DESTIN, Fla. – University of Arkansas - Fort Smith Women's Golf rallied from a tie for 11th after round one to finish third Tuesday at the Emerald Coast Classic at Baytowne Golf Club.
UAFS shot a 316 (+32) in the opening round in windy conditions, a round that had to be postponed and finished Monday. The Lions roared six spots up the leaderboard in round two with a 296 (+12) and capped the tournament with their best round with a 292 (+8).
The 292 was the second lowest round of the entire event, bested only by a 291 by tournament winner Henderson State, also in the final round.
UAFS led the tournament in par-5 scoring and tied for the second-most pars with 166. The 17-team field featured nine ranked teams.
Sidney Stramel led the Lions by tying for fifth with a 222 (+9). She struggled in round one with a 79 (+8), but had the second lowest score over the final two rounds with a 143. She carded an even-par 71 in round two and finished with a one-over 72 in the final round.
Stramel led the Lions with 38 pars and totaled four birdies over the three rounds.
"I am so proud of these girls for their grit and perseverance this week," Stramel said. "To improve upon each round and climb the leaderboard to third is exciting. We're ready to get back to work and use this momentum to make a run the rest of the season!"
Sydney Williams also shot a 79 in the opening round, but bounced back to shoot 74 (+3) and 73 (+2) in rounds two and three to earn a top-20 with a 19th-place finish. Williams recorded a team-high five birdies for the Lions.
Simone Campise tied for 22nd with a 229 (+16) while Rachel Hicks tied for 25th with a 230 (+17), improving in each of her subsequent rounds.
Marvelyn Kartika rounded out the lineup by tying for 57th with a 242 (+29).
Up next for the Lions is the RJGA Palm Valley Classic at Palm Valley Golf Course March 31-April 1 in Phoenix, Arizona.
