts. Jenny settled down and played her game today. Both Landrie and Jenny are back on track after a small case of the freshman nerves yesterday. We want to get in another good practice session today and come back tomorrow with a positive round.”

UNC Wilmington holds the tournament lead with a combined score of 586. William & Mary and Eastern Kentucky follow closely behind after carding matching combined scores of 598. High Point and Radford (609), Appalachian State (610), Western Carolina and Longwood (613), Bucknell (618), Presbyterian College (619), North Dakota State and Seton Hall (624) round out the field.

High Point will return to the Kingsmill Resort Plantation Course on Tuesday, September 15, for the final round of the William & Mary Invitational.