COVINGTON, Tenn. - On a day of high winds and soaring scores, Lyon College golfer Kyle Raberding settled in with the second-best men's score of the day - shooting a 4-over-par 76 - to improve 10 places and finish in a four-way tie for sixth at the Freed-Hardeman Fall Invitational at the Covington Country Club on Tuesday.
In fact, the Lyon College men's squad was the only team that improved its overall score after the teams played in a steady downpour on Monday. Despite improving by 11 strokes over their first-day score of 336, the Scots still finished in fourth place, shooting a two-day total of 661, 93 strokes over par.
Host Freed-Hardeman University won the men's competition with a 46-over-par 614. Martin Methodist College was second with a 50-over-par 618, while Christian Brothers University was third with a 635.
The Lyon women's team didn't fair as well, as Kaitlyn Duncan, who was tied for second after the opening round with a seven-over-par 79, saw the wind 'blow' her second-day score off 10 shots as she posted an 89, to finish with a two-day total of 168, putting her in a tie for sixth overall.
Freed-Hardeman won the overall women's competition as well, posting an 87-over-par 663. Bethel College was second with a 697 and Trevecca Nazarene University posted the third-best score of 706. Union University was fourth with a 728 and Martin Methodist placed fifth, 15 strokes ahead of Lyon with a 736.Lyon College head golf coach Julie Church said her players were able to see various adverse conditions during the two-day affair, but was pleased to see the improvement in her No.1 men single's player.
"It was good to see Kyle play like I knew he was capable of," Church said after the tourney. "I think he improved his score on the second day because he simply just was more consistent. He grew up playing in Oklahoma, where they have a lot of wind; maybe that helped him today, I don't know. But he pared the most holes (23 of 36) of any of the players and it paid off for him.
In the men's competition, Raberding finished the tourney with a 14-over-par 156, while Zack Morton of Freed-Hardeman took top honors overall with a 10-over-par 152. Lyon's Connor Pond struggled on the second day, falling from his fourth spot after shooting an opening-round 75, to an 83 to finish in 10th place overall. He posted a 16-over-par 158 for the tourney.
In the women's competition, Duncan shot a two-day total of 168, finishing 24 strokes over par. Mikayla Dodson of Freed-Hardeman won the individual competition with a 12-over-par 156.
Lyon's Bobie Jo Cooper tied for 22nd in the large women's field, shooting a 93 on the second day for a two-day total of 187. Emily Johnson also struggled on Day 2 of the tourney, falling from a first-round 89 to a 100, to tie for 24th with a 189. Laura Winters shot a 104 on the second day after posting a 103 in the opening round, to place 29th with a 207 and Claire Schuschke posted a two-day total of 226 for the 33rd spot.
FREED-HARDEMAN FALL INVITATIONAL
at Covington Country Club, Covington, Tenn.
TEAM RESULTS
Men's Scores
1. Freed-Hardeman University (301-313=614 +46 over par)
2. Martin Methodist College (304-314=618 +50 over par)
3. Christian Brothers U. (314-321=635 +67 over par)
4. Lyon College (336-325=661 +93 over par)
Women's Scores
1. Freed Hardeman University (323-340=663 +87 over par)
2. Bethel College (349-348=697 +121 over par)
3. Trevecca Nazarene University (351-355=706 +130 over par)
4. Union University (369-359=728 +152 over par)
5. Martin Methodist College (372-364=736 +160 over par)
6. Lyon College (365-386=751 +175 over par)
Lyon Individual Scores
Men
6t. Kyle Raberding (80-76=156)
10. Connor Pond (75-83=158)
20, Nathan Whitlow (90-82=172)
21. Bret Bloodworth (91-84=175)
Women
6t. Kaitlyn Duncan (79-89=168)
22t. Bobie Jo Cooper (94-93=187)
24t. Emily Johnson (89-100=189)
29. Laura Winters (103-104=207)
33. Claire Schuschke (111-115=226)
