BOONE, N.C. – After tying for third place at last year's Sun Belt Women's Golf Championship, Appalachian State will aim for its first Sun Belt crown when the Mountaineers compete at this year's event to be held Sunday-Tuesday in Sandestin, Fla.
Eleven Sun Belt teams will battle for the league title at the three-day event, held at The Raven Golf Club's par-71, 6,171-yard course.
Following Saturday's practice round, App State will tee off on hole 10 at 7:30 a.m. CT in Sunday's first round. The Mountaineers will be paired with UT Arlington in the first round. Pairings for rounds two and three will be determined by standings after the conclusion of day one. Split tee times on holes 1 and 10 for rounds two and three will begin at 7:30 a.m., 8:10 a.m. and 8:15 a.m., depending on seed.
Fans can watch the competition live on the
Sun Belt Conference Facebook page. Live scoring will be available at
Golfstat.com.
App State will send out a lineup consistent with what it has played most of this season in sophomore
Melany Chong, junior
Joliana Elias, freshman
Abby Bolt, junior
Patricia Thompson and senior
Annika Winebarger.
"We have practiced longer yardages, altering our comfort zone as well as gaining confidence with our putters all week," head coach
Heather Brown said. "Everyone in the lineup has put up a good number at some point this semester, so we will focus on that potential. Our game plan will be to chip away with pars, stay positive and believe in ourselves."
At last year's championship, Elias finished third in the individual standings and teamed up with Chong to lead a Mountaineer surge that resulted in a school-record team score of 285 (-3) in the final round. That helped App State rise to a program-best tie for third place in the Sun Belt Championship.
Chong and Elias once again lead the way this year. Chong paces the team with a 76.95 scoring average in 20 rounds, followed by Elias' 77.29 scoring average in 21 rounds. All five App State representatives have shot a round of 75 or lower this season, topped by Chong's best of 70 at the River Landing Classic in Wallace, N.C.
