CROZET, Va. -- The second day of the ODAC Championships was quite a contrast to the wet, windy, and cool conditions that Friday offered for the first round. On Saturday scores were generally better among the seven conference teams when the sun came out and playing conditions improved, and the Bridgewater women's golf team came up with their third-best team score of the season (317). The balanced scoring attack from the Eagles gave them a firm hold on third place with one round to go at Old Trail Golf Club.
 
Sophia Martone, the team's scoring leader this season, came up with the third best score of her season to lead the charge on Saturday. When she chipped in from the short-side on #10 she was just +1, and she held on to post a 76. The sophomore sits in 13th place.
 
Senior Savannah Scott had a long and memorable day -- she attended commencement on the Bridgewater campus before heading to the golf course, where she started the day in second place. It took her a couple holes to settle down, and she was already +3 when she came to the par-5 third hole; but she hit driver, 6-iron to eight feet and made the eagle putt to get a couple shots back. She then parred ten of the next twelve holes and she held onto second place. Even when the tough eighteenth hole claimed two shots from her, she came in with a solid 77.
 
"The ODAC has this great tradition that seniors can have a parent carry their golf bag on the last hole of their career," said head coach John Rogers, "and since the forecast leaves some doubt about golf being played tomorrow, most seniors went ahead with the tradition today; it's a great thing, and we take a bunch of pictures, it's a good memory for the players and their families, but maybe it takes the focus off the golf for a few minutes. Both of our graduates had a tough time finishing eighteen in good form today, but it's one of those things where golf is not the top priority in the moment." Even after a double-bogey on the last hole, Scott was in a tie for 5th place, ahead of two players ranked inside the top-40 in the nation.
 
Shaina Beach also attended graduation on Saturday morning, and similarly she had a triple-bogey during her "senior walk", but she still had a very successful round. En route to her 82 she dropped a couple 20-foot birdie putts, and narrowly missed an eagle putt on #3 that gave her another birdie. She had a seven-hole stretch in the middle of the round she played at even par despite a double bogey.
 
Madolin Neff played steadily throughout the round and was close to matching her first-round 79 when she dropped four strokes on the final three holes. Neff has one top-10 and two top-20 finishes in prior ODAC championships and she sits in a tie for 14th this year. She concluded the round with an 82.
 
Junior Kaitlyn Gaeth made a big jump in the second round, shaving six strokes on her way to an 87. "I'm not sure I caught it yesterday, but I think Katie was a bit nervous for the first-round, and she has played so well recently, it's easy to forget that she never even started in a tournament until this semester," noted Rogers. "This is a very new experience, but she clearly settled down today." Gaeth made six pars on the front nine.
 
Washington & Lee, ranked #10 in the nation, extended their lead in the championship, and Emily Brubaker (Lynchburg) continues to hold a two-stroke lead in the individual race. The Eagles' 317 allowed them to pull away from the four teams behind them.
 
Rogers mentioned that it was a fun day to be on the course -- the weather was great, every player had family members present, they had "senior walks" on the eighteenth hole, there was one team alum and one future player in the gallery, as well as the team's academic mentor from campus. "We had a lot of support, and the team played well. Hard to beat that!"
 
The final round is scheduled as a shotgun start at 9:30 AM Sunday if weather allows.