CLEMSON, S.C. (August 26, 2024) – Senior golfer Jahnavi Prakhya was the highlight of the 2024 fall opener for the University of North Alabama women's golf team, as she led the Lions with a ninth-place finish in the two-round Tiger Classic at Clemson University on Monday.
Prakhya broke her own school record for the lowest two-round tournament score in program history, carding an even 144 with a two-under-par 70 score in the first round and a two-over par 74 in the final round to finish tied for ninth. The previous record was set by Prakhya in both 2022 and 2023 at two-over par 146.
The lowest two-round score for a three-round tournament still belongs to Jackie Klemm, who shot rounds of 71 and 69 in the first two rounds of the Bobby Nichols Intercollegiate on March 13, 2023.
As a team, the Lions finished in the top half of the field. UNA tied for eighth place alongside UNC Asheville, starting strong in sixth place at 11-over par 299. The Lions finished the second round at 15-over-par 303 to drop two spots. UNA placed ahead of Troy, Appalachian State, Atlantic Sun Conference foe Jacksonville, USC Upstate, Western Carolina, Gardner-Webb and Presbyterian.
"The team showed promise today," said UNA head coach Neil Self. "It's never good when we lose ground down the closing stretch, but today showed me we have added effective depth with the newcomers. I believe we can build ourselves into a strong team. Jahnavi's ninth place finish in that field was certainly one of her best performances yet, and she battled hard for it."
True freshman Olivia Whittle was one of those emerging newcomers in the field. The English golfer finished in the top half of the field with a seven-over-par 151 in her collegiate debut.
Senior Hannah Dees was third on the Lions with a 153, followed by sophomore Gracee Prince with a 154 and true freshman Sirichaya Chanpen with a 159.
Georgia Southern won the team championship with an impressive 17-under-par 559 performance, beating second place Campbell by 13 strokes and third place Clemson by 18 strokes on its own course. GSU's Louise Reau was the individual medalist at seven-under-par 137.
The Lions are back in action on Sept. 16-17 at the Hoover Invitational hosted by UAB. The event will take place at the Hoover Country Club. This marks UNA's third straight season at this tournament.
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