Middle Tennessee finishes second at Chris Banister Classic

GLENCOE, Ala. - The Middle Tennessee women's golf team opened the fall season with a second-place finish on Tuesday at the Chris Banister Golf Classic hosted by Jacksonville State.

"It was a good start to the season for us," head coach Chris Adams said. "We made a lot of birdies, so that's encouraging and shows a lot of promise. As a coach, though, you're greedy because you know what your team is capable of."

The Blue Raiders combined for a team score of 903 (+39) at the 54-hole tournament, with Ashley Haggard's 221 pacing MT. Haggard (+5) finished two strokes behind the leaders after carding a 73 on the final day.

"To only lose by two, Ashley was very close," Adams said. "We had contributions coming from different people, now we just need more consistency from the upperclassmen."

Texas State took home the team crown with a score of 879 (+15), while Lamar University (925, +61) rounded out the top three. Individual medalist honors went to Jacksonville State's Maya Parsons and Texas State's Valdis Jonsdottir (219, +3).

"Texas State is probably a top 30 or 40 program," Adams said. "They played well today and didn't really give us a chance."

Along with Haggard, Natalie Chrisopulos (229, +13) also cracked the top 10, finishing tied for ninth. Allie Knight registered her best score of the tournament on the final day, shooting a 73 to finish with a three-day total of 231 (+15) to tie for 13th. Emily Williams (231, +15) entered the final day of action at the top of the leaderboard, but struggled with an 85 on Tuesday, also tying for 13th. Olivia Love rounded out the team scoring with a 243 (+27) to tie for 27th.

Avery George and Haley Cothran played as individuals throughout the tournament. George recorded a 234 (+18) to tie for 16th, while Cothran shot a 236 (+30) to finish tied for 33rd.

The Blue Raiders will take a break from action this weekend before resuming play on Sept. 17-18 at the Dale McNamara Invitational in Tulsa, Okla.

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