MT wraps up Great River Cup with second-consecutive win

Tuesday, February 18

Gulfport, Miss.

Middle Tennessee

Great River Cup

2/18/2025 3:44:00 PM | Women's Golf

By: Logan Hasselbach

GULFPORT, Miss. – In the final match of the Great River Cup, the Middle Tennessee women's golf program emerged victorious, downing Little Rock 3-2-0 to win the consolation championship and place second in win-loss total at the event. After a tie in the opening round, the Blue Raiders won two-straight over Memphis and Little Rock.

Nicole Johnson played in match two and came out with the win over Iara Martin. She started off strong, winning two of the first three holes with a par and a birdie and continued to play consistent with her opponent. The early lead the sophomore jumped out to proved to be the decider in the match, with MT winning one up.

Lanie Campbell also picked up a victory on the day in match four against Eleonore Aernouts. Campbell shot even on the day in the 16 holes played, tacking on two birdies, while her opponent struggled. The junior got up to a three up lead after the first nine holes, but the Trojan opponent got back within striking distance with a birdie on 16. The Blue Raider refused to go down without a fight, tallying two birdies on the last four holes played to win 3&2.

Ella Manley once again got the strongest win of the matches, with a decisive 6&5 victory in match five. Though she started off down one, she kicked it into gear down the back nine, carding four birdies on holes 10 through 18. While her opponent played clean golf with pars and a lone bogey, Manley's 33 (-4) on the back stretch overpowered Little Rock to clinch the win for Middle Tennessee.

Caroline Pardue, participating as an individual, also got a win on the day, defeating Nicole Strydom of Memphis one up. She carded five birdies on the day, including a strong three under par on the back nine for her second victory of the tournament.

Abbie Lee struggled in her final match, falling 4&3 to Anna Dawson, while Jillian Bowman was also defeated, 4&2, by Katja Mueller.

Overall, the Blue Raiders led the tournament in par 3 averages, averaging 3.15 strokes, and in par 4 averaging, with 4.17 strokes. The team also led in birdies, tallying 32, and earned the lone eagle of the event. Middle Tennessee turned in the least amount of bogeys in the tournament, with just 55 in the three rounds played.