Stockbridge, Ga. - Highlighted by freshman Laura Sanchez's career-low, second round 1-under 71, the Georgia State women's golf team completed the first day of the 18th Annual John Kirk/Panther Intercollegiate in 12th place of 15. The Panthers played 36 holes on the first day of their home tournament held at the par 72, 6,047-yard Eagle's Landing Country Club course.
Following a 45-minute fog delay, Georgia State struggled through the morning, shooting 319 (+31) in the first 18 holes but saw improvement in the afternoon bettering its first round score by 14 strokes. The Panthers fired a 305 (+17) during the second round to move up two spots in the standings and wrap up the day's competition in 12th place.
"We have the ability to post great scores because we have shown that in the past, but the consistency just isn't there," said head coach Cathy Mant. "I can say that I don't see anyone on the team giving up. They always try hard and play with great attitudes. Tomorrow we will hopefully gather ourselves and play like Georgia State golfers should. We need to post a good score, move our way up the ladder and walk away with some pride."
Sanchez collected four birdies during the second round on her way to a career-best 1-under 71. The freshman's previous low was 73, which she shot on two occasions during the Panthers' fall season. After struggling through the first round with an 82, Sanchez had an 11 stroke turnaround in the second round to jump 37 spots on the leader board and finish day one in a tie for 29th place.
Junior Charlotte Lorentzen was Georgia State's top individual at the end of 36 holes with a share of 12th place. During the first round, the Soroe, Denmark native maintained even par on the back nine to finish at 3-over 75. Lorentzen landed two birdies in the afternoon to improve her first-round score by one stroke.
Freshman Solveig Helgesen shot 8-over 80 in both rounds to finish tied for 53rd place. Redshirt-junior Cherishton Brett finished with a share of 71st place shooting 82 and 83 in the first and second rounds, respectively.
Despite disqualifying in the morning, junior Charlotte Guilleux was still able to contribute to the team's total with her second round 8-over 80.
No. 25 Notre Dame leads the field with a combined score of 591 (+15). The Fighting Irish have a 12-stroke advantage over second place James Madison (603). Michigan sits in third place with 606 (+30) followed by UCF, Maryland and ETSU tied for fourth at 609.
Becca Huffer of Notre Dame sits in the top spot of individual competition at 3-under. Tied in the runner up position are Jessie Hollandsworth of Maryland and Mitsuki Katahira of Daytona State at even par. Rounding out the top five are Mississippi State's Mary L. Gallagher at 1-over and Meagan Bauer of Michigan at 2-over.
Tomorrow's final round begins at 9 a.m. with a shotgun start. Georgia State will tee off with Arkansas State and Middle Tennessee State. Full results and details will be posted at www.GeorgiaStateSports.com at the close of competition.
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