BERKLEY SPRINGS, W. Va. - On the final day of the Shenandoah Fall Invitational, Sophia Martone had the low round of the day, and the Eagles from Bridgewater College also had the low team score of the tournament, allowing both to move up the leaderboard. Martone collected the fourth medal of her collegiate career, while the Eagles jumped into second place among eleven squads.
 
Sunday saw chilly but beautiful weather at Cacapon Golf Club, and the Eagles made big strides from the opening round of their season, which was yesterday. "After the first round, we talked about the large number of double-bogies we had, and that we could beat these top teams (Marymount and Catholic) if we managed our rough holes better," said head coach John Rogers. The team responded by cutting their double-bogies almost in half, while tripling their birdie output from round one. On the front nine the four players who counted in the team total had zero double-bogies, and the Eagles briefly pulled within four strokes of the lead (having trailed by eleven after day one).
 
Meanwhile, Martone played steadily on the front and turned at 37 (+1), leaving her two strokes from the lead. The pivotal part of her round came on holes #11 to #14 where her driver went off the rails --she hit her tee shot into the treeline on all four holes, but she scrambled to save two pars, giving up just two bogies. On #17 a short par-3 she needed a good look at birdie and she squeezed her approach into a ten-foot gap that gave her a manageable uphill birdie attempt. When the putt went in, she was tied for the lead, and a par on the final hole ended up earning her the medalist honors. "I know this meant a lot to her," said Rogers. "She dealt with a nagging injury for the past two years and still managed to play very good golf, but this year she is healthy, and stronger, and I know she wants to get everything she can out of her senior year. As she has been before, she was clutch down the stretch today." Martone finished the event 78-74 (152) to win by two strokes.
 
While Martone battled for the title, freshman Brooke Tyler was making some noise of her own. She started her career Saturday with a round that left her disappointed in her ball-striking and her score (90), but she worked hard on the range Sunday morning and set the tone early when she birdied #17, her first hole after a shotgun start. She made the turn and managed the front nine at Cacapon in 41 strokes, but then the fireworks started -- she birdied four of the next five holes, all on the back nine which features tight tree lines and sloping greens. Despite a double-bogey and two bogies coming in, Tyler posted 35 (-1) on the back to turn in a 76. This was the third lowest round in the field today, and it jumped her all the way to 14th place out of 66 players. Rogers said he knew she would provide good scores soon for the team, but did not think it would necessarily happen that quickly or that dramatically.
 
Senior Katelyn Gaeth followed Tyler in with a much-needed 82. When she dropped her birdie putt on the tough 16th hole, the Eagles leapfrogged the Cardinals from Catholic University, erasing an eleven-stroke deficit with only two holes remaining. Gaeth crucially played her final three holes at -1, and she finished the tournament in a tie for 16th.
 
Hannah Rizzo came out ready to play, making pars on six of her first nine holes, but she said her putting was dodgy on the inward nine. She posted 39-44 (83) to finish in a tie for 12th. She also parred her final two holes to help the Eagles move up the board.
 
Evelyn Hunter chipped in on the 4th hole for birdie, and the senior posted a pair of 89s this weekend to place 32nd.
 
Rogers commented that Sunday was a fun day for the team -- they were hoping to catch at least one of the teams at the top of the leaderboard and keep Martone in a position to win the individual title. "To have four players in the top-20, one in the medalist's spot, and to come back against a very good team -- it was a very good way to open the season." Marymount ended up winning by nine strokes, though the Eagles' score of 315 today was low-round by two shots.
 
The Eagles return to action on Sep. 23 in its own Bridgewater Invitational.