Raiders start strong at Minnesota Invitational

Monday, September 10

Woodbury, MN

All Day

Middle Tennessee

Minnesota Invitational

Photo by: Jeff Jacobsen, Kansas Athletics

9/10/2018 7:30:00 PM | Women's Golf

Women's Golf in fourth through 36 holes

By: @MTAthletics

Day 1 Results

WOODBURY, Minn. – Middle Tennessee closed out its first day of competition in the 2018-19 season on Monday at 4-over par (283-297=580) and tied for fourth place in the Minnesota Invitational at Prestwick Golf Club.

The Blue Raiders came out firing on all cylinders in their first trip to the Prestwick, firing a 5-under 283 in the first 18 holes led by true freshman Catherine Caudill's spectacular collegiate debut round of 3-under 69.

MT stumbled slightly in the second round, falling from a tie for second through 18 holes into a tie for fourth through 36 holes with a 9-over 297 in the afternoon. The Blue Raiders sit seven strokes out of the Top 3 and 11 shots off the pace set by leader San Jose State while senior Hanley Long is tied for sixth in the field of 84 at 2-under par (71-71=142).

Tuesday's final round begins at 9:15 a.m. in a shotgun start with the Blue Raiders playing alongside Kentucky and Louisville.

NOTABLES

The opening round score of 5-under 283 is the best season-opening round in program history, besting the previous mark of 3-over 291 at the 2014 FedEx Memphis Intercollegiate by eight strokes
The team score of 283 also matches the sixth best team round in program history and is the first under par team round since a 1-under 287 in the third round of the 2016 Lady Paladin Invitational
Freshman Catherine Caudill's 3-under par 69 in the first round is tied for the second best round by a freshman in Blue Raider history
Sophomore Sophie Burks logged the first eagle of her college career Monday when she chipped in from 15 yards on the Par 5 18^th hole in the first round
After totaling 11 rounds of par or better in 2017-18, senior Hanley Long has already notched two to start the season with matching rounds of 1-under 71 on Monday

QUOTABLES
"Today was a great start to our fall schedule. I'm very proud of the way they came out of the gates to have several under par rounds from Hanley, Jenna and Catherine. It was a very solid start for Catherine in her first collegiate round and she just played steady and smart all day." – Head Coach Chris Adams

"Today was a really steady day for me and I'm really proud of how my teammates and I played. I tried to be really patient and maintain a good tempo with each swing. This course makes you hit your target lines but if you have a bad hole, there's other holes to make birdies. I just tried not to get ahead of myself – 36-hole days are really demanding so I think the fact that I could minimize my mistakes towards the last couple of holes says a lot about the golfer I've grown into since I've been at MTSU." – Senior Hanley Long

"Going into the round today I had one goal – do the best I could. On the first hole I sunk a 30-foot putt for birdie and right then I knew it was time to go low. This is truly such a great start and experience and I look forward to my next four years as a blue raider." – Freshman Catherine Caudill