OWENS CROSS ROADS, Ala. – Led by Abbie Gregory's one-under par 71, the Belmont women's golf team moved up a spot and stand in fifth place after the second round of the OVC Championship held Tuesday on the Highlands Course of the RTJ Golf Trail at Hampton Cove in Owens Cross Roads, Alabama.
On a day that saw weather conditions change a number of times, the Bruins posted a team score of 305 on Tuesday to finish the day in fifth place at 617. The 305 score was the program's lowest second round score at a conference championship, beating the old record by one stroke. Murray State has the team lead at 576, with Eastern Kentucky in second place, three shots back, at 579.
"The team did a great job today of improving our score from round one," said Lissa Bradford, Belmont head coach. "We gave ourselves some scoring chances and did a good job of managing the course. As for the final round tomorrow, we will take it one hole at a time and try to move up the leaderboard as high as we can."
Belmont was paced by senior Abbie Gregory. The Hendersonville, Tennessee native carded a one-over 71 to finish the day tied for eighth place at 148. She made five birdies, two bogeys, and one double bogey. Her score of 71 was a career-best at a conference tournament and the lowest by a Belmont golfer at an OVC Championship. She is ten shots behind individual leader, Elsa Moberly of Eastern Kentucky (138).
"I was very proud of how I played today," said Gregory. "I had a double bogey on the first hole, but I made sure that it did not define my round. From that point on, I put the ball in good position off the tee and putted the ball extremely well."
Two other Bruins rank among the top-20. Junior Mallory Sullivan posted a three-over 75 in the second round to finish the day in a tie for 18th place at 154, while senior Megan Heath is tied for 20th place at 155 after shooting a 79.
Other Belmont scores from round two included: sophomore Emma Kate Liu (T-31, 164) and freshman Julia Nittoli (T-34, 165).
The third and final round will begin Wednesday morning at 8:00am. Belmont will tee off between 8:50-9:30am and will play with Austin Peay and Morehead State.
Live scoring from the championship can be found at www.ovcsports.com and www.golfstat.com.
