Blue Raiders split opening rounds at Great River Cup

Monday, February 17

Gulfport, Miss.

Middle Tennessee

Great River Cup

2/17/2025 9:10:00 PM | Women's Golf

By: Logan Hasselbach

GULFPORT, Miss. – In the opening day of the first match play event of the spring semester, the Middle Tennessee women's golf team split the two matches played, falling to James Madison in a playoff in the opening round at the Great River Cup and sweeping Memphis in round two.

While Lanie Campbell held the lead in match one for 11 holes played, a late surge by her James Madison opponent proved a bit too much, with the junior falling by one hole. She carded two birdies and seven holes at par.

Ella Manley was the lone tie of the first match, with neither golfer getting above one up. Manley took the lead at their second hole played, before the Duke carded a birdie on hole 10, with the two bouncing back and forth before finishing tied.

Match three claimed the first win for MTSU on the day, with Abbie Lee emerging victorious with a 4&1. She held control of the match for the entirety of play, tallying her first birdie of the day on the second hole played. She kept pushing throughout the match, eventually getting up four after nine holes completed. She turned in three birdies and three bogeys, with no big numbers to accompany it.

Jillian Bowman earned her first match play win in her first match of the day, going up after spending just one hole without the lead. Her opponent failed to tally a birdie through the 17 holes played, making it relatively easy for the sophomore to come out with the win, dropping just four holes en route to a 3&1 win.

Nicole Johnson struggled to get a rhythm in her first match, only being tied twice throughout the 16 holes played. Her James Madison pairing partner ended up with the 4&2 win.

Caroline Pardue took part in the opening round as an individual, playing a phenomenally clean round to take the win, 3&2. She turned in just two bogeys with a birdie while her opponent carded five bogeys, a double and one below par.

Pivoting to the second match of the day, it was all Blue Raiders the whole time. Facing Memphis for the chance to play in the fifth-place match, the team got back into the zone and dominated from start to finish.

Perhaps the most dominant win of the day was at match three, with Manley swiftly defeating her Memphis opponent 8&7. The sophomore carded five birdies in 11 holes played and just one bogey for the win.

Campbell started off her second match of the day down for the first couple of holes before cleaning up her game to take the 3&1 victory. She knocked down two birdies to accompany a lone bogey with a consistent rest of the course.

Lee wrapped up round two with a strong three up win, a sweep for the senior in her matches. She played a bit turbulent in her back nine, but paired with holes at par and birdies, she pulled out the win.

Claiming her first win of the day was Johnson, who also won three up. She played her entire front nine with just one bogey and a birdie for the win. Her consistency earned her the victory, constantly hitting pars while her opponent hit bogeys.

Bowman hit the lone eagle of the tournament at hole three to better her Tiger opponents birdie and claimed a two up victory in the top match. While the match wasn't as consistent as some of the others, the sophomore was able to pull out the win to secure the sweep.

Middle Tennesseewill fight for fifth place Tuesday morning against Little Rock, teeing off at 8 a.m. at Windance Country Club.

Wamsley's Words
"Today was an up and down type of day for the team," said head coach Lauren Wamsley. "We had to shake off some cobwebs during the first match but started to find our games throughout the second half of the first and second matches. I'm really impressed with how the entire team bounced back from the morning match by going 5-0 in the afternoon. Match play is a little different format than we are used to, so it's been fun to strategize and get a good win today. Looking forward to getting out there again tomorrow."