HPU Women’s Golf In First After Day One At The Mimosa Hills Intercollegiate

MORGANTON, N.C. – The High Point University women’s golf team sits in first place at the Mimosa Hills Intercollegiate with a combined score of 313 after the first round on Sunday in Morganton, N.C. Junior Grier Bennett and freshman Sarah Bae are tied for first after 18 holes.

“The team did a good job today considering the weather,” head coach Vici Pate Flesher said. “We had some huge wind gusts and that made it difficult to hit the greens. Every player fought hard to focus today and it really helped with our overall score. A lot can happen tomorrow because the weather will be great so we will have to play with all of our passion and determination to stay in first.”

Bennett and Bae both carded scores of 77 to finish the day as part of a six-way tie for first place. Sophomore Casey Ward also finished in the top 10 on the day, tying for ninth with a score of 79. Freshman Danielle Fuss shot an 18-hole score of 80 to tie for 12th while sophomore Tan Cheeranont finished tied for 23rd with a score of 82. Senior Margaret Suchan competed as an individual and ended the day in a tie for 58th with a score of 90.

High Point holds an eight-stroke lead over host Western Carolina (321) after the first round. Gardner-Webb is currently third after one round with a score of 322 while Bethune-Cookman is in fourth with a combined score of 323. Winthrop rounds out the top five with a first-round score of 325.

Bae and Bennett are tied with four other golfers for first in the race for the individual medal. Joining the Panther pair are Western Carolina’s Kristin Swindell, South Carolina State’s Tiana Jones, Gardner-Webb’s Julia Henderson and Appalachian State’s Haley Zagoria.

High Point will return to the Mimosa Hills Country Club on Monday, March 31, for the second and final round of the Mimosa Hills Intercollegiate. The round will begin with a shotgun start at 9 a.m.