WCU Women’s Golf Comes Home Sixth at Georgia State Invitational

Fifth-year senior Madison Isaacson and true freshman Brie Mapanao carded their best rounds of the tournament on Tuesday, both placing in a tie for 14th to lead Western Carolina women’s golf to a sixth-place finish as play concluded in the Georgia State Invitational held at the par-72, 6,170-yard Rivermont Golf Club.

Isaacson posted WCU’s best round of the tournament with a 1-under par 71 over the final 18 holes while Mapanao shot 1-over par 73 to lead the Catamounts, finishing amidst a five-way tie for 14th in the final individual standings. As a team, WCU’s 54-hole score of 891 is tied for the fourth-best this season – and matches the fifth-best, three-round score in program history that was carded earlier this spring at the RiverTowne Invitational. The sixth-place showing represented the eighth Top 10 finish by the Catamounts this season.

Tuesday included teams finishing the second round which was halted by darkness on Monday evening before starting the final 18 holes of competition.

Opening on the par-5 second, Isaacson climbed seven spots in the final standings Tuesday with a 1-under par round of 71. With a pair of birdies and one bogey, the Greensboro, N.C., product moved to the back nine with 10 holes to play at 1-under par. A bogey on the par-5 sixth relegated her to even par before she earned the stroke back with a third birdie on the par-4 11th. Isaacson played her final eight holes of the round at even-par to shoot 71 and finish with a three-round score of 221.

Isaacson was one of just three golfers in the field to card an eagle during competition, doing so on the par-4 Hole No. 11 in Monday’s first round.

WCU’s leader through 36 holes, Mapanao maintained her position in the 14th-place tie with a final score of 1-over par 73 – a stroke better than the matching 74’s shot over the opening 36 holes. Mapanao countered three bogeys with a pair of birdies to make the turn to home at 1-over par. A fourth bogey left her at 2-over with two holes to play, but the Australia product birdied her 54th hole to provide her final score.

Mapanao and Isaacson both finished with a team-high six birdies apiece.

Sophomore Elizabeth Lohbauer slid three spots on Tuesday, matching her second-round score with a final-round 2-over par 74. Even through nine after nine-straight pars, Lohbauer moved to 1-under with her lone birdie on the par-4 11th. Three-consecutive bogeys between holes No. 14 and 16 relegated her to the 2-over round and a final tournament score of 225.

Rounding out WCU’s scoring five were senior Victoria Ladd, down six positions into a tie for 36th overall, and sophomore Kaitlyn Wingnean up four spots into a tie for 46th overall at 230. Ladd finished fourth in the field with 40 pars over the 54-hole tournament including 14 in Tuesday’s final round. Wingnean charted her fourth birdie of the event on Tuesday against four bogeys to shoot a 3-over par 75.

As a team, WCU finished tied for the tournament lead with 185 pars.

Playing as an individual, redshirt sophomore Kayleigh Baker saved her best for last on Tuesday, knocking four strokes off her second-round score and improving by seven over her opening-round tally with a 4-over par final-round score of 76. Baker finished tied for 77th overall with a three-round score of 239, advancing five spots over the last 18 holes by carding two of her four birdies at the event.

Second-round leader Lipscomb held off Charlotte over the final 18 holes to claim the team championship by four strokes, 867-to-871. Troy advanced into third at 883 with host Georgia State (884) and Boston College (885) – a big gainer in the second round – finishing out the Top Five. WCU (891) was six strokes in arrears of Boston College in sixth and three strokes up on seventh-place Charleston Southern (894).

Stephany Kim of Boston College claimed medalist honors by a stroke over a four-way tie for the runner-up position with a two-day score of 214. Charlotte’s Maria Samuelsson vaulted 18 spots into the second-place tie with a final-round score of 66, matching Lipscomb’s Lauren Thompson and Mia Seeman, and Ginevrea Ricciardelli of Seton Hall at 1-under par, 215.

Western Carolina returns to action for its final tune-up event before the Southern Conference Women’s Golf Championship (April 16-18), traveling to Morganton, N.C., for the Mimosa Hills Intercollegiate on April 3-4 in the penultimate competition of the season. The Catamounts finished 4th in the event hosted by mountain-rival Appalachian State a season ago.

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6 – Western Carolina – 299 – 299 – 293 = 891 (+27)

T14 – Brielle Mapanao (2) – 74 – 74 – 73 = 221 (+5)

T14 – Madison Isaacson (3) – 75 – 75 – 71 = 221 (+5)

T28 – Elizabeth Lohbauer (1) – 77 – 74 – 74 = 225 (+9)

T36 – Victoria Ladd (4) – 76 – 76 – 76 = 228 (+12)

T46 – Kaitlyn Wingnean (5) – 74 – 81 – 75 = 230 (+14)

T77 – Kayleigh Baker (ind.) – 83 – 80 – 76 = 239 (+23)