After the first round of the Memphis Women's Invitational was cancelled due to darkness Monday night, The University of Memphis women's golf team returned to Ridgeway Country Club Tuesday morning for the second round, where they claimed a tie for second place as the tournament host.
As a team, The U of M shot rounds of 305-316 for a team total of 621, tying them with Missouri State (310-311). Illinois earned the top overall team position with rounds of 314-301-615, using the second round to leapfrog the Tigers into first place.
"First round, it was windy, it was wet," said U of M coach Beth Harrelson. "The course was tough. The girls shot 305, which is very respectable. We were in the lead after the first round."
From there, she said, the girls began to succumb to the poor weather conditions.
"Second round we ended up shooting 316 - not as strong," Harrelson said. "We had some girls down the stretch that I think were beat up by the weather. It was a long day."
U of M junior Marissa Steen finished in a tie for fifth individual overall, shooting scores of 75 and 77 en route to securing her second consecutive top-five finish and the 14th top-20 position of her career.
Meanwhile, junior Kathleen Glavin (77-79) and sophomore Alex Aläng (76-80) each shot a 36-hole total of 156, earning them a tie for 19th place. Sophomores Julia Hodgson (77-80-157) and Sarah Mathews (80-80-160) ended the tournament tied for 25th and 32nd places, respectively.
The Memphis Women's Invitational returned to the schedule after an eight-year hiatus. Harrelson called it a symbol of what the program is about.
"To have the tournament back in Memphis, it puts us on the map," she said. "It lets people know that Memphis women's golf is here to stay."
The Lady Tigers will travel to Gulf Shores, Ala. on Nov. 2 to compete in the UAB Fall Beach Blast. The U of M won last year's event behind a second-place finish by Mathews.
