HPU women’s golf places third at The Preview

• Freshmen Tonrak Tasaso (149, +5) and Samantha Vodry (151, +7) posted top-5 finishes for the Purple & White
• The Panthers placed third out of six Big South teams with a total of 608 (309-299)
• HPU now takes a break before beginning its spring season in February

NINETY-SIX, S.C. – Bolstered by a pair of top-5 finishes, the High Point University women’s golf team wrapped up its fall slate on a high note, placing third at The Preview Sunday at The Patriot.

HPU improved upon its first round score by 10 shots (309-299) to finish the event with a 36-hole total of (608, +32). The Panthers finished behind only Gardner-Webb (599) and Winthrop (601) while placing ahead of Presbyterian (619), UNC Asheville (629) and Radford (654).

The finish is encouraging for the Panthers, who have strived all fall to improve upon their 2016 Big South Championship showing with a good effort this coming spring.

“I’m very happy with our ability to adjust to make a 10-stroke improvement for our third sub-300 round this fall,” head coach Alexis Bennett said. “We’ve come long ways in a short amount of time. We have a long ways to go to have the kind of finish we are shooting for at the Big South Championship, but we have a good idea of where we stand now and what we need to do to be successful in April.”

Freshman Tonrak Tasaso posted the first top-3 finish of her High Point University career, placing third out of 36 competitors with a 36-hole total of 149. Her second round 74 marked her lowest round of the 2016 fall season.

Fellow freshman Samantha Vodry also finished within the top-5, shooting a final round 73 to improve her standing by five spots with a two-day total of 151 (+7). Her t-5th finish improved upon her previous top showing by 22 spots (t-27th, CSU Fall Invite).

Both Vodry and Tasaso ranked second in the field in par-4 scoring (+3) and t-5th in birdies (4).

In addition to that pair of strong showings, junior Cayla Smith registered her second straight top-20 with a 36-hole total of 153 (78-75, +9). Smith ranked t-3rd in the field in par-3 scoring (E).

“Breaking 300 for the third time this fall was a great way to finish this half of the season,” Smith said of the team’s effort. “Every single one of the girls put in so much hard work and brought such a good energy to the team. It was impossible for our games to not grow and develop with that type of environment.”

Senior Danielle Fuss finished 16th, marking her third top-20 of the fall. Fuss shot a two-day total of 156 with rounds of 79 and 77.

Wrapping up the HPU field, freshman Anna-Marie Kuenzle was t-23rd after shooting rounds of 78 and 84. Her placement also was her best of the fall season.

HPU now takes a winter break and will return to competition this February for the 2017 spring season.