The Chattanooga Mocs are in the hunt again in 2023-24. This week they lurk near the top of the leaderboard at the Colleton River Collegiate. The Mocs are 17 under with play suspended in round two due to darkness.
The squad opened with 283 and followed with a 12 under tally through 15-16 holes which ranked best in the field. They’re tied with Missouri and Minnesota in second behind Georgia Southern (-25).
John Houk is tied for fifth at 7 under. That’s four better than Ward Harris’ 3 under over 33 holes Monday. Paul Conroy and Dalton Chuba are one stroke behind him at 2 under as Carson Johnson slides in at even. Braedon Wear is 3 over playing as an individual.
Conroy led the way in the morning round with 69. Harris (70) and Houk (71) also broke par. Johnson carded 73 to complete the team score, while Dalton Chuba’s 74 was the drop score.
Houk shot up the leaderboard in round two. He’s 6 under with two holes to complete in the morning. Chuba was also on fire at 4 under, as Harris and Johnson each sit at 1 under. Conroy is 1 over.
The field returns in the morning to finish their final holes before heading right into the final round. It broadcasts on GKLive.TV at the link above.
Colleton River Collegiate
Mar. 4-5 (Mon-Tue) | Bluffton, S.C.
Colleton River Club (Nicklaus) | Par 72 | 7,041 yards | 54 holes (36/18)
Lineup
T2nd of 14: 283-(-12)=-17 (15-16)
T5) John Houk: 71-(-6)=-7 (16)
T19) Ward Harris: 70-(-1)=-3 (15)
T26) Paul Conroy: 69-(+1)=-2 (15)
T26) Dalton Chuba: 74-(-4)=-2 (15)
T43) Carson Johnson: 73-(-1)=E (15)
T64) Braedon Wear (Ind): 73-(+2)=+3 (13)
Field (Top 100 ranking)
(36) Chattanooga, (62) Cincinnati, Georgia Southern, Howard, (46) Indiana, (96) Iowa State, (61) Kansas State, Memphis, Michigan State, (56) Middle Tennessee, (86) Minnesota, (34) Missouri, Penn State & (87) Rutgers
Chattanooga Women Tied For Second
The Chattanooga Mocs got off to a strong start at the UNF Collegiate Monday before darkness suspended play late in round two. The Mocs are tied for second at 1 under with 2-4 holes remaining for their quintet.
The ladies opened with a season-best 290 (+2) at Jacksonville Golf & Country Club. They got it going even better over the 14-16 holes played in round two sitting at 3 under for the round and 1 under overall. Chattanooga is tied for second with host North Florida, seven behind the leader UTSA.
It was a consistent performance across the group for the opening 18. The freshmen duo of Giulia Foresta and Violeta Fernandez-Tagle had level-par 72s. That was one better than the trio of Makenzie Cooper, Nieves Martin and Kera Healey.
The freshman got hot. Foresta is 6 under through 15, while Fernandez-Tagle is 2 under with two to play. Cooper is next at 2 over through 15, while Martin sits at 3 over after 14. Healey also finished 14 holes at 4 over.
The Ospreys Christin Eisenbeiss is the leader at 11 under. Foresta is tied for fourth at 6 under with Fernandez-Tagle also in the top 10 tied for ninth at 2 under.
The field returns to the course in the morning to complete round two before a final 18 with ominous conditions in the forecast.
"Obviously, really pleased we finally threw out a good number in the first round," Coach Colette Murray said. "The freshman really got it going in the second round, and we need to finish that off strong and keep us in contention. The forecast for tomorrow isn't great but we are prepared for it."
UNF Collegiate
March 4-5 (M-T) | Jacksonville, Fla. | 54 holes (36/18)
Jacksonville G&CC | Par 72 | 6,015 yards
Lineup
T2nd of 18: 290-(-3)=-1 (14-16)
T4) Giulia Foresta: 72-(-6)=-6 (15)
T9) Violeta Fernandez-Tagle: 72-(-2)=-2 (16)
T37) Makenzie Cooper: 73-(+2)=+3 (15)
T45) Nieves Martin: 73-(+3)=+4 (14)
T55) Kera Healey: 73-(+4)=+5 (14)
Field (Top 100 ranking)
(78) Chattanooga, Arkansas State, Charlotte, ETSU, Eastern Kentucky, (87) Iowa, Jacksonville State, Kennesaw State, ULM, Memphis, (77) New Mexico State, (86) North Florida, (98) Old Dominion, (76) Sam Houston, South Alabama, (62) UTSA, (66) Western Kentucky & Xavier