AIKEN, S.C. – No. 18 Women’s golf completed its first day of match play competition this season on Monday at the Old Barnwell Match Play at Old Barnwell Golf Club in Aiken, South Carolina. The Tigers dropped its first match to Wake Forest 3-2-0 and its second match to Mississippi State by the same score.
“We actually played pretty good golf in both matches and pretty heartbroken to lose both,” said Auburn head coach Melissa Luellen. “There are a lot of bright spots to see. Anna Davis was back in form, Rachel (Gourley) played some really solid golf with great ball striking, Carys (Worby) was tough down the stretch and got unlucky when her ball ended up in a bad divot while her opponent hit it to a foot. Balma (Dávalos) is a great competitor as she didn’t have her best stuff but won both matches. Katie (Cranston) played solid as well. Just match play. Great experience for the upcoming SEC Championship.”
In the first match of the day, sophomore Anna Davis secured a 3&2 victory over Sky Sload. Davis took a 2-up lead through two holes and never lost the lead through the entirety of the match. Auburn’s other win in the morning match came from freshman Balma Dávalos. Dávalos fell 2-down to Chloe Kovelesky through five holes, but came back to tie the match with wins on No. 15 and No. 18. The Auburn freshman won two consecutive holes on No. 6 and No. 7 to guide her to a 2-up victory.
The afternoon match against Mississippi State came down to the final hole. Dávalos was the first Tiger to finish her match, a 4&2 win over Avery Weed. Dávalos started the match 1-down after the first hole, but carded four wins to take a 3-up lead with eight holes to play. Weed fought back with a win on No. 4, but the Auburn freshman finished the match with wins on No. 6 and No. 7 to finish the match.
Davis’ match against Ana Pina Ortega required an extra hole to declare a winner. Pina Ortega made the turn with a 1-up lead before Davis won three straight holes to begin the second nine. The two ultimately finished 18 holes all-square, but Davis won on the first extra hole to win the match 1-up.
Both Carys Worby and Katie Cranston’s matches were forced to play the final hole, but both fell 1-down. Rachel Gourley’s match against Samantha Whateley remained tied most of the round. Gourley won No. 8, the second-to-last hole of the round, to tie the match and ultimately be decided in extra holes. Whateley won on the first extra hole to take the match 1-up.
On Tuesday, Auburn will face Ole Miss in the final match of the event. Live scoring of the match will be available online at GolfStat.com.