HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. (April 14, 2024) – With four Buccaneers sitting inside the top 10, the ETSU women's golf team holds the first-round lead at the Southern Conference Championship, which got underway Sunday at Moss Creek Golf Club.
 
The Bucs, who enjoyed a wire-to-wire win at this same course last month, kept the streak going as the Blue & Gold carded a 5-over-par 293 to hold a two-shot advantage over two-time defending champion Furman. ETSU led the field in par-4 (4.14) and par-5 (4.95) scoring, while totaling the most pars (60) on day one. To go with the pars, the Bucs also registered 10 birdies – the third-most among the nine-team field.
 
Furman shot a 7-over 295 on Sunday, while Samford sits in third at 14-over-par 302.
 
Grace Chin, Sophie Bert, Brianna Castaldi and Alex Crafton all sit inside the top 10 for the Blue & Gold. Chin is tied for second at even-par 72, Bert is in solo sixth at 1-over 73 and Castaldi and Crafton are tied for seventh at 2-over 74.
 
Chin totaled 14 pars, two birdies and two bogeys over her first 18 holes of the championship, while Bert and Crafton led the Bucs with three birdies each.
 
Furman's Anna Morgan, the reigning champion, is the 18-hole leader at 2-under 70.
 
ETSU will be grouped with Furman and Samford in Monday's second round. The Bucs tee off starting at 10:10 a.m.
 
Fans can follow live scoring via Golfstat.com.
 
For more information on Buccaneer women's golf, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the women's golf page.