ANDERSON, S.C. - After carding a two-day total 15-over par 159, junior Natalie Feder paced the Anderson women's golf team, as the Trojans finished fifth at the AU Invitational hosted at the par-72, 5,952 yard Cobb's Glen Country Club on Tuesday.
AU was in fifth following Monday's first round and trimmed a combined 14 strokes off their opening-round effort, but was unable to gain ground on the leaders.
"We got off to a better start than yesterday," said Anderson head coach Danny Neal. "I was glad to see the scores come down some. There are some positives to build on. We need to come out and work hard over the next several weeks."
Erskine College (318-315=633) led the tournament wire-to-wire, finishing one stroke ahead of new South Atlantic Conference-member Queens (322-312=634). The Royals sat in third following Monday's opening round, but vaulted past Milligan (319-329=648) for the second spot, while Converse (324-317=641) moved from fourth into third, with Milligan slipping to fourth. The Trojans (336-322=658) remained in the fifth slot, with Mars Hill (338-323=661) claiming sixth, Pfeiffer (337-334=671) in seventh and Virginia-Wise (407-371=778) wrapping up the field in eighth.
Erskine's Rima Antous (72-78=150) slipped six shots from Monday's even-par effort, but earned individual medalist honors by four strokes over both teammate Rachel Moore (79-75=154) and Converse's Ansley Vaughan (77-77=154). Queens' Iris Katla (82-74=156) jumped from 14th on Monday into fourth following the final round.
Feder (80-79=159) notched 21 pars over the two-day event and moved up two spots to finish in a tie for eighth, while senior Katie Eskew (82-81=163) finished in a three-way tie for 14th. Sophomore Garyt Hamilton (89-80=169) made the biggest jump for AU, trimming nine shots off Monday's opening round to tie for 26th. Sophomore Braiden Furtick (86-83=169) also tied for 26th, while junior Sarah Timms (88-82=170) finished in 31st.
Following a three-week break, the Trojans continue their fall slate at the King University Invitational Sept. 30-Oct. 1.
All-Tournament Team
Rima Antous (Erskine)
Rachel Moore (Erskine)
Ansley Vaughan (Converse)
Iris Katla (Queens)
Madison Smith (Milligan)
