VCU takes team title in Golden Horseshoe by four shots; Old Dominion's Henriksson runs away with individual crown

    The last time an Atlantic 10 Championship was staged in the spring of 2019 at the Grand Cypress Golf Club in Orlando, Fla., it was Virginia Commonwealth that landed at the top of the team leaderboard and earned the A-10’s automatic berth into the NCAA regionals.

   The Rams appear to be gearing up for a run at another A-10 crown as they pulled out a four-shot victory over Old Dominion in the 43^rd annual Golden Horseshoe Intercollegiate, which wrapped up Tuesday at Golden Horseshoe’s Gold Course in Williamsburg, Va. VCU opened with an 11-over 291 over the 6,799-yard, par-70 Gold Course layout and then took control of the team race with a 3-over 283 in the afternoon round of Monday’s double round. A final round of 5-over 285 left the Rams with a 19-over 859 total.

   Behind individual champion Jakob Henriksson, a freshman from Sweden, Old Dominion, a Conference USA entry, earned runnerup honors with a 23-over 863 total. The Monarchs grabbed the lead with an opening round of 2-over 282. They fell three shots behind VCU with a 15-over 295 in Monday afternoon’s second round before finishing up with a 6-over 286.

   Henriksson was the only player in the field who really figured out Golden Horseshoe’s East Course as he seized control of the individual lead with an opening round of 4-under 66 and added a 2-over 72 in Monday afternoon’s second before closing with a 3-under 67. He was the only player to finish under par for the tournament with a 5-under 205 total that left him six shots clear of the rest of the field.

   Host William & Mary, a Colonial Athletic Association entry, finished another eight shots behind ODU in third place with a 31-over 871 total. The Tribe was consistent, adding a 12-over 292 to their opening-round 291 before finishing up with an 8-over 288.

   Two of VCU’s A-10 rivals, George Washington and Richmond, shared fourth place, a shot behind William & Mary at 32-over 872. The Colonials shaved 11 shots off their opening-round 296 with a 5-over 285 in Monday afternoon’s second round before closing with an 11-over 291. After opening with a 297, the Spiders ripped off the low team round of the tournament, a 1-over 281, in Monday afternoon’s second round before finishing up with a 294.

   It was a pretty nice showing for Brian Quinn’s Temple Owls, who play in the tough American Athletic Conference. Behind senior Dawson Anders, a former Souderton standout who finished in a tie for third place in the individual standings at 2-over 212, Temple finished alone in sixth place, four shots behind George Washington and Richmond with a 36-over 876 total.

   The Owls struggled a little in Monday’s double round, adding a 294 to their opening-round 297, but posted a 5-over 285 in Tuesday’s final round as Anders and junior Conor McGrath, an Academy of the New Church product, each fired a sparkling 3-under 67.

   CAA rivals Drexel and Delaware accounted for the next two spots in the team standings, the Dragons finishing in seventh place with a 41-over 881 total that was five shots behind City 6 rival Temple and the Blue Hens finishing 11 more shots behind Drexel in eighth place with a 52-over 892 total.

   Drexel, coming off a nice win in the Don Benbow Invitational at the Jacksonville Beach Golf Course in Jacksonville Beach, Fla., bounced back from an opening round of 298 with a 292 in Monday afternoon’s second round before closing with an 11-over 291. Delaware, getting a pair of top-10 finishes from Roberto Nieves, a senior from Miami, Fla. who shared third place with Temple’s Anders at 2-over 212, and Hugo Kedzlie, a sophomore from England who finished in a tie for seventh place at 4-over 214, struggled to a 305 in the opening round and added a 294 in Monday afternoon’s second round before finishing up with a 293.

   Saint Joseph’s, another A-10 entry, finally got on the golf course for its first tournament in more than a year and was understandably rusty as the Hawks finished in 15^th place in the 16-team field with a 76-over 916 total. Freshman Kevin Smith, who led Strath Haven to the first Central League and District One Class AAA team titles in program history in the fall of 2019, made a solid college debut for Saint Joseph’s, finishing in a tie for 29^th place with a 12-over 222 total.

   The Hawks improved by 12 shots off an opening-round 308 with a 296 in Monday afternoon’s second round before struggling to a 312 in Tuesday’s final round.

   Leading the way for VCU was Adrian Vagburg, a junior from Sweden who finished in a tie for fifth place with a 3-over 213 total. After opening with a 74, Vagburg, who finished in a tie for fifth in the Rams’ 2019 A-10 Championship victory, carded a solid 1-under 69 in Monday afternoon’s second round before matching par in the final round with a 70.

   Two more Rams cracked the top 10 in the individual standings as Sachin Kumar, a senior from Trinidad & Tobago, and Joe Retford, a freshman from England, were among a group of six players who finished in a tie for 10^th place at 6-over 216. After opening with a 75, Kumar matched par with a 70 in Monday afternoon’s second round before finishing up with a 71. Retford opened with a 72 and added a 1-over 71 in Monday afternoon’s second round before closing with a 73.

   Kristian Tennum Donaldson, a senior from England, contributed a 1-over 71 to VCU’s strong final-round showing that left him among the group tied for 25^th place with a 221 total. Tennum Donaldson opened with a 77 and added a 73 in Monday afternoon’s second round.

   Rounding out the VCU lineup was Peter Gasperini, a senior from South Boston, Mass. whose opening round of even-par 70 made him the Rams’ medalist for the round. He backed off with a 75 in Monday afternoon’s second round and struggled in the final round with a 79 that left him in the group tied for 39^th place at 224.

   Nobody could keep up with Henriksson in the individual chase, but Richmond’s Lou Baker, a sophomore from Timonium, Md., earned runnerup honors with a 1-over 211 total that left him six shots behind the winner. Baker only trailed Henriksson by a shot after adding a 70 to his opening round of 1-under 69 in Monday’s double round. He finished up with a 2-over 72.

   Temple’s Anders, winner of the 2017 Golf Association of Philadelphia’s Junior Boys Championship, added a 73 to his opening-round 72 in Monday’s double round before matching Henriksson’s final-round 67 to get his share of third place, a shot behind Baker. Delaware’s Nieves also had a 3-under 67, his coming in Monday afternoon’s second round that enabled him to creep within two shots of Henriksson’s lead. Nieves, who had opened with a 73, closed with a 72 to land in the tie for third with Anders at 2-over.

   Joining VCU’s Vagburg in the tie for fifth place at 3-over 213 was Richmond’s Carter Cook, a junior from Cornelius, N.C. who was competing as an individual. After registering a pair of 2-over 72s in Monday’s double round, Cook finished up with a solid 1-under 69.

   Delaware’s Kedzlie opened with a 73 before matching par in the second round with a 70 in Monday afternoon’s second round. He closed with a 71 to share seventh place with George Washington’s Ty Sullivan, a sophomore from Canada, at 4-over 214. Sullivan carded a 1-under 69 in Monday afternoon’s second round after opening with a 72 and finished up with a 73.

   William & Mary’s Preston Ball, a graduate student from Raleigh, N.C., finished alone in ninth place with a 5-over 215 total after he sandwiched a 1-over 71 in Monday afternoon’s second round with a pair of 72s.

   Two of Ball’s William & Mary teammates, Trevor Binau, a sophomore from Columbus, Ohio, and Matthew Feinstein, a junior from McLean, Va., joined the six-player logjam, that included VCU’s Kumar and Retford, tied for 10^th place at 6-over 216. Binau added a 73 to his opening-round 71 before closing with a 72. Feinstein struggled in Monday afternoon’s second round with a 77 after matching par in the opening round with a 70, but he finished strong with a 1-under 69 in Tuesday’s final round.

   Rounding out the group of six at 6-over were George Washington’s Jakub Hrinda, a sophomore from Slovakia, and St. Bonaventure’s Danny Gianniny, a senior from Pittsford, N.Y. Hrinda got it going in Monday afternoon’s second round with a 1-under 69 after opening with a 75 and finished up with a 72. Gianniny matched par in Monday afternoon’s second round with a 70 after opening with a 72 and closed with a 74.

   Backing up Anders for Temple was fifth-year player Peter Bradbeer, who starred at Bucknell and decided to take the extra year of eligibility granted by the NCAA to make up for the spring of 2020 lost to the coronavirus pandemic with the Owls. Bradbeer, a Friends Central product who plays out of Merion Golf Club, has a GAP major championship on his resume as he captured the Joseph H. Patterson Cup on Wilmington Country Club’s South Course in 2017.

   Bradbeer was solid in Monday’s double round, adding a 73 to his opening-round 72, but struggled a little in the final round with a 77 that left him among the group tied for 29^th place at 222.

   McGrath, a product of the junior program at Huntingdon Valley Country Club, struggled in Monday’s double round, opening with an 83 before adding a 76 in the afternoon. The same guy erupted for that final round of 3-under 67 that left him in the group tied for 45^th place at 226. Also in that group was teammate Buddy Hansen, a junior who starred scholastically at Catholic League power La Salle. Hansen, a product of the Blue Bell Country Club junior program, also struggled in the opening round with an 80, but bounced back with a 72 in Monday afternoon’s second round before closing with a 74.

   Rounding out the Temple lineup was Graham Chase, a sophomore from Charlotte, N.C. who added a 76 to his opening-round 73 and finished up with a 79 to finish among the group tied for 54^th place at 229.

   Leading the way for Drexel was senior Connor Schmidt, a Peters Township product and winner of the 2018 Pennsylvania Amateur Championship at Johnstown’s Sunnehanna Country Club. After a pair of 74s in Monday’s double round, Schmidt closed with a 1-over 71 in Tuesday’s final round to land among the group tied for 19^th place with a 9-over 219 total.

   Senior Alex Butler, a St. Joseph’s Prep product who has been playing some good golf in this shortened season, was a shot behind Schmidt in the group tied for 22^nd place at 220. After opening with a 77, Butler posted solid rounds of 1-over 71 in Monday afternoon’s second round and 72 in Tuesday’s final round.

   Angelo Giantsopolouis, a senior from Canada, was coming off his first collegiate victory in the Don Benbow Invitational. He added a pair of 3-over 73s to his opening-round 74 to land among the group tied for 29^th place at 222.

   A couple of PIAA Class AAA champions from Holy Ghost Prep rounded out the Drexel lineup as senior Stephen Cerbara, who won the state title in 2015 as a senior with the Firebirds, and sophomore Liam Hart, the 2017 state champion as a junior, finished in a tie for 37^th place at 223 and in a tie for 41^st place at 225, respectively, for the Dragons. Cerbara added a 74 to his opening-round 76 before closing with a 3-over 73. Hart opened with a 4-over 74 and added a 75 before finishing up with a 76.

   Delaware struggled a little behind its pair of top-seven finishers. Senior R.J. Wren, who finished in seventh place behind Cerbara in the 2015 PIAA Class AAA Championship as a senior at Twin Valley, bounced back from rounds of 79 and 80 in Monday’s double round with a final round of 4-over 74 as he finished alone in 68^th place at 233.

   Michael Berganda, a sophomore from Poland, added a final-round 76 to the pair of 80s he posted in Monday’s double round to finish among the group tied for 71^st place at 236. Rounding out the Delaware lineup was Owen Manchester, a freshman from Irvine, Calif. who finished alone in 74^th place as he added a 77 to his opening-round 82 and closed with a 78.

   Elliot Haas, a freshman from Dickerson, Md., competed as an individual for the Blue Hens and finished among the group tied for 76^th place at 240. Haas opened with a 79, but struggled to an 84 in Monday afternoon’s second round before finishing up with a 77.

   St. Joe’s Smith, a product of the junior program at The Springhaven Club, finally got his college career started. After opening with a 75, he carded a solid 1-over 71 in Monday afternoon’s second round before finishing up with a 76 as he landed among the group tied for 29^th place at 222.

   Junior J.T. Spina, who qualified for the PIAA Class AAA Championship in each of his last two seasons at Pope John Paul II, backed up Smith as he sandwiched a 3-over 73 in Monday afternoon’s second round with a pair of 76s to finish in the group tied for 41^st place at 225.

   Senior Wills Montgomery, the Downingtown East product who had a pretty nice junior season going when the pandemic struck a year ago, finished among the group tied for 57^th place with a 229 total. Montgomery added a 3-over 73 to his opening round 75 before struggling to a final-round 81.

   James Gorman, a freshman from Greenville, S.C., added a pair of 79s to his opening-round 82 for the Hawks to finish in the group tied for 76^th place at 240. Rounding out the St. Joe’s lineup was Matt Avery, a junior from Avon, Conn. who finished in a tie for 86^th place with a 258 total. After opening with an 88, Avery added an 84 in Monday afternoon’s second round before finishing up with an 86 in Tuesday’s final round.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Larkin captures Junior Tour victory in rain-shortened stop at Honeybrook

    The Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour stop at Honeybrook Golf Club was cut short by the quick-hitting thunderstorm that swept through northwestern Chester County late in the afternoon Sunday, although all the divisions competed enough holes to crown some winners for the day.

   Cardinal O’Hara senior Thomas Larkin made birdies at the second and seventh holes as he posted a 1-over-par 40 total for 10 holes that enabled him to claim the top spot in the 16-to-18 division. That left him one shot ahead of Adam Chen of Wayne, who birdied the eighth hole and had six pars on his scorecard on his way to a 2-over 41.

   Downingtown East junior Jake Leon parred the last seven holes he played as he posted a 3-over 42 to finish in third place. Matthew Pulcinella, a junior at Garnet Valley, and Jared Fultz of Wyomissing shared fourth place, each landing on 4-over 43.

   Pulcinella’s teammate and fellow Garnet Valley junior Nick Woods was part of a group of four players tied for sixth place, each signing for a 44. Joining Woods at that figure were Downingtown East senior Dylan Gute, Garrett Wible of Royersford and Brady Manning of Downingtown.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the 16-to-18 division were Nick Parr of Spring City and Christopher DiRita of Drexel Hill, each of whom registered a 45 to finish in a tie for 10^th place.

   The 13-to-15 division competitors got in 13 holes and Maxwell Wager of State College parred nine of them as he earned the victory with a 4-over 53. Wager rattled off four straight pars on the 18^th, first, second and third holes after starting his round on Honeybrook’s back nine.

   Strath Haven sophomore Tyler Debusschere birdied the par-5 15^th hole and had seven pars on his card as he earned runnerup honors with a 7-over 56 that left him three shots behind Wager. Debusschere finished fourth and led the Panthers to the tournament team title in last fall’s Central League Championship at Downingtown Country Club.

   Daniel Flaherty of Springfield, Charlie Ferrise of Phoenixville and Noah Wallace of Elkton, Md. finished in a tie for third place, each carding an 8-over 57. Flaherty birdied the 12^th hole and Ferrise and Wallace each made birdie on the par-5 15^th.

   Jack Logan of Berwyn took sixth place with a 58 and Havertown’s J.P. Hoban, winner of the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s Junior-Junior Championship last summer at West Chester Country Club, finished alone in seventh place with a 61.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the 13-to-15 division were three players -- Jacob Gabbard of Lewes, Del., Shayne O’Doherty of Glenmoore and Chase Dillman of Gilbertsville -- who finished in a tie for eighth place, each landing on 63.

   The girls 16-to-18 division competitors completed 14 holes and North Penn sophomore Hayley Ekert parred five of them as she earned a victory with a 13-over 67. Silvana Gonzalez of Exton made pars on the sixth, seventh and 10^th holes as she claimed runnerup honors with a 71.

   Phoenixville freshman Kate Roberts had four pars on her card as she finished in third place with a 77. Ekert and Roberts were both District One Class AAA qualifiers last fall.

   The girls teeing it up in the 13-to-15 division completed 15 holes and Kiersten Bodge of West Chester made seven pars, including four straight at the seventh, eighth, ninth and 10^th holes, on her way to an 11-over 70 that left her atop the leaderboard. Clarissa Leung of Villanova was the runnerup as she had seven pars and finished a shot behind Bodge with a 71.

   Only three shots separated the top three finishers as Kayley Roberts, another member of Phoenixville’s Team Roberts, had four pars to end up two shots behind Leung in third place with a 73. Rounding out the 13-to-15 division field was Sophia DeSantis of Glen Mills, who finished in fourth place with an 82.

   The coed 12-and-under division competitors did complete their tour of the front nine at Honeybrook and Anthony Proud made it a sweep of the Philly Junior Tour weekend by claiming the top spot in the division with a 2-over 37 that featured a birdie at the par-4 sixth hole and five pars. Proud had bested the field of nine-holers in Saturday’s Philly Junior Tour stop at Olde Homestead Golf Club in Lehigh County.

   Ian Larsen of Glenmoore had five pars as he signed for a 4-over 39 that left him two shots behind Proud in second place. Lawson Leeper of York and Ian Rotto of Kennett Square each had four pars on his scorecard in a 6-over 41 that left them in a tie for third place.

   Chase Mitstifer of Sinking Spring took fifth place with a 44. Colby Komancheck, the son of the RiverCrest Golf Club & Preserve pro shop team of Jamie and Kelly Komancheck, was a shot behind Mitstifer in sixth place with a 45.

   Giula Weisser of Reading took seventh place with a 47, Alaina Carson of Broomall was eighth with a 48, Declan Cooper of Swarthmore was ninth with a 49 and Cole Amann of Downingtown rounded out the top 10 in the coed 12-and-under division as he finished alone in 10^th with a 51.

 

McGinty captures individual title, leads Kent State to team crown in Clemson Invitational

    When Lisa Strom, the 1994 PIAA champion as a senior at Lansdale Catholic, took over the Kent State program in the fall of 2019, she had a ready-made national contender with a nice mix of veterans and youngsters.

   The Golden Flashes proceeded to win three tournaments and finish second in a fourth that fall and added another tournament title early in the spring portion of the ill-fated 2019-2020 season. They were ranked No. 6 by Golfstat when the college golf season was suddenly terminated by the coronavirus pandemic.

   Like many schools, there was no fall portion of the 2020-’21 season for Kent State, either. But Kent State looked like it had found its groove this past weekend as the Golden Flashes, No. 25 in the latest Golfstat rankings, earned a 10-shot victory over a bunch of pursuers from the Atlantic Coast Conference and the Big Ten with a closing 12-under-par 276 that earned them the team title in the Clemson Invitational, which wrapped up with just a few holes Sunday at The Reserve at Lake Keowee in Sunset, S.C.

   The event was originally scheduled to be 18 holes Friday, Saturday and Sunday but with weather headed their way, tournament organizers tried to wrap up the event in two days with teams playing 27 holes Friday and 27 more Saturday. They didn’t quite get finished by Saturday afternoon, although Kent State had taken control and had only five holes to finish up Sunday morning.

   Kent State was the only team to better par in the opening round with a 4-under 284 over the 6,471-yard, par-72 Reserve at Lake Keowee layout. When the second round was completed Saturday morning, Kent State had added a 4-over 292 and held a one-shot lead over No. 22 Maryland out of the Big Ten.

   The Golden Flashes’ final-round 276 was easily the best team round of the weekend and left them with a 12-under 852 total. No. 19 Virginia Tech, out of the ACC, closed with a solid 7-under 281 to earn runnerup honors with a 2-under 862 total.

   Strom lost two mainstays of the Kent State program as Pimnipa Panthong chose to take the extra year of eligibility offered by the NCAA to make up for the spring of 2020 lost to the pandemic at South Carolina, where she shows up in the starting lineup for the No. 1 Gamecocks, and Karoline Stormo, who moved on to the professional ranks.

   But Caley McGinty, a sophomore from England, showed signs that she could be a top-of-the-lineup player as a freshman and her talent was on display over the weekend at Lake Keowee. McGinty opened with the best round of the weekend, a sparkling 6-under 66, fell back a little with a 1-over 73 in a second round that started Friday and was completed Saturday and then finished up with a 5-under 67 to cruise to the individual total by four shots with a 10-under 206 total.

   It was the second career win for McGinty, who is on a Royal & Ancient list of 17 candidates for the Great Britain & Ireland team that will take on the United States in the Curtis Cup Match, rescheduled from 2020, which will be held in August at Conwy Golf Club in Caernarvonshire, Wales. McGinty’s opening-round 66 was a career best and she had seven birdies on her scorecard in the final round as she nailed down the individual title and led Kent State to the team crown.

   Virginia Tech had struggled in the opening round with an 8-over 296, but bounced back with a 3-under 285 in the second round. The Hokies finished strong to take second place.

   Maryland only trailed Kent State by three after opening with a 1-under 287 and the Terrapins’ 2-over 290 in the second round enabled them to creep within a shot of the Golden Flashes heading into the final round. Maryland matched par in the final round with a 288 to finish three shots behind Virginia Tech in third place with a 1-over 865 total.

   Host Clemson, another ACC entry ranked 32^nd, finished two shots behind Maryland with a 3-over 867 total. The Tigers opened with a 4-over 292 and added a 1-under 287 in the second round before matching par in the final round with a 288.

   No. 46 Illinois, Maryland’s Big Ten rival, was four shots behind Clemson in fifth place with a 7-over 871 total. The Fighting Illini got better as the weekend wore on, adding a 4-over 292 to their opening-round 296 and closing with a 5-under 283.

   The highest-ranked team in the field was No. 8 Virginia out of the ACC. The Cavaliers, however, struggled in the opening round with a 306. They shaved 16 shots off that performance with a 2-over 290 in the second round before closing with a 3-under 285 that enabled them to finish alone in sixth place with a 17-over 881 total, 10 shots behind Illinois.

   A big reason for Virginia’s lofty ranking has been the play of freshman Jennifer Cleary, a Tower Hill product. The Wilmington, Del. native had the highest individual finish for the Cavaliers at Lake Keowee as she bounced back from an opening-round 76 by matching par in the second round with a 72 and finishing up with a 2-under 70 that left her alone in 13^th place in the individual chase with a 2-over 218 total.

   Perennial Big Ten power Purdue, ranked 39^th, and No. 83 Kansas, out of the Big 12, shared seventh place in the 18-team field as they finished another seven shots behind Virginia at 24-over 888. The Boilermakers added a 300 to their opening-round 297 before closing with a solid 3-over 291. After opening with a 304, the Jayhawks put together solid rounds of 5-over 293 and 3-over 291 in the second and third rounds, respectively.

   Backing up McGinty for Kent State was Kory Nielsen, a senior home girl from Kent, Ohio who contributed a 4-under 68 to the Golden Flashes’ final-round surge that enabled her to finish in a tie for fifth place with a 3-under 213 total. Nielsen had opened with a 74 before adding a 1-under 71 in the second round.

   Chloe Salort, a senior from France, gave Kent State a third finisher among the top nine as she sandwiched a 75 in the second round with a pair of 2-under 70s to end up in a tie for ninth place at 1-under 215.

   Graduate student Marissa Kirkwood, a three-time PIAA Class AA qualifier at Neshanock, closed with a solid 1-under 71 to finish among the group tied for 33^rd place at 5-over 221. Kirkwood, who reached the second round of match play in last summer’s U.S. Women’s Amateur at Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, Md., had posted a pair of 75s in the first two rounds at Lake Keowee.

   Rounding out the Kent State lineup was Mayka Hoogeboom, a freshman from the Netherlands who landed among the group tied for 36^th place at 6-over 222. Hoogeboom’s first two rounds of 74 and 73 were both counters for the Golden Flashes and she finished up with a 75.

   Maryland’s Virunpat Olankitkunchai, a senior from Thailand, sandwiched a 4-under 68 in the second round with a pair of 71s to earn runnerup honors in the individual standings with a 6-under 210 total that left her four shots behind McGinty.

   Illinois’ Tristyn Nowlin, a senior from Richmond, Ky., and host Clemson’s Savannah Grewal, a sophomore from Canada, finished a shot behind Olankitkunchai in a tie for third place, each landing on 5-under 211. Nowlin opened with a 70 and matched par in the second round with a 72 before closing with a 3-under 69. Grewal sandwiched a sparkling 5-under 67 in the second round with a pair of even-par 72s.

   Joining Kent State’s Nielsen in a tie for fifth place at 3-under 213 was Virginia Tech’s Emily Mahar, a senior from Australia who added a pair of 2-under 70s to her opening-round 73.

   Olankitkunchai’s Maryland teammate, Laura Van Respaille, a senior from France, and Michigan State’s Valery Plata, a junior from Colombia, finished in a tie for seventh place, each landing on 2-under 214. Van Respaille added a 73 to her opening-round 71 before closing with a 2-under 70. Plata, who made a determined run to the semifinals of the U.S. Women’s Amateur at Woodmont last summer, matched par in each of the final two rounds with a pair of 72s after opening with a 2-under 70.

   Joining Kent State’s Salort in a tie for ninth place at 1-under 215 was Mahar’s Virginia Tech teammate, Keera Foocharoen, a junior from Thailand. After opening with a 74, Foocharoen added a 2-under 70 in the second round before closing with a 71.

   Louisville’s Lauren Hartlage, a graduate student from Elizabethtown, Ky., finished a shot behind Salort and Foocharoen in 11^th place at even-par 213. After opening with a 1-under 71, Hartlage matched par in the second round with a 72 before finishing up with a 73.

   Nowlin’s Illinois teammate, Isabel Sly, a freshman from San Gabriel, Calif., closed with a 3-under 69 to finish a shot behind Hartlage in 12^th place at 1-over 217. Sly had posted a pair of 74s in the first two rounds.

    Hartlage was one of a dozen American players who gathered at Lake Nona Golf & Country Club in late January in a practice session for candidates for the team that will represent the U.S. in that Curtis Cup Match against GB&I in Wales in August. Another member of that Lake Nona dozen who teed it up at Lake Keowee over the weekend was Ohio State’s Aneka Seumanutafa, a sophomore from Emmitsburg, Md. who finished among the group tied for 24^th place at 4-over 220.