FAYETTEVILLE — The Lady Raider golf team was back on the course for the second time this season Tuesday, battling the heat and five other Sandhills Athletic Conference opponents.
Richmond and head coach Keith Parsons traveled to Gates Four Golf and Country Club for a match hosted by Jack Britt High School. Although the Lady Raiders would finish fourth overall for the second week in a row, they would pick up 26 total strokes from Week 1.
Leading the way was Pinecrest High School, notching a season-best team score of 335 (13 strokes better than its Week 1 win). Jack Britt High School placed second with a score of 406, followed by Purnell Swett High School (437).
Richmond tallied a score of 458, closing the gap on the Lady Rams by 21 strokes from last week’s performance. Lumberton (516) and Scotland (523) high schools rounded out Tuesday’s performance.
Senior Hailey Miller posted a Lady Raider best score of 91 (+19) for the second time this season, notching a 45 (+9) and 46 (+10) on the front and back nine, respectively.
Making an improvement on the course was sophomore Kenleigh Frye, who shaved eight strokes off her score with a season-best 114 (+42). She got off to a slow start with a 61 (+29) on the first nine holes, but rallied to shoot a 53 (+17) on the back nine. In last week’s match at Pinehurst No. 5, Frye shot a 122.
Placing third for the Raiders was sophomore Kirsten McDonald, whose 122 (+50) was five strokes better than her first match of the year. She tallied a 66 (+30) on the front before improving by 10 strokes with a 56 (+20) on the back.
Senior Lauren Humann made the biggest push for the Lady Raiders, taking 13 total strokes off her scorecard, posting an 18-hole tally of 131 (+59). It was just her second career high school golf match, and she shot a 63 (+27) on the front, followed by a 68 (+32) on the back.
The top four scorers for Richmond — Miller, Frye, McDonald and Humann — saw their scores combined for the final team mark of 458.
Joining the Lady Raiders on the course for the first time this season were junior rookies Delani Driggers and Angeli Yang. The duo followed the team at Pinehurst and competed in their first-ever respective high school matches on Tuesday.
Driggers shot a 69 (+33) on the front, followed by a 66 (+30) on the back for a final score of 135 (+63). Yang wasn’t far behind with scores of 72 (+36) on either side of the turn for a posting of 144 (+72).
“We had a great day with Kenleigh, Kirsten and Lauren improving on what they shot last week,” Parsons commented. “And Hailey stayed consistently at the top of our lineup.
“Delani and Angeli played their first complete 18 holes of their lives,” he added. “I think each of the players feels good about today, and that is a wonderful feeling to take away from the golf course.”
The Lady Raiders will return to action and look to climb the ladder next Monday at Pinecrest Country Club in Lumberton. A match hosted by Purnell Swett, golfers will begin teeing off at 2 p.m.
