Falcons In First Place After First 36 Holes At KZoo Classic

Monday, October 2

Portage, MI

All Day

Bowling Green State University

KZoo Classic

October 02, 2017 | Women's Golf

By: by James Nahikian, BGSU Athletic Communications

Round 1 Statistics
Round 2 Statistics

PORTAGE, Mich. – The Bowling Green State University women's golf program, after two rounds of play today (Oct. 2), will head into the final round at the KZoo Classic tomorrow morning with a 17-shot lead on the six-school leaderboard. BGSU shot scores of 305 and 296 to sit in first place following 36 holes of play.

BGSU's round-two 296 is a season low, and ranks tied for sixth best in school history for 18 holes. Bowling Green's 601 is ahead of the five other schools, which includes four MAC schools. Western Michigan (618) and Central Michigan (621) round out the top three. BGSU's 601 ranks third best for 36 holes in program history.

Additionally, a pair of Falcons lead the way on the individual leaderboard. Erin Fahey carded scores of 75 and 71 to sit in first place with a 146 (+2). Freshman Nichole Cox scored a 74 and 73 to sit in second place with a 147 (+3). Cox is two shots ahead of the next closest competitor.

"I am so proud of the team for their overall performance today," said head coach Stephanie Young. "It was a total team effort. We are focused on finishing strong tomorrow."

TEAM LEADERBOARD
1. Bowling Green (305, 296 – 601, +25)
2. Western Michigan (307, 311 – 618, +42)
3. Central Michigan (310, 311 – 621, +45)
4. Ohio University (315, 315 – 630, +54)
5. Eastern Michigan (323, 314 – 637, +61)
6. Wisconsin-Green Bay (324, 323 – 647, +71)

BY THE NUMBERS
1: Erin Fahey (75, 71, +2)
2: Nichole Cox (74, 73 +3)
T11: Sammi Blackburn (79, 76, +11)
15: Julia Durkin (77, 81 +14)
T16: Madelynn Swank (84, 76, +16)
T29: Sarah Kern (84, 86, +26)

FALCON FACTS
* Erin Fahey leads the individual leaderboard with a 146 (75, 71, +2). Fahey will enter tomorrow's final round in search of her first-career win.
* Fahey scored five birdies in the second round, and sits tied for second in the tournament with a total of six birdies.
* Fahey entered this season with a career low of 72. With her round-two 71, she now has three scores on the season below 72.
* Nichole Cox sits in second place with a 145 (74, 73 +3), as she's just one stroke behind Erin Fahey.
* Cox's 73 and 74 are the second and third best 18-hole scores of her young career, only behind the historic 70 she carded this season at the Redbird Invitational.
* Cox carded three birdies in the first round, while totaling two more in the second round.
* Sammi Blackburn is off to a great start, sitting tied for 11th with a 155 (79, 76, +11).
* Blackburn set a career low with her round-two 76.
* Blackburn, through the first three tournaments of her career, had never had a tournament with two 18-hole scores in the 70's. She's already accomplished that with another round to go.
* Julia Durkin continued her strong season with a 158 (77, 81, +14). She sits in 15th place.
* Durkin entered this season with a career low of 77. With her round-one 77, she now has four scores on the season of at least 77.
* Durkin posted three birdies in the second round, after carding one birdie in the first round.
* Madelynn Swank made her season debut on the day, and enters the final 18 holes tied for 16th with a 160 (84, 76, +16).
* Swank's round-two 76 is tied for the second best 18-hole score of her career, and is her best score since shooting a 75 on Sept. 14, 2014.
* Swank's first birdie of the season came on the par four No. 1 in the first round.
* Sarah Kern competed as an individual for the Falcons.
* Kern carded a 170 (84, 86, +26) on the day to finish tied for 29th.
* Kern posted registered a two on her scorecard today, as she birdied the par three No. 15 in the first round.

TEAM TIDBITS
* The Falcons own the 36-hole lead, as BGSU leads Western Michigan by 17 strokes.
* Heading into the final 18 holes of play, BGSU will be in search of its first team victory since the 2016 Snowman Classic.
* BGSU's 601, while being the third best 36-hole score in program history, is just five strokes off the program's 36-hole low.
* Bowling Green's round-two 296 is tied for the sixth best 18-hole score in program history.
* BGSU's round-one 305 was its third best 18-hole score of the season, and now ranks fourth following the Falcons' round-two 296.
* Bowling Green leads the field with 22 birdies after 36 holes.
* Bowling Green will set its 54-hole season low tomorrow with any score below 320.

UP NEXT
* The Falcons will conclude play at the KZoo Classic tomorrow with the final 18 holes of play.
* Round 3 is slated to tee-off at 9 a.m. with a shotgun start.