GEORGETOWN, S.C. – Charleston Southern climbed three spots in the final round to finish fourth at the 2015 Big South Championships presented by Musco Lighting, which concluded on Wednesday at the DeBordieu Golf Club.
The field again played through adverse weather conditions Wednesday. Light rain started to fall around 8:50 a.m. before turning into showers at approximately 10:40 a.m. Play was interrupted shortly thereafter due to a 47-minute lightning delay, but resumed at 11:33 a.m. The rest of the round featured intermittent rain and windy conditions, leading to the higher scores.
CSU shot a team 317 to move out of a tie for seventh and into fourth on the day. The Buccaneers were the biggest mover in the tournament's final round.
"We had a solid comeback today to climb up to fourth," CSU head coach Matt Cram-Smith said. "We made some mistakes to cost ourselves second or third, but I'm proud of the way the girls battled back in horrible conditions. It was a really tough three days with seven weather delays. We're a young team and I think the future is very bright for this group."
Freshman Hayley McNeill had CSU's best round of the event with a 76 (+4) on Wednesday. She fired a 37 (+1) on her opening nine to tie for 12th. Sophomore Shelby Thompson and freshman Emelie Flink tied for 15th. Both shot an 80 (+8) on Wednesday.
Freshman Milleina Ohara had an 81 in her final round, and sophomore Bella Johnson tied for 34th with a 90 in her final round.
No. 1 seed Coastal Carolina posted the lowest team score of the day with a 313 and maintained its double-digit lead to win the event. The Championship was reduced to 36 holes following the wash out of Monday's opening round, and was the first 36-hole Big South Championship since 1998.
Campbell finished in sole possession of second-place with a 630 after posting a 316 on Wednesday. Radford, which opened the day in fourth-place, finished third -- the Highlanders' highest-ever finish in the Championship -- with a 638 (315-323). Gardner-Webb dropped from its tie for second after 18 holes to end in fifth-place with a 644. Longwood was sixth at 649 (325-324), while Winthrop and High Point tied for seventh-place at 653. Presbyterian College finished ninth at 700.
Coastal's Lena Schaeffner was crowned Championship Medalist after she finished with a 3-over par 147, just one stroke ahead of teammate Malene Krolboll Hansen. Both were tied for the lead after 15 holes. Schaeffner and Hansen, Radford's Larissa Carter, Campbell teammates Nadine White and Brooke Bellomy, Gardner-Webb's Sarah Bertram and Winthrop's Ashley Sloup all earned All-Championship Team honors for finishing in the top five.
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