Calloway County, KY – In the second and final round of the weather-shortened Jan Weaver Invitational, Shelby Darnell was one shot better than her opening round and fired a four-over 76 to finish tied for fourth place and lead the Austin Peay State University (APSU) women’s golf team to a third-place finish with a team score of 631 at Murray State’s event, Saturday, at Miller Memorial Golf Course.
APSU’s Darnell used a pair of birdies and held a share of the lead at one point in the round en route to shooting a team-leading 76. With a two-round score of 155, Darnell finished tied with Murray State’s Payton Carter and Southern Mississippi’s Momoka Ando for third place, she was just two shots behind Samford’s Sophie Membrino, who won the tournament with a score of 151.
Darnell also led the tournament in par-three scoring, finishing her two rounds at exactly even par on the par threes.
“We all definitely improved from yesterday and good things happened for us,” said head coach Jessica Combs. “We gave up a handful of shots on our last couple holes, which hurt, but we made some good strides before we leave for conference next week. Shelby played great all day and it was fun to see her in contention to win. Overall, I’m very proud of the bounce back we had today.”
Reigning Ohio Valley Conference Golfer of the Month Taylor Dedmen recorded a six-over 78 for the second-straight day and finished tied for ninth at the par-72, 6,024-yard track. Dedmen’s aggregate score of 156 was just five shots back of the tournament winner.
Freshman Kaley Campbell rallied with a six-over 78 on her second 18 holes of the tournament, posting a round that counted towards Austin Peay State University’s team score and climbing 13 spots on the leaderboard to finish tied for 45th. Riley Cooper carded the final round that counted towards Austin Peay State University’s score with a seven-over 79, moving up nine spots on the leaderboard to finish tied for 33rd.
Erica Scutt posted her second-straight nine-over 81 on the final day of the Jan Weaver Invitational and finished the event tied for 29th with an aggregate score of 162.
Competing as an individual, Payton Elkins was two shots better than her opening round and shot an eight-over 80 in her second round. Elkins started the day tied for 29th and that is right where she finished with a two-round score of 162. Freshman Maggie Glass also fired an eight-over 80 in the final round while competing as an individual, jumping up six spots on the leaderboard and finishing with an aggregate score of 166.
Austin Peay State University finished the event tied for third with North Carolina A&T and Southern Mississippi after shooting a second-round 311 – nine shots better than its opening-round score. The Governors finished 17 shots behind tournament-winner Samford and just three shots behind second-place Belmont.
Next Up For APSU Women’s Golf
With the regular season in the books, the Austin Peay State University women’s golf team now turns their attention towards the Ohio Valley Conference Women’s Golf Championship, April 17th-19th, at the Fighting Joe course at The Shoals on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail in Muscle Shoals, Alabama.
For news, updates, and results, follow the Governors women’s golf team on Twitter and Instagram or check back at LetsGoPeay.com.
