In Mobile, Alabama, Southern Miss competed in the USA Intercollegiate tournament, finishing in first place and breaking a school record.
On day one, USM managed to shoot a combined 295 total and finished seven over par to finish in second just under Eastern Kentucky. Henriette Syr, Emily Ross, Valentina Haupt, Kelly Erasmus and Nichada Satasuk all shot above 70 for Southern Miss.
“We came in prepared and I’m so encouraged by a 295 in the opening round – the crew gutted it out down the stretch to close out their rounds,” said coach Erika Brennan. “They’re gritty and I love that about them.”
Being behind one stroke on day two to Eastern Kentucky, Southern Miss scored a total of 289 on the day and recorded 16 birdies. Southern Miss performance would break the previous single round record of 290 set in the 2014 Conference championship.
Erasmus finished the day with the best overall. Erasmus birdied three straight holes which allowed her to finish the day -2. Ross, Syr and Satasuk would finish the day at par and Southern Miss would pull ahead five strokes to take first place.
Not only would Tuesday be a record-breaking day for the Golden Eagles, but the final day of the tournament would bode well for Southern Miss as well.
The beginning of the day started pretty rough, with Southern Miss letting their five stroke lead decrease to only one.
The Golden Eagles would not let the early morning performance affect their play for the whole day. As the day went along, Southern Miss found its rhythm and finished the day with a record-breaking total of 877 to take home the team championship.
“It was definitely nerve wrecking when we let the lead slip to only one but the girls stay calmed and regrouped and we were able to finish strong” Brennan said.
With record-breaking performance comes efficient playing, as not one single Southern Miss player finished outside of the Top 20. Syr finished fourth with a score of 218, Ross and Haupt finished tied for fifth with a score of 219 and Eramus and Satasuk finished tied for 16th with a score of 224.
Southern Miss is scheduled to return to action September 26 and 27 in Greenville, North Carolina for the Lady Pirate Invitational.
