University of Richmond
Spider Fall Invitational
Freshman Lovette Wins Spider Invitational
10/13/2009 | Women's Golf
Oct. 13, 2009
|
MIDLOTHIAN, Va. - Richmond freshman Caroline Lovette shot a 2-over 146 and then made par on the first playoff hole to win the Spider Fall Invitational at Independence Golf Club on Tuesday.
Playing as an individual, Lovette shot a 2-over 74 in her first collegiate round on Monday and followed that up with an even-par 72 on the 6,113-yard course. Longwood's Kameron Carter also finished with a 146, so the two players went back out to the 18th hole, where the Davidsville, Pa. native made a par and Carter bogeyed to give Richmond its first individual title in the nine-year history of the program.
"I mostly just tried to stay calm the whole time," Lovette said. "My goal was just to better my score from yesterday. I honestly was not striking the ball as well as yesterday, but I felt like I played it smart."
Lovette hit her tee shot just off the fairway on the left side and put her second shot on the green. Her 30-foot putt rolled to a stop about one foot from the hole and she tapped that in to take home the individual title.
"Caroline has a lot of talent," Richmod first-year head coach Jill Briles-Hinton said. "She has a good golf swing and a sound short game. She just needed to get over the hump and today she did that. This is a great feat for a freshman, she stuck with her game plan, her course management and stuck with her mental game goal and was very successful."
Because Lovette was playing as an individual, her score did not count toward Richmond's team total. The Spiders finished in a tie for fifth with Marshall at 622. Richmond shot a 313 in Monday's first round and a 309 in the second round.
"The team is getting much better," Briles-Hinton said. "You might not quite see it in their scores yet, but the swings are getting better and the short games are getting better. Give the Spiders a little bit more time and our scores will start dropping.
Freshman Tracy Martin led the Spiders' lineup, tying for seventh with a 151 after rounds of 4-over 76 and 3-over 75. Juniors Christina Gray and Jillian Fraccola tied for 28th at 158. Gray shot a 4-over 76 on Tuesday after an opening-round 82. Fraccola shot 79s each day.
Senior Lauren Folgosa tied for 33rd with a 159 (76-83) and freshman Courtney Rousse tied for 51st at 163 (84-79).
Richmond had three other individuals playing with Lovette in its home event. Freshman Grace Kingdom tied for 44th at 162 (85-77), senior Anne Sprick tied for 51st at 163 (81-82) and senior Victoria Kidder tied for 64th at 167 (81-86).
Richmond concludes the fall season at Palmetto Intercollegiate at Kiawah Island, S.C. on Oct. 26 and 27.
