Carson-Newman Fourth, Newberry Seventh At NCAA Women’s Golf Regional Tournament

LAKELAND, Fla. - The Carson-Newman College women's golf team is fourth, while Newberry College is in seventh place after the first round of the NCAA Division II South Regional tournament at The Club at Eaglebrooke on Sunday.

Carson-Newman's Jessica Tarbet (Corryton, Tenn.) and Jennifer Oliver (Knoxville, Tenn.)are in a five-way tie for 11th after firing matching 76's. C-N shot a team 309 (+21) and sits in a tie with Florida Southern University at fourth.

Newberry shot a 29-over par 317 over the course of the first 18 holes of the 54-hole competition.

The top three teams in the 54-hole event advance to the NCAA Division II Championships on May 12-14 in Allendale, Mich., although five of the nine teams in the regional rank in the top seven nationally.

Tarbet rallied from a slow start to the round with birdies on the sixth and seventh holes to make the turn at 1-over. She finished with a 4-over 76. Oliver rallied with three birdies and an even-par 36 on the back nine to card a 76. Both are five strokes back of the leaders.

Carson-Newman freshman Mary Tunnell (Memphis, Tenn.) played her first eight holes at even par to shoot a one-over 37 on the front nine and finish with a 77. She's tied for 16th. Junior Erica Ray (Maryville, Tenn.) finished with an 8-over 80. Ray's round included nine bogeys or double bogeys, but she countered with four birdies. Sophomore Melanie Manis (Louisville, Tenn.) played her final five holes 5-over to finish with an 84 (+12). She made the turn with a 4-over 40. Ray is tied for 33rd, while Manis is tied for 42nd.

Newberry, which is ranked 15th nationally in the GolfStat head-to-head rankings, was led by Barbara Castro (Coruna, Spain) and Julia Daneshfar (Trophy Club, Texas). The duo each shot a 6-over par 78 in Sunday's first round and are tied for 22nd individually. Castro had three birdies in the round, but carded double bogeys on 16 and 18, while Daneshfar birdied the 18th hole to finish strong.

Natalia Perez (Bogota, Colombia) is tied for 33rd with an 8-over par 80, while Maria Luz Besio (Buenos Aires, Argentina) and Lisa Brandl (Nuremberg, Germany) are tied for 37th with 9-over par 81's.

Two-time defending national champion Nova Southeastern leads the tournament with a 3-over par 291 in the first round, while Rollins is four strokes behind in second place.

Follow the tournament's live stats here.

Place School Strokes To Par
1. Nova Southeastern 291 +3
2. Rollins 295 +7
3. St. Leo 306 +18
T4. Florida Southern 309 +21
Carson-Newman 309 +21
6. UNC Pembroke 310 +22
7. Newberry 317 +29
8. Belmont Abbey 318 +30
9. Flagler 327 +39