Brie Mapanao Wins, WCU Finishes Fourth at Terrier Intercollegiate

Spartanburg, S.C. – Western Carolina sophomore Brie Mapanao fired a final-round 2-under par 70 on Tuesday in winning individual medalist honors at the fall-concluding Terrier Intercollegiate held at the par-72, 6,056-yard Carolina Country Club. The Catamounts closed the semester with a fourth-place showing, posting a three-round score of 910.

Mapanao claimed her first career victory on the strength of the second-best 54-hole score of her two-year career as a Catamount. The Quakers Hill, New South Wales, Australia, product rallied back from a first-round 4-over par 76 in Monday’s opening 18 holes to shoot a career-low 6-under par 66 to climb 19 positions to sit perched in the runner-up position through 36 holes, six strokes off the pace.

Opening her final round on the front nine, Mapanao made the turn for home at 1-under par after eight pars and a birdie on the par-4 ninth. On the back, the second-year striker countered a pair of bogeys with a trio of birdies to finish in at 1-under for 2-under par for the day.

All told, Mapanao was tied for first with 13 total birdies, adding 33 pars to rank second on the WCU squad. She additionally paced the field on par 5 scoring at 5-under (4.58) on the longest layouts, while finishing tied for first on par 4 scoring by shooting even (4.00).

Mapanao edged second-round leader Constanca Mendonca of Winthrop by three strokes, 212-to-215, and carried a five-stroke edge over third-place Gittle Sciolis (217) from Tennessee Tech.

Elon overtook second-round leader Samford to claim the team championship by three strokes, 894-to-897 on Tuesday. USC Upstate came home third with a score of 904, followed by WCU (910) and Tennessee Tech (919) rounding out the top five teams.

For the Catamounts, fifth-year senior Victora Ladd slipped two positions over the final 18 holes to come home tied for 17th at 229. The Greensboro, N.C., product charted two of her seven tournament birdies in the final round, but back-to-back double-bogeys among her final four holes relegated her to the 6-over par final round.

Redshirt junior Kayleigh Baker finished with a final-round score of 81 for a two-day mark of 233, tied for 29th overall. The St. Augustine, Fla., native was even at the turn for home with a birdie on the par-5 fourth and bogey on the par-5 sixth. However, Baker was saddled with six bogeys and a costly triple-bogey as the back nine was unkind to conclude the event.

Rounding out WCU’s scoring five was junior Elizabeth Lohbauer in 43rd overall at 237 and classmate Kaitlyn Wingnean in a tie for 59th at 246. Lohbauer fell 19 spots from a Top 25 position entering the final round but capped the event with her seventh birdie on the 54th hole. Wingnean dropped outside the Top 50 with a quintuple bogey on the par-4 17th that relegated her from 6-over par for the round to plus-11 and 83.

A late scratch from the Catamount scoring five due to illness on Monday morning, sophomore Sadler Miller finished tied for 21st overall while playing unattached as an individual. Miller capped her three-rounds with a 6-over par 78 for a 54-hole score of 230, posting five total birdies.

With four Top 10 finishes including a trio among the Top Five in the fall semester, Western Carolina now turns its attention to the five-event spring semester with the chance of adding a sixth tournament to replace the canceled event in Greensboro earlier this year. Spring opens with WCU looking to build upon its runner-up team finish in the Oyster Shuck Match Play in Charleston, S.C., Feb. 12-13. The spring also includes an early March trip to Humacao, Puerto Rico, and a title defense at the Mimosa Hills Intercollegiate in Morganton.

The 2023-24 semester culminates with the 2024 Southern Conference Women’s Golf Championship on April 14-16 at the Moss Creek Golf Course in Hilton Head Island, S.C.

Keep track of everything related to Catamount women's golf and WCU Athletics through its social media outlets on Facebook (fb.com/catamountsports), Instagram (@wcu_catamounts), and Twitter (@catamounts, @CatamountWGolf).

4 – Western Carolina – 308 – 290 – 312 = 910 (+46)

1 – Brie Mapanao – 76-66-70 = 212 (-4)

T17 – Victoria Ladd – 76-75-78 = 229 (+13)

T29 – Kayleigh Baker – 77-75-81 = 233 (+17)

43 – Elizabeth Lohbauer – 79-74-84 = 237 (+21)

T59 – Kaitlyn Wingnean – 86-77-83 = 246 (+30)

T21 – Sadler Miller (ind.) – 73-79-78 = 230 (+14)