WINDERMERE, Fla. – Paced by freshman Emma Charles' two-round, 5-over-par 149, the Anderson women's golf team is in 17th place following the first two rounds of the prestigious 44th Annual Peggy Kirk Bell Memorial Invitational, Monday at the Golden Bear Club at Keene's Pointe.
Rollins College is hosting the 54-hole tournament on a par-72, 6,095 yard layout.
"Our ladies struggled in the first round with a 314, but improved a bit in the second round with a 308," said Anderson head coach Danny Neal. "Our two-round total has us in 17th place of 20 teams. Definitely not our best today, but this is the strongest field AU has ever played in with 12 of the top 15 teams in the country participating. Emma Charles was a bright spot after shooting 76-73. Our goal for tomorrow's final round will be to play with more consistency, eliminating some loose approach shots."
Saint Leo, which is ranked 11th nationally, shares the top spot on the team leaderboard, alongside sixth-ranked Dallas Baptist. No. 9 Florida Southern is in third place, six shots further back. Top-ranked Nova Southeastern holds the fourth spot, while No. 3 Tampa is in fifth place entering Tuesday's final round. Fifth-ranked Barry is sixth place, with 12th-ranked Lee alone in seventh place. No. 4 Rollins is eighth, while 15th-ranked Grand Valley State and 10th-ranked Wingate, are ninth and 10th, respectively.
No. 21 Embry-Riddle, No. 24 Lenoir-Rhyne, West Florida, Flagler, North Georgia, 13th-ranked Limestone, Anderson, Palm Beach Atlantic, Eckerd and Queens round out the 20-team field.
Florida Southern's Amanda Gartrell (72-66=138) leads the chase for individual medalist honors by two shots over Tampa's Kiira Riihijarvi (70-70=140), with Saint Leo's Francesca Santoni (73-68=141) and North Georgia's Megan Sabol (67-74=141) sharing third place.
Charles is in a seven-way tie for 30th, while sophomore Victoria Hall is tied for 67th following a 13-over-par 157. Junior Anna Freeman and sophomore Kerington Lamb are tied for 71st after carding 158s on the day. Senior Kate Hill is in a tie for 97th entering the final round.
The final round is slated for 8:30 a.m., Tuesday.
