HPU Women’s Golf: Fuss t-2nd after 36 holes in Greenville

• Senior Danielle Fuss is t-2nd after posting a 36-hole score of 144 (74-70, E)
• Freshman Tonrak Tasaso is t-29th out of 96 golfers (76-78, 154)
• HPU was seventh through two rounds, but a scorecard DQ dropped the Panthers to 10th

HIGH POINT, N.C. – High Point University women’s golf senior Danielle Fuss is tied for second place after 36 holes at the Lady Pirate Intercollegiate, helping the Panthers put together a strong first day of competition in Greenville.

Fuss posted a two-round score of 144 (74-70) to sit t-2nd, just two shots behind leader Anna Magnusson of Morehead State (142, -2).

At the conclusion of the day, HPU stood seventh out of 18 teams after putting together a total of 614 (312-302). The excellent round of 302 helped the Panthers elevate from 11th to seventh through the course of the second 18.

However, freshman Anna-Marie Kuenzle accidentally signed the wrong scorecard after the conclusion of round one, negating her score and dropping the team score from 312 to 318 with the removal of her round. As a result, HPU is now in 10th place heading into the final 18 holes of competition Tuesday.

“I was very impressed with our attitude and resolve today,” head coach Alexis Bennett said. “We took a hard hit with a lesson learned the hard way in the DQ. But, the girls rallied really well in the afternoon and we are excited to have another opportunity to move up tomorrow.”

Fuss was t-6th after a solid opening round of 74 (+2) in which she made five birdies. She again went low with four birdies in round two, but also excelled in bogey avoidance – making just two on the difficult Greenville Country Club links – to shoot a two-under 70 and move four spots into the second position.

Through 36 holes, she leads the field in par-3 scoring (-3) and is tied for second in total birdies (9).

“I’m obviously very excited for Danielle,” Bennett added. “The momentum of her finish in Charleston and all of our work together in practice since is paying dividends for a second week. I’m excited for her to get out there and go for a win tomorrow.”

Freshman Tonrak Tasaso is t-29th out of 96 competitors after putting together rounds of 76 and 78 (154, +10). The Thailand product continued her hallmark of staying consistent and making pars, as she is t-8th in the field in total pars through day one of competition.

Fellow freshman Samantha Vodry is in HPU’s third position after 36 holes. The Mooresville, N.C., product opened with an 83 in round one to sit t-82nd, but elevated her position 25 spots with a much improved 76 on her second 18. Her cumulative score is 161 and she is t-57th.

Junior Cayla Smith had a similar improvement from round to round. After opening with an 85, she matched Vodry with a 78 in second round action, highlighted by a number of birdies. Smith is tied for 75th with a two-round score of 161.

Wrapping up the HPU contingent, Kuenzle is tied for 75th with combined score of 163.

HPU completes the Lady Pirate Intercollegiate on Tuesday beginning at 8:30 a.m.