APSU Sports Information
Muscle Shoals, AL – Behind exemplary efforts from junior Reagan Greene and sophomore Meghann Stamps, Austin Peay State University women’s golf maintained its spot on the upper end of the leaderboard on Day Two from the Robert Trent Jones at the Shoals Schoolmaster Course at the 2018 Ohio Valley Conference Women’s Golf Championships.
The Govs improved by four shots from the opening 18 holes, shooting 608 on the day for a 620 in the tournament. That leaves Austin Peay in fourth, nine shots behind Eastern Kentucky in third and 10 shots clear of fifth-place Morehead State. Murray State (595) leads the tournament, followed by Jacksonville State (603).
“Our goal is to go out and fight all day tomorrow,” said interim head coach and co-OVC Coach of the Year Amy McCollum. “Anything can happen. Even though there’s not really anyone right behind us or right in front of us, anybody can go out and have a bad day or a really great day. Our main focus is ourselves and our game.”
Greene spent quite a bit of her day atop the leaderboard before a late charge from Murray State’s Moa Folke and Jacksonville State’s Valentina Giraldo, the only two players in the tournament to shoot rounds in the 60s; Greene enters the final round in sixth, shooting a 150 (74-76) over two rounds. She shot a team-best even-par 36 on the front nine and remains one of the tournament leaders in par-4 (4.30/hole, tied for seventh) and par-5 (4.75/hole, tied for second) scoring.
Stamps also is on pace for her first career top-10, currently tied for eighth at 153 (76-77) after 36 holes. Stamps rebounded from a four-over front nine to shoot 37 on the back, including a birdie on the par-5 11th hole on which she rolled in a putt from off the green—one of just seven scores under par for the tournament on what was Monday’s fifth-toughest hole.
“Meghann has had a fighting mentality this entire semester,” McCollum said. “She’s showed a mental toughness that’s hard to find sometimes in sophomores.”
Both Goodley siblings rebounded from tough opening rounds; Taylor Goodley‘s 76 equaled Greene for the team-low and included a one-under 35 on the back nine, while Ashton Goodley clocked in with a 79 after earning her first career All-OVC honor last night. Taylor is tied for 24th (84-76—160) with a round to play, while Ashton is tied for 32nd (84-79—163).
“Taylor definitely was more confident today,” McCollum said. “She hit some really good irons. Ashton hit the ball great. She hit her fairways; we’re looking for some putts to fall for her tomorrow.”
Senior AnnaMichelle Moore dealt with some tough luck on Tuesday; aside from two shots in the water on No. 5 and No. 8 and a seven on the par-3 No. 6, Moore played the other 15 holes at three-over par, including a birdie on No. 12, the 501-yard par-5 behemoth which plays as the longest hole on the course. She enters her final collegiate round tied for 26th (78-83—161).
Final-round action for the 2018 OVC Women’s Golf Championship kicks off 8:50am (CT), Wednesday; the Govs again will be paired with Morehead State and Tennessee Tech.
