ATLANTA – Playing at the historic East Lake Golf Club (Par 72, 6,240 yards), the Auburn women's golf team shot a 295 (+7) on Monday in the first and only round of stroke play for this year's East Lake Cup. The Tigers, who placed fourth overall, will now take on the top seed Duke in match play as a part of Tuesday's semifinal matches.
Auburn was led by sophomore Brooke Sansom, who birdied two of the first three holes and finished with four birdies on the day as she shot a 72 (E) for the round. Sansom closed out the stroke-play portion in a tie for 6th, three shots off the lead.
"I'm feeling pretty confident," Sansom said. "I feel like this course really sets up well for my game. I'm a pretty good putter so I feel like I still have a lot of putts out there that I need to make."
Junior Mychael O'Berry also cracked the top 10 on the leaderboard after shooting a 73 (+1) that included a strong finish on the back nine with a pair of birdies.
Fellow junior Kaleigh Telfer and freshman Megan Schofill also closed strong with a birdie on 18. It was the third birdie on the back nine for Telfer, and it was the fourth birdie on the day for Schofill. Both golfers finished in a tie for 12th overall at 3 over.
"Our No. 4 (Sansom) and No. 5 (O'Berry) player played very solid," Auburn head coach Melissa Luellen said. "Really fought all the way until the end. Our No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 players didn't fare quite so well, but I like the fact that Kaleigh Telfer played pretty poorly on the front nine and made three birdies on the back. She got a little more confidence down the stretch at the end."
Rounding out the Auburn contingent was junior Julie McCarthy, who wrapped up stroke play in a tie for 19th after carding a 79 (+7) in Monday's round.
Now it's on to match play where the Tigers are excited for the challenge.
"We knew that we wanted to play well today and we didn't really play great, but it all changes in match play," Luellen said. "I don't think there's ever a favorite. We have some good film, knocking off the top seed last year at nationals, so we're not afraid."
The two semifinal matchups on the women's side will be Auburn-Duke and Arizona-Wake Forest. The two winners will then advance to play in Wednesday's final.
The Tigers and Blue Devils will be first to tee off at 10:05 a.m. CT. You can watch live on Golf Channel, beginning at 2 p.m. CT. Live scoring can also be found on Golfstat.com.
Team Standings
1. Duke -- 286 (-2)
2. Arizona -- 288 (E)
3. Wake Forest -- 292 (+4)
4. Auburn -- 295 (+7)
Auburn Individuals
T6. Brooke Sansom -- 72 (E)
10. Mychael O'Berry -- 73 (+1)
T12. Megan Schofill -- 75 (+3)
T12. Kaleigh Telfer -- 75 (+3)
T19. Julie McCarthy -- 79 (+7)