Mercer Records Best Finish at SoCon Championships

Sunday, April 15

Hilton Head, S.C.

TBA

Mercer University

SoCon Championships

Photo by: Gerrit Van Genderen

Mercer Records Best Finish at SoCon Championships

4/17/2018 3:43:00 PM | Women's Golf

Final Results (PDF)Photos

Bears earn their highest finish at SoCon Championships; Schanen ties for third

By: Gerrit W. Van Genderen

HILTON HEAD, S.C. – Mercer placed third overall and secured its best finish at the Southern Conference Championships after shooting 306 in the final round Tuesday at Moss Creek Golf Club.

The Bears (+67) finished the 54-hole tournament tied with Chattanooga for second place, but a tiebreaker gave the runner-up recognition to the Mocs. Payton Schanen (+11) tied for third place to clinch Mercer's best individual finish at the SoCon Championships while two other top-10 performances helped lead the way for the Bears.

It was the first time Mercer has placed three golfers in the top-10 at the SoCon Championships. All five Bears placed inside the top-22 as well. The Bears had not finished better than fourth in the team standings since joining the SoCon in 2015.

Schanen and Hannah Mae Deems (+17) – who tied for ninth place with teammate Terese Romeo – both solidified their second top-10 finishes at the SoCon Championships. Schanen placed eighth in 2016 while Deems claimed ninth a year ago.

The tiebreaker is determined by team scores in round three; Mercer and Chattanooga both shot 306 on the final round, which pushed the tiebreaker to team scores in round two. Chattanooga shot 317 to Mercer's 318 in round two, therefore giving the Mocs second place.

Mercer Scorecard

T-2	Mercer	307	318	306	+67	931
T-3	Payton Schanen	73	81	73	+11	227
T-9	Terese Romeo	79	78	76	+17	233
T-9	Hannah Mae Deems	78	76	79	+17	233
T-19	Mary Augusta Janiga	78	83	79	+24	240
T-22	Karina Kukkonen	78	86	78	+26	242

Team Standings

Furman (+33, 897)
Chattanooga * (+67, 931) (won tiebreaker over Mercer)
Mercer (+67, 931)
Samford (+88, 952)
UNCG (+100, 964)
ETSU (+101, 965)
Wofford (+115, 979)
The Citadel (+175, 1039)
Western Carolina (+200, 1064)

Mercer on Team Leaderboard
Mercer's third-place finish on the tiebreaker was its best finish in a conference tournament since placing third in the 2014 ASUN Championships. The Bears were 21 strokes better than fourth-place Samford while four-time champion Furman ran away with the team championship at 33-over-par.

Mercer on Individual Leaderboard
Schanen was sharp early on Tuesday, notching birdies on No. 3, 4, 8 and 11 to sit at three-under-par through 11 holes played. Despite a bogey on No. 12, Schanen was just one shot off of eventual individual champion Reona Hirai (Furman) through 12 holes played. Another bogey on par-four No. 13 and double-bogey on par-three No. 15 pushed her back into the tie for third.

Romeo, who earned her first top-10 finish at the SoCon Championships, birdied par-three No. 17 to finish four-over-par for the final 18 holes and crack a tie for ninth. Deems, meanwhile, earned her second top-10 finish in a conference tournament behind birdies on No. 8 and 12 and shot six-over-par on Tuesday.

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