KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. – Charleston Southern's Hayley McNeill and Andriel Aimua both sit in the top-25 and the Bucs are tied for 11th as a team following a strong opening round Sunday at the Edwin Watts/Kiawah Island Spring Classic.
CSU posted a +9 297 as a team at Osprey Point Golf Club and is tied with Georgetown, just one stroke out of a tie for ninth and nine behind host and clubhouse leader College of Charleston in the 43-team field. McNeill was one of 24 competitors in the 218-player field to post a round of even par or better. She carded an even par 72 and is tied for 11th, just three shots of a four-way tie for first. Aimua fired a 73, her best round as a Buc, and is tied for 25th at +1.
Jacksonville State's Valentina Giraldo, Stephen F. Austin's Alexandra Batista, North Florida's Teresa Conroy and William & Mary's Allison Olberdiing all recorded three-under 69's to tie for the lead. A group of ten players is one shot off the pace.
CSU head coach Matt Cram-Smith was pleased with the effort of his squad. Emelie Flink (T-83rd) and Milleina Ohara (T-83rd) both recorded 76's for the Bucs' other counted scores.
"It was a nice start to the tournament today for our ladies," Cram-Smith said. "There were a lot of positives out there to keep building on, for sure. Andriel had her lowest score as a Buc so really proud of her. Hayley was very steady and looked in control all day. It could've been a really good day with a bit of luck but I'm definitely happy with the composure our team showed."
McNeill played her final five holes at -1 to finish strong and recover from a stretch of three bogeys in four holes. She had four pars in that closing surge and dropped home a birdie putt at the par-four ninth.
Aimua posted three birdies on the front nine and played steady golf late in the day, going -1 over her final seven holes.
All teams will tee off Monday's second round at 8:45 a.m. Live stats are available on Golfstat.com.
