Dartmouth finishes fifth in Citrus Challenge as Moore leads Murray State to team title

   Kaitlyn Lees, the three-time Pennsylvania Junior Girls champion and former Agnes Irwin standout, and Dartmouth got in a spring break trip to Florida for the Citrus Challenge, hosted by Morehead State at the Red Tail Golf Club in Sorrento, Fla. this week.

   It was the first action in a month for the Big Green and they were a little rusty, finishing fifth in the nine-team field with a 58-over 922 total.

   Murray State, getting a 1-2 finish in the individual standings, cruised to the team title as the Racers finished 21 shots clear of runnerup Keiser, an NAIA golf power, with a 9-over 873 total over the 5,929-yard, par-72 Red Tail layout.

   Murray State had the only sub-par team round of the tournament in Sunday’s opening round when it posted a 1-under 287. The Racers added a 6-over 294 in Monday’s second round before finishing up with a 4-over 292 in Tuesday’s final round.

   Keiser finished up with a 9-over 297 Tuesday to end up with a 30-over 894 total that gave the Seahawks runnerup honors. It was another 18 shots back to Georgia State in third with the Panthers closing with a 307.

   Austin Peay was two shots behind Georgia State in fourth place at 50-over 914. Dartmouth had 306s in each of its first two rounds before finishing up with a 310 Tuesday to end up eight shots behind Austin Peay in fifth at 922.

   Murray State’s Anna Moore, a graduate student from Hopkinsville, Ky., cruised to the individual title by six shots with a 4-under 212 total. After touring Red Tail in 2-under 70 in each of the first two rounds, Moore closed by matching par with a 72.

   Moore’s teammate, Linette Holmslykke, a senior form Denmark, was the runnerup as she sandwiched a 4-over 76 with a pair of 1-under 71s for a 2-over 218 total.

   Backing up the top two for Murray State was Jane Watts, a senior from Versailles, Ky. who was part of a four-way tie for fourth at 5-over 221. Watts followed up a pair of 1-over 73s in the first two rounds with a final-round 75.

   Raeysha Surendran, a senior from Malaysia, gave the Racers four players inside the top 10 as she finished among the group tied for ninth at 10-over 226. Surendran struggled a little in the final round with a 78 after opening with a 73 and adding a second-round 75.

   Rounding out the Murray State lineup was Sarah McDowell, a freshman from Murray, Ky. who finished alone in 16^th place at 230. McDowell’s final round of 2-over 74 was her best of the tournament.

   Georgia State’s Chloe Howard, a sophomore from England, finished alone in third in the individual standings at 4-over 220. Howard sandwiched a 74 with a pair of 1-over 73s.

   Joining Murray State’s Watts in the quartet tied for fourth at 5-over 221 were a couple of Keiser players, Samantha Fuller, a sophomore from England, and Serra Evrengil, a freshman from Turkey, and Cleveland State’s Kaylee Neumeister, a junior from Cortland, Ohio.

   Fuller was a junior phenom in England before injuries slowed her down. I came across her story when she teed it up in the Harder Hall Invitational, the Orange Blossom Tour event in Sebring, Fla. in Florida in January along with younger sister Annabell Fuller, who, at 16, was a member of the Great Britain & Ireland team that fell to the United States in the Curtis Cup Match last summer at Quaker Ridge Golf Club in Scarsdale, N.Y.

   It appears the plan is for Samantha Fuller to transfer to UNLV and start playing for the Runnin’ Rebels at the end of this summer. Samantha Fuller matched the best round of the day in Tuesday’s final round, a 1-under 71, to get her share of fourth.

   Her teammate Evrengil closed with a solid 1-over 73 to get it to 5-over. Cleveland State’s Neumeister matched par in the final round with a 72 to get her share of fourth.

   Keiser’s Michela Tjan, a freshman from Indonesia, finished alone in eighth place at 6-over 222. Tjan had added an even-par 72 to her opening round of 1-over 73 before finishing up with a 5-over 77.

   Leading the way for Dartmouth were Catharine Roddy, a senior Trabuco Canyon, Calif., and Moon Cheong, a sophomore from Charlotte, N.C., both of whom ended up among the group tied for 17^th at 15-over 231. Roddy followed up a pair of 76s with a final-round 79. Cheong carded a solid 2-over 74 in the second round before closing with a 79.

   Lees, a freshman, finished up with her best round of the tournament, a 4-over 76, to finish among the group tied for 23^rd at 232. Lees, who plays out of Philadelphia Country Club and Merion Golf Club, was a three-time Inter-Ac League champion while she was at Agnes Irwin.

Kristin Soh, a junior from Los Angeles, shared final-round medalist honors for Dartmouth with Lees with a 4-over 76 to finish alone in 31^st place at 234.

   Rounding out the Dartmouth lineup was Kristen Chen, a freshman from Thousand Oaks, Calif. who finished in the group tied for 34^th at 236 after adding a pair of 79s to her opening-round 78.

Dartmouth head coach Alex Kirk took the rest of the team along to compete as individuals.

   Maddie Nelson, a junior from Sammamish, Wash., fared the best of that group, finishing among the group tied for 32^nd at 235 after closing with a 4-over 76.

   Julianne Strauch, a sophomore from Advance, N.C., sandwiched an 81 with a pair of 80s to finish among the group tied for 40^th at 241. Bethany Burns, a junior from Signal Mountain, Tenn., finished 53^rd at 282. Her best round was a 90 in Sunday’s opening round.