Gyoni, Morna tied for 4th; Cobras in 6th

Gyoni, Morna tied for 4th; Cobras in 6th

ST. SIMON'S ISLAND, GA -- Sophomore Daniella Gyoni and freshman Gisele Morna each fired a 3-over 75 Monday in the opening round of the St. Simon's Intercollegiate to lead the Coker University Women's Golf Team at the King & Prince Golf Club.

Gyoni (Sweden) and Morna (Portugal) are tied for 4th place in a field of 93 players. The Cobras are in 6th place of 18 schools. The final 18 holes will be played Tuesday on the 5,801-yard layout.
"We had a really nice front nine, making the turn at just 6-over as a team," Coker head coach John Hackney said. "We were in second place and just a few shots behind leader Lincoln Memorial. We then played holes 12 through 15, which are out in the windy marshland, pretty solid. Unfortunately, we struggled coming in, playing the last three holes at 10-over, thus falling a few spots in the standings. Still, our ladies fired off some brilliant shots during the round, and we're still in position to rally for second place."
Lincoln Memorial has a commanding  9-shot lead at 11-over par 299. Shorter is at 20-over, followed by Catawba and Erskine at 24-over, Newberrry at +25 and Coker at +26 (314).
Hackney saluted Gyoni and Morna for their fine play off the tee. Each player hit all 14 fairways. Morna had four birdies and Gyoni notched two. Gyoni shot 1-under 35 on the front side, Morna was +1. California senior Mack Taylor Bailey (+2) and North Carolina junior Haylie George (+4) also played well on the opening nine. Four doubles and two triples as the round progressed kept the Cobras from being closer to the top of the leaderboard.
Bailey and George finished at 82. Junior Kelly Campman (Myrtle Beach, SC) came in at 88.
"We really had it going early," Hackney said. "There are some really good teams here and if we just keep big numbers off our scorecards, we'll have a great chance to finish strong tomorrow."