Austin Peay State University Sports Information
Muscle Shoals, AL – A late-round pushed gave Austin Peay State University (APSU) women’s golf a little breathing room in the top-five after one round at the 2019 Ohio Valley Conference Women’s Golf Championships, which kicked off Monday on the Schoolmaster Course at the Robert Trent Jones stop at the Shoals.
Some late-round birdies put the Govs in fifth with a 306 after 18 holes, three shots ahead of Tennessee Tech and five behind Belmont.
Murray State (291) leads the way, with Jacksonville State (294) and Eastern Kentucky (296) rounding out the top-five.
A trio of Govs are in the top-20 with 36 holes remaining, helmed by junior Meghann Stamps’ 75, which places her 11th. The Hendersonville Tennessee native enters play Tuesday as one of only seven players in the field to average even par or better on par-3 (3.00 strokes per hole) and par-5 (5.00 strokes/hole).
A shot back of Stamps and tied for 15th overall are freshman Taylor Dedmen and senior Reagan Greene, both with four-over 76s. Dedmen birdied two of the final three holes to help the Govs put some distance between themselves and the Golden Eagles; she and Greene were the only Govs with multiple birdies in the opening round and were responsible for four of Austin Peay’s five birdies over the first 18 holes.
Greene was Austin Peay’s most consistent performer, firing a 38 on the front and back nines, with a birdie and a trio of bogey’s on both sides of the turn. Her birdie on the 307-yard, par-4 at No. 13 was one of just three sank in the opening round.
Twin sisters Taylor and Ashton Goodley rounded out the Austin Peay lineup. Taylor Goodley overcame a tough start with three bogeys on the first three holes; she was just three-over on the back-nine and is positioned well for a Day Two move up the leaderboard. In her final appearance in the OVC Championships, Ashton opened with a first-hole par—the only Gov to post par or better on Hole No. 1—en route to an 82.
Head coach Amy McCollum was optimistic at the end of Day One about the Governors opening-round performance.
“We fought hard the entire day,” McCollum said. “Things weren’t going our way early, but I’m proud of how the entire team battled back and ended strong. We left a few putts out there, but we’ll get those to drop tomorrow. We have a great chance to make a move.”
Day Two action begins for the Govs at 8:50am, Tuesday; Austin Peay State University will pair with Belmont and Tennessee Tech.
Ohio Valley Conference Championship
Robert Trent Jones at the Shoals
Muscle Shoals, AL
OVC – Schoolmaster
Dates: April 15th-17th
Finish | School – Players | Round 1 | Total |
5 | Austin Peay State University | 306 | 306 |
T 11 | Meghann Stamps | 75 | 75 |
T 15 | Taylor Dedmen | 76 | 76 |
T 15 | Reagan Greene | 76 | 76 |
T 26 | Taylor Goodley | 79 | 79 |
T 32 | Ashton Goodley | 82 | 82 |