Powers in contention after first round of NAIA National Championships
LINCOLN, Neb.— (Day One Results:
Team |
Individual |
Day Two Pairings) Flirting with a sub-par round throughout the first day, Concordia senior
Sunny Powers (Medford, Ore./North Medford H.S.) ended the first round of competition tied for ninth place at the NAIA National Championships on Tuesday.
Starting on the 10th hole, Powers cruised through the back nine by hitting par on eight straight holes before notching a birdie on the 463-yard No. 18 on the Wilderness Ridge Golf Club in Lincoln, Neb. Powers went 2-under with a birdie on No. 5 before carding bogeys on her final four holes to settle for a 2-over 74 over the 5,962-yard course.
Junior Bri LaFoca of Northwood (Fla.) paced the 144-player field after recording the lone under-par round, a 1-under 71. Four players are tied for second place after carding 72s.
Powers tied for 11th last season at the national championships and will resume the four-day tournament at 2:40 p.m. (EST) along with Carroll College's Jackie Mee (T25th, 75) and Saint Xavier's Taylor Thompson (T66th, 83).
Defending national champion Oklahoma City closed the first day atop the leaderboard at the 2014 NAIA Women's Golf National Championships.
The Stars, who qualified as the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament champion, had all four of their scoring individuals shoot 78-or-better en route to a 14-over 302. Senior Elia Folch, the 2013 national runner-up, led the way for the Stars with an even-par 72.
Top-ranked SCAD Savannah (Ga.) sits in second place after finishing the day two strokes behind the Stars with a 16-over 304. William Woods (Mo.) (307), Coastal Georgia (308) and Cumberlands (Ky.) (310) round out the top five after 18 holes.
For additional information on the 2014 NAIA Women's Golf National Championships, click
here.