SALISBURY, N.C. – Using a 2-under-par opening-round 70 from senior Kerington Lamb, the Anderson women's golf team is atop the team leaderboard following opening-round action, Monday at the Patsy Rendleman Invitational.
Catawba is hosting the 36-hole event on a 5,930 yard, par-72 Country Club of Salisbury layout.
"I was proud of the effort today," said Anderson Associate Head Coach Denton Moore. "I am extremely excited about how our 3-5 players played today. The depth on this team is what excites us the most. We are excited to have the lead. We didn't play our best today. Our goal tomorrow is to come out and play our best, and dominate. These girls are starting to believe in themselves, their games, and that they are real contenders."
While equaling the second-best score for a single round in school history with an opening round 288 – which was set just three weeks ago at the South Region Preview - Anderson leads Queens by eight shots heading into Tuesday's final round. Lander and Wingate are tied for third – one stroke further back. Erskine is in fifth place, with Tusculum holding the sixth spot.
Lenoir-Rhyne and King are seventh and eighth, respectively, with Mount Olive, Young Harris, North Greenville, the host Indians and Barton rounding out the 13-team field.
The Trojans are bidding for their first win at the Patsy Rendleman Invitational after competing in the last nine tournaments and posting their highest finishes by finishing third in 2017 and fourth in 2018.
Erskine's Amanda Guzman fired a 4-under-par 68 and leads the chase for individual medalist honors by one shot over Lander's Hannah Stephenson and Wingate's Mary Ma, who share second place. Lamb is tied for fourth, alongside Queens' Charleigh Hodges after firing her best round of the early season, with her round of 70 equaling the fifth-best score in program history.
Three additional players – including AU senior Victoria Hall - are deadlocked in sixth place, three shots off the pace set by Guzman after carding 71s in Monday's first round.
Freshman Kennedy McGaha posted an even-par 72 and shares ninth place, while fellow newcomer Zoey Iglesias notched a 73 and is tied for 13th place. Sophomore Jessica Rathbone is two shots further back in a tie for 18th place, with junior Emma Charles and Senior Anna Freeman deadlocked in 20th place following 4-over-par 76s on the day.
"Kennedy (McGaha) was awesome for the first time in the lineup," Moore added. "Even par was a solid score, and she was really gritty for us down the stretch. Victoria (Hall) shooting -1 and Kerington (Lamb) shooting -2 were absolutely outstanding today when we really had to have it was clutch. (Emma) Charles and (Jessica) Rathbone really grinded today when they didn't have their best stuff. This team is successful because of our depth. That showed today. No one player carries this team. It's a team effort every time out. Anna (Freeman) and Zoey (Iglesias) were both solid as well playing as individuals."
The second and final round is slated to get underway Tuesday morning.
1 Anderson 288 E
T 4 Kerington Lamb 70 -2
T 6 Victoria Hall 71 -1
T 9 Kennedy McGaha 72 E
T 13 Zoey Iglesias 73 +1
T 18 Jessica Rathbone 75 +3
T 20 Emma Charles 76 +4
T 20 Anna Freeman 76 +4
School Rnd To Par
1 Anderson 288 E
2 Queens 296 +8
3 Lander 297 +9
Wingate 297 +9
5 Erskine 302 +14
6 Tusculum 304 +16
7 Lenoir-Rhyne 305 +17
8 King 306 +18
9 Mount Olive 307 +19
10 Young Harris 311 +23
11 N. Greenville320 +32
12 Catawba 328 +40
13 Barton 334 +46
