Julie Loennechen was among only 11 players to shoot 75 or better in the second round and national poll vote-getter Mount Olive sliced 18 shots off its first round score as the Trojans jumped two spots to finish 11th out of 17 teams at the Saint Leo University Women's Golf Invitational. The 36-hole tournament, which included four national top 10 teams and eight overall in the top 25, concluded Tuesday at Saint Leo, Fla.
Mount Olive, which was among "Others Receiving Votes" and was the 33rd-highest vote-getter in the Golf World/NGCA Division II Women's Golf Preseason Poll, followed Monday's 333 with a 318 in the second round for a 36-hole score of 651. The Trojans were only six shots out of the top 10, while beating out nationally 24th-ranked Lander by 12 strokes and Conference Carolinas rival Barton by 22 strokes.
Nationally top-ranked Lynn (Fla.) rallied from a six-shot deficit and beat out No. 16 Flagler (Fla.) in a playoff to win the team title. First round leader and nationally fourth-ranked Barry (Fla.) tied for third with sixth-ranked Florida Tech, while No. 5 Florida Southern placed fifth.
Also competing were No. 11 West Florida, No. 16 Armstrong (Ga.) and No. 20 Saint Leo.
Individually, Loennechen is tied for 22nd out of 96 golfers with an 80-75--155. She jumped 24 spots on the leaderboard after the first round.
Anne Barboteau (87-78—155), Stefany King (82-83—165) and Virginia Lane (81-84--165) all tied for 55th. King and Sarah Baniszewski played as individuals and their scores did not count towards Mount Olive's team score.
Lovisa Tillstrom (85-83--168) tied for 63rd, Emy Ohling (87-82--169) (46-41—87) tied for 66th and Baniszewski (105-91--196) finished 89th.
Mount Olive concludes its fall season next week as the Trojans head back to Florida to compete in the Flagler College Fall Slam in St. Augustine. The 36-hole tournament begins Monday and concludes Tuesday.