No. 11 Vanderbilt Women’s Golf continued its hot start to the spring season with a victory against Georgia Southern at Ohoopee Golf Club in Georgia on Feb. 13. The Commodores won by a score of 3-1-1 in the one-day, five-player match-play competition.
The Commodores still showed up strong despite not getting to play a practice round after a five-hour weather delay.
“I’m proud of how we handled the day,” head coach Greg Allen said.
Lynn Lim and Sara Im captured the first two points for the Dores early. Lim played against the Eagles’ Karlee Vardas, clinching her match after going 4-up through 15 holes. Im won her match in 4 and 2 over Louise Reau after carding a clutch par on hole No. 16. Merrill’s match was much more competitive, but she outlasted her opponent, Jiarui Chen, down the stretch to take a 2-up win after the 17th hole.
“Lynn [Lim] and Sara [Im both] did a great job of going out early and getting two points on the board for us, and Ava came through in the anchor match,” Allen said.
The trio continued to build off their recent success at the Puerto Rico Classic, where they all finished under par to help lead Vanderbilt to a victory.
Angelina Tolentino shot a strong 68 on the day and had the most competitive match of the group. She and her opponent, Regina Plascencia, went back and forth for the whole 18-hole round. After finding herself down two strokes with just three holes left, Tolentino propelled forward to even out the match through 18.
Tillie Claggett struggled early and couldn’t get anything going in her match. She lost her match 5 and 4 to Mary Miller.
“Angelina [Tolentino] showed a lot of toughness by hanging in there to tie her match by winning two of the last three holes,” Allen said. “Tillie [Claggett] played pretty good golf but ran into a buzz saw.”
Allen noted that this match against Georgia Southern was a great opportunity for the Commodores to practice match-play ahead of the postseason.
Vanderbilt will look to continue its success when competing in the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate in Hilton Head, South Carolina, from March 3-5.
