ASHEBORO, N.C. – Alina Shchepteva, Puneet Bajwa, and Barbara Car each finished in the Top 10 and Old Dominion women’s golf placed second at the Tot Hill Farm Invitational on Monday afternoon in Asheboro, North Carolina.
Originally scheduled for 54 holes on Monday and Tuesday, the tournament was moved up a day and shortened to 36 holes due to inclement weather expected in the area from Tropical Storm Imelda.
For the Monarchs, Shchepteva and Bajwa both tied for third with a pair of two-over par 146s. Shchepteva recorded an opening round of 72 on Sunday and followed it up with a second round of 74 on Monday. Bajwa, named the Sun Belt Women’s Golfer of the Week last Friday, turned in a pair of 73s on both days. Car was one stroke back of the duo and tied for sixth at three-over 147 after hitting a 71 in the first round and a 76 in the second. Mariana Arronte posted a 71 and an 80 to tie for 17th at seven-over 151, and Ludovica Girola finished tied for 55th at 20-over 164 after shooting a 79 and an 85.
ODU sat in first place through 15 holes on Sunday, but the round was suspended due to darkness. The 13-team field resumed play on Monday morning before continuing into the second round. The Monarchs combined for a one-under 287 to start off the Invitational and added a 15-over 303 to finish at 14-over 590.
That was five strokes back of tournament host Charleston, which won the team title with a two-day total of nine-over 585. Coastal Carolina rounded out the top three with a 23-over par 599. CCU’s Carla Bourdeaux earned individual medalist honors after shooting a three-under 141, CofC’s Emilie Von Finckenstein was the runner-up at one-over 145, and her teammate Adrian Anderson was tied alongside Shchepteva and Bajwa at 146.
“Our team really enjoyed having the opportunity to be in contention to win the golf tournament,” said ODU head coach Mallory Kane. “We wish we could have played 54 holes because we think we could have finished on top of the leaderboard. This experience gives us a lot of confidence as we head into the hosting the Evie Odom Invitational in two weeks.”
Old Dominion will host the Fifth annual Evie Odom Invitational on Oct. 16-18 at Princess Anne Country Club in Virginia Beach.
Team Results
- Charleston (297-288 – 585) +9
- Old Dominion (287-303 – 590) +14
- Coastal Carolina (294-305 – 599) +23
- Wofford (299-303 – 602) +26
- East Carolina (305-302 – 607) +31
- Presbyterian (305-309 – 614) +38
- Radford (307-308 – 615) +39
- Elon (302-314 – 616) +40
- Eastern Kentucky (314-307 – 621) +45
- Western Carolina (323-311 – 634) +58
- Gardner-Webb (324-311 – 635) +59
- North Carolina A&T (331-326 – 657) +81
- Queens (333-333 – 666) +90
ODU Lineup
T3. Alina Shchepteva (72-74 –146) +2
T3. Puneet Bajwa (73-73 – 146) +2
T6. Barbara Car (71-76 – 147) +3
T17. Mariana Arronte (71-80 – 151) +7
T55. Ludovica Girola (79-85 – 164) +20