DESTIN, Fla. – With senior Kerington Lamb firing a 1-under-par-70 and sophomore Jessica Rathbone carding an even-par-71, the Anderson women's golf team is in second place following opening-day action, Sunday at the Emerald Coast Classic.
Missouri – St. Louis is hosting the three-day, 54-hole event on a par-71, 5,900 yard Baytowne Golf Club layout.
Nationally fifth-ranked Nova Southeastern holds a six-shot lead on the Trojans following Sunday's opening round, while Henderson is three shots further back in third place. No. 12 Lee and 24th-ranked Central Missouri share the fourth spot, with Arkansas–Ft. Smith in sixth place heading into Monday's second round. The host Tritons are in seventh place, while Arkansas Tech is in the eighth slot.
West Florida, Lindenwood, Harding, North Georgia, Central Oklahoma, UT Tyler, Oklahoma Baptist, Truman State and Rend Lake Community College rounded out the 16-team field.
Nova Southeastern's Ellen Ramstedt posted a 2-under-par 69 and leads Lamb by one shot, while holding a two-stroke lead over Rathbone. Lee's Lily Bloodworth and Lindenwood's McKenna Montgomery are tied for fourth place, three shots off the pace.
Freshman Zoey Iglesias currently shared sixth place, with junior Emma Charles in a tie for 14th place. Freshman Kennedy McGaha is tied for 23rd place, with seniors Victoria Hall and Anna Freeman in a tie for 45th place and a tie for 70th place, respectively.
"I was very proud of the way our women finished the round today," said Anderson Director of Golf Danny Neal. "Even with a couple of players struggling, they didn't give up. They finished strong to keep us within striking distance of the leader. Kerington (Lamb) and Jess (Rathbone) led us with strong rounds of 70 and 71. We have an opportunity tomorrow to cut into that lead and we plan on doing just that. I was also very impressed with the play of Zoey (Iglesias) and Emma (Charles). We are looking forward to tomorrow's competition."
The second round is slated to get underway Monday morning, with the final 18 holes scheduled for Tuesday.
NOTABLES
• AU has not finished lower than fourth in a tournament this year and owns the Patsy Rendleman title and runner-up finishes at both the South Region Preview and the Flagler Fall Slam.
2 Anderson 296
2 Kerington Lamb 70
3 Jessica Rathbone 71
T6 Zoey Iglesias 73
T14 Emma Charles 74
T23 Kennedy McGaha 76
T45 Victoria Hall 79
T70 Anna Freeman 83
Team Scores
1 Nova Southeastern 290 +6
2 Anderson 296 +12
3 Henderson State 299 +15
T4 Lee 303 +19
T4 Central Missouri 303 +19
6 Arkansas-Fort Smith 306 +22
7 Missouri - St. Louis 307 +23
8 Arkansas Tech 310 +26
9 West Florida 311 +27
10 Lindenwood 312 +28
11 Harding University 317 +33
T12 North Georgia 320 +36
T12 Central Oklahoma 320 +36
14 UT Tyler 325 +41
15 Oklahoma Baptist 328 +44
16 Truman State 344 +60
17 Rend Lake 375 +91
