KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. – Charleston Southern fired a team-305, the Buccaneers' best round of the tournament by 11 strokes, to run away with the Oak Point flight of the 2014 Kiawah Intercollegiate on Tuesday at the Oak Point Course on Kiawah Island.
The title is third straight for the Bucs in the Oak Point Flight at Kiawah. CSU won by 19 strokes after entering the day trailing by two.
The Bucs finished in a tie for 17th with a total of 940, 19 strokes ahead of Wyoming, as well as finishing ahead of Loyola (Ill.), Western Kentucky, and William & Mary at Oak Point. Big South opponent Radford played Cougar Point and finished 20th. The strong finish gives a young CSU team – which played two true freshmen – some momentum to open the spring season.
"I'm proud of the team for playing better today and winning the flight at Oak Point," CSU head coach Matt Cram-Smith said. ?It was freezing out there and they handled the conditions well. We still left a lot out there and no one played close to their best, so for us to score how we did is very promising"
Freshman Shelby Thompson shot a 74 and, after opening her round with a bogey, played her next nine holes 2-under to bounce back from a rough round on Monday.
Senior Torey Johnson finished the tournament strong, recovering from a double bogey on the 10th hole to play her final nine holes at 2-under. She took advantage of her last two par 5s, posting birdies on No. 12 and No. 17 to finish with a 75 (+3).
Freshman Bella Johnson was the Bucs' top finisher at 53rd overall. She shot a 77 on Tuesday and had two birdies on her round.
Senior Vanessa Jay started strong, opening 1-under through four holes. She shot a 79 (+7) in her final round, matching her best number of the tournament.
Senior Jordan Hollinshead shot an 81 to round out the scores for CSU. She had a stretch of 10 pars in 11 holes to post her best score at Oak Point in two rounds there in the event.
No. 37 Kent State won the event with a 298 (+10) on Tuesday at Cougar Point, edging out Penn. State by five strokes in the final round and 14 overall.
CSU returns to action March 10-11 at the North Florida Invitational in Jacksonville, Fla.
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