March 12, 2024
Lady Cobras finish 13th at Surratt Memorial
MONROE, NC -- The Coker Women's Golf Team finished 13th Monday and Tuesday in the 54-hole Dr. Jerrry Surratt Memorial Tournament at Stonebridge Golf Club.
Senior Mack Taylor Bailey led the way for the Cobras, finishing tied for 46h at 79-78-77--234. Close behind was sophomore Daniella Gyoni at 82-78-77--237.
Playing in cold, muddy conditions on Monday morning, the Cobras got off to slow start, firing a 38-over 326. In the afternoon, they carded a 319. On Tuesday, all five Coker players put up solid rounds, leading to a 314.
Coker came in at 959. Host Wingate, ranked 20th in NCAA DII golf, won a shootout with 4th-ranked Anderson and 3rd-ranked Findlay to claim the team title by one shot at 296-293-291--890. Anderson fired 891 and Findlay was at 892. Wingate's Hailey McLaughlin won medalist honors at 72-72-71--215 (-2). The field included seven teams in the top 30 nationally.
"We just had a terrible start on Monday," Coker head coach John Hackney said. "We didn't hit the ball crisply in the muddy conditions, which led to some big holes early. We were like 13-over through a few holes and unfortunately only had few respectable scores in each of the first two rounds. In today's round, all five ladies grinded hard and stayed focused, and it showed with our team score."
The Cobras were playing without freshman Gisele Morna, who was sidelined with a bad back.
In the opening round, the Cobras had 23 bogeys, 10 doubles and one triple. Gyoni rolled in four birdies, Bailey had three and freshman Felicia Sundgren had two. In round two, the Cobras carded five doubles and one triple but only had two birdies. In the third round, Coker notched three birdies (two by Bailey), but finished with two triples and three doubles.
Sundgren shot 77-85-82--244, junior Haylie George finished at 95-78-79--252 and junior Kelly Campman tallied 88-90-81--259 for the Cobras.
Coker will travel to play in Barton's spring tournament next Monday and Tuesday at Wilson Country Club.
"Every tournament is a learning experience," Hackney said. "With Gisele sidelined, these events are helping our players learn to stay focused throughout each round so that they can post lower numbers. We just need to do a better job avoiding large numbers and have more confidence that the work we are putting in will lead to success."