Kiawah Island, SC – The Stetson women's golf team made a five spot move up the leaderboard on the second day of play at the Edwin Watts/Kiawah Island Spring Classic on Monday.
The Hatters, playing on the Oak Point Course for the second round of the 41-team event, posted a score of 305 to move from 19th place to a tie for 14th. The Stetson team will return to the Osprey Point Course for the final round on Tuesday where the Hatters will be paired with players from Jacksonville State and Williams & Mary.
“The girls think they can finish in the top 10 tomorrow,” Hatters coach Floyd Kerr said. “They have a good attitude and good spirit and they are going to get there. You can just see it. They are going to get it done.”
The host team from the College of Charleston sits tied with Coastal Carolina atop the leaderboard entering the final round of competition. The Cougars and Chanticleers both sit at 13-over par for the tournament with matching scores of 589. Chattanooga, which had the lead after the first round, now sits seven shots off the lead in third place.
The Hatters moved past Oral Roberts, Georgia Southern, Richmond and Western Kentucky during play in the second round and is now tied with William & Mary. Jacksonville State and Morehead State both have a one-shot lead on Stetson, but there is another team the Hatters have their eyes on.
“North Florida just won last week at Amelia Island, beating Kennesaw and Campbell,” Kerr said. “We are six behind them. The girls are looking at them and are thinking it would be nice to catch them. I would say North Florida is the team to beat in our conference. I think they sent Kennesaw a message last week when they beat them the way they did.”
The Hatters were again led by juniors Giulia Vandenberg and Kristine Odaiyar. Both will enter the final round Tuesday with a chance at a top 10 finish. Vandenberg posted a one-over par 73 on Monday and stands at four-over par for the tournament while Odaiyar carded a two-over par 74 and is five-over for the event.
Troy's Fatima Cano has a one shot lead over Elon's Heather Munro for medalist honors. Cano stands at three-under par after an even par 72 in the second round.
“Kristine and Giulia are both in the top 20, but they aren't getting a lot of help anywhere else,” Kerr said. “Neither one is really on top of their game. They just have a knack of getting around the course, even when they aren't striking it well. Giulia had a 73 today and Kristine a 74, but neither one was striking it well.
“On the course we played today, I thought we played well to have a 305. It was not as well manicured, the greens were firmer and there was a lot of wind.”
Behind the juniors, the Hatters got a second round score of 77 from sophomore Eilidh Watson while classmates Carolin Schart and Paige Kemp both settled for scores of 81.
“They are not happy with where they are, but they aren't beating themselves up,” Kerr said. “That is a good sign. They are a pretty tight group. We are excited about playing tomorrow.”
The Hatters will begin play in the final round of the tournament at 9 a.m. on Tuesday. Live scoring for the event is available through GolfStat.com.
