The Lady Bears golf team traveled to Alabama to begin their season with the Chris Bannister Gamecock Classic on Sunday, Sept. 4 for a three-day, three-round event. Mercer was one of eight schools attending the event and other schools included Samford University and Jacksonville State.
The Lady Bears’ opening day was characterized by strong performances from their golfers and some very persistent rainfall that continued throughout the day.
Mary Alice Murphy led the Bears after the end of the first day with an opening round score of 73, which put her in a tie for second overall. The Bears’ Aurelie Wiriath finished second on the team with a score of 76, tying for 12th place overall.
The Lady golfers’ opening day was rounded out by Kimmy Graff and Sarah Louie Brown, each of whom shot a 79, and Lacey Fears, who shot an 81.
Mercer finished their opening round on Sunday with a total score of 307, which earned them fourth place. Mercer was three strokes ahead of Memphis and four strokes behind Lamar University, placing them in excellent position to make a challenge for a top three finish the next two days.
Unfortunately for the Lady Bears, they never had a chance to make such a challenge because the final two rounds of the Classic were canceled due to rain. When asked about the team’s performance in the Chris Bannister Classic, Mary Alice Murphy said: “Conditions were tough on the course, but we were able to overcome it and have a very strong team performance.”
The Lady Bears will no doubt be looking to build upon the success of their first golf match of the year at the Eat A Peach Collegiate held at Oakview in Macon.
When asked about the upcoming tournament, junior Aurelie Wiriath stated: “We are happy to play on our home course, and we are ready to go compete. We’ve been practicing very hard and hopefully the results will come.”