By Colin Fields
Writer
The women’s golf team finished third at the Big South Championship in South Carolina on Wednesday in its final competition of the spring season. Lauren Bernard ’14 led the team with a final round 72 to tie for second place individually. The team’s third-place finish and Bernard’s second-place finish are record performances for the Orange and Blue at the Big South.
Bernard carded a 226 for the tournament which ranks second in Bison history. The first-year opened up the tournament with a three-over-par 75 and a seven-over-par 79 before shooting a sizzling even-par 72 on the final day to finish in a tie for second. Bernard performed consistently, tallying three birdies and three bogeys on Wednesday.
Jessica Alexander of Coastal Carolina, who also finished the tournament with a 72, was the only player in the field to shoot lower than Bernard for the week. Bernard finished with no worse than a bogey on both Monday and Wednesday.
“I was nervous as a freshman going into the tournament because I wanted to play my best golf,” Bernard said. “I was very pleased with my second-place finish because I was at my best and all of my hard work paid off.”
Bernard’s 226 is second all-time behind her teammate Minjoo Lee ’12 who shot a 224 in last year’s competition. Lee finished with a 247 for the week in this year’s competition.
The two other Bison first-years both had rounds under 80 to help put the Bison in contention. Kasha Scott ’14 shot a 77 on Wednesday and Bridget Wilcox ’14 birdied the final hole Tuesday to card a 79. Captain Kate Jurenovich ’11 also finished the week on a high note with a 77 of her own Wednesday.
“It was a great achievement to play this well and we worked really hard this season to get to where we are. It felt great to finish strong,” Jurenovich said.
As a team, the Bison finished behind Coastal Carolina and Gardner-Webb. Coastal Carolina came into the tournament ranked 40th in the nation. The Bison had a team score of 949 and finished ahead of six other schools.
The third place finish Wednesday was their sixth top-four finish of the year, the most in Bison history.
