Alabama
Evans Derby Experience
Two Finish Among Top-15 to Lead Alabama Women’s Golf in Final Round of the Evans Derby Experience
3/25/2019 3:59:00 PM | Women's Golf
Crimson Tide cards lowest round of its tournament during Monday’s final 18 holes
OPELIKA, Ala. – The No. 18 Alabama women's golf team completed play at the 2019 Evans Derby Experience on Monday as it carded a final round of 5-over par 293, the Tide's best 18-hole score in the three-day 54-hole event, and finished in 13th overall with a team score of 907 (301-313-293).
The tournament featured one of the top fields in the nation in that every squad in the 14-team field was ranked among the top 50, according to Golfstat.com. Nine teams, including the Crimson Tide, were ranked among the top-20 nationally entering this weekend's play.
"Sunday's second round was disappointing, so it felt a lot better to go out and shoot a good score (on Monday)," Alabama head coach Mic Potter said. "We had one of the lowest rounds of the day in a field that is filled with elite teams which just proves that we capable of competing with any of with them. We need to keep moving forward in order to continue to improve."
Alabama was led by a pair of golfers who finished among the top-15 individuals in the entire field. Junior Kenzie Wright earned her second top-10 finish of the season as she closed play with a 2-over par 218 (73-72-73) and tied for 10th overall. Meanwhile, junior Jiwon Jeon's final round of 1-under 71 on Monday propelled her into a 12th-place tie with a 219 (72-76-71).
Wright finished the event second among the entire field in total birdies (11) and par 5 scoring average (-5, 4.58), while Jeon was second overall in par 3 scoring average (-2, 2.83) and third in total birdies (10). It marked Jeon's fourth top-20 finish of the season to lead all UA golfers, while Wright collected her second top-20 finish of the year.
Sophomore Angelica Moresco closed the tournament with her best round, carding a 1-under par 71 during Monday's final 18 holes and vaulted into a 48th-place tie with a 54-hole total of 229 (75-83-71). It was her team-leading 10th round of par or better on the season, including the fourth over her last six rounds she has teed it up.
Junior Anna Reid, competing in her first collegiate tournament, ended play in 80th with a 242 (82-82-78), while freshman Mary Mac Trammell (81-84-87) rounded out the UA golfers in 85th place with a 252.
Freshman Carolina Caminoli, playing as an individual on the weekend, finished in 82nd with a 245 (80-80-85).
"Jiwon and Kenzie both had a great tournament and I thought Angie played well today," Potter said. "I thought Anna definitely gave us a little bit of a spark from that fourth position, so we've got to keep getting her better. We need to have that fifth player be able to get us a round or two and then we need Kenzie, Jiwon and Angie all need to continue to improve, so that's what we are going to work on before we head to Athens in a couple of weeks."
Florida State, the nation's 11th-ranked team entering tournament play, surged into first place after a final round of 3-under par 285 to claim the team title with a 54-hole total of 6-over 870. The Seminoles finished four strokes ahead of No. 2 Texas, No. 3 Duke and No. 8 Arkansas, who each tied for second with an 874. Seventh-ranked Florida (880) rounded out the top five teams.
Alabama will next return to action for the final regular season tournament when it travels to Athens, Ga., where it will compete at the annual Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic, which will be held on April 11-13 at the University of Georgia Golf Club.
"Typically, we would consider the postseason to begin at the SEC Championships, but we as coaches have to start considering the postseason starts now. Every tournament we play in, we are able to gather more information and identify the ones who will be factors for us in the postseason. We are at that time now so it's a matter of being really structured and organized in what each do every day in order to get better."
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Players Mentioned
