HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Arkansas Tech extended its lead at the 2015 Great American Conference Women’s Golf Championships while Harding’s Brittany Marquez moved into first place on the individual side following the second round from the Park Course at the Hot Springs Country Club on Monday.
After building a 22-shot lead after the opening round, the Golden Suns again shot the low round of the day, a 13-over 301, to push their lead to 36 shots. Megan Jeffery, Caroline Fredensborg and Taylor Kline shot matching 3-over 75s. Rebecka Surtevall added a 76. All four ended the day ranked inside the top five.
Marquez shot an even-par round of 72 that featured four birdies. She matched the second-best round in GAC Women’s Golf Championships history. Marquez has finished inside the top five in each of the previous three GAC Championships, including a runner-up finish last season.
2015 GAC Women's Golf Championships - Second Round Results || Final Round Pairings
Henderson State bested Southwestern Oklahoma State by 18 shots and jumped by Bulldogs into second place. Ally Harris and Alison Davis finished the inside the top 10 as Harris shot a 3-over 75 and Davis shot a 78 after Sunday’s 79. Katie Kilponen improved by 10 strokes in carding a 76.
Ana-Laura Gomez led SWOSU with her second consecutive 76. She shares fifth place with Surtevall at 8-over 152 through two rounds.
Arkansas-Monticello improved by 10 shots with a team score of 328 and caught East Central for a tie in fourth place. Lauren Johnson led the Cotton Blossoms with a 4-over 76 and finished the round in seventh place, one shot in back of fifth place. In the first three years of the GAC no UAM golfer has finished inside the top five to earn All-Tournament honors.
ECU shot 333 for the second-straight round. Madelyn Lehr and Madison Myers finished in a tie for 18th. Southern Nazarene dropped a spot to sixth while Southern Arkansas and Harding flipped positions with the Muleriders in seventh. SNU’s Marion Broedys and SAU’s Hilary Pauli finished Monday tied for 10th.
The final round will begin at 7:30 AM on Tuesday. Ouachita Baptist’s Shelby Hudson and Northwestern Oklahoma State’s Klarissa Vela will fire the rounds’ opening shots. The top three teams of Arkansas Tech, Henderson State and Southwestern Oklahoma State will begin at 9:30 AM.