Cnops captures Kiawah Island title, Spartans finish second

KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. – UNCG's Fanny Cnops fired a final-round 71 on her way to a one-stroke victory in the Edwin Watts/Kiawah Island  Intercollegiate, which concluded Tuesday at Oak Point. Cnops' effort helped the Spartans finish second in the 33-team tournament.

Cnops finished her three rounds of play at 2-under par 214 (72-71-71), edging Augusta State's Christine Duschek-Hansen by one stroke.

It's the second career victory for Cnops, and her second straight win dating back to the fall season. Cnops also won the Palmetto Intercollegiate, which was also played at Oak Point, last October.

"This is the third or fourth straight tournament that Fanny has gone into the final round with the lead," said head coach Emily Marron. "She's learning how to handle the pressure and that's a great sign for the future. Fanny is so easy to coach. She's unbelievable sometimes because she's so talented but she always plays for the team and not just for herself. We're very proud of her."

UNCG finished second overall at 899 (307-297-295) in its first tournament of the spring season. The Spartans came in behind Augusta State (877), and finished ahead of Southern Conference foes Elon (903), College of Charleston (910) and Western Carolina (938).

"Finishing second was definitely a team effort," said Marron. "Even though we didn't win it felt like we did. Augusta State kind of ran away and hid from everyone so we made up our minds Monday night that we wanted to finish second and we did. The confidence level of this team is pretty high right now. We go into every tournament expecting to contend."

While Cnops was earning the victory, several other Spartans enjoyed solid performances, most notably fellow freshman Berglind Bjornsdottir. After suffering through an opening round 82, Bjornsdottir rebounded in the final two rounds by shooting 72 and 74, respectively, to finish tied for 31st at 228.

Courtney Taylor shot 73 on Tuesday and finished tournament play tied for 43rd at 230 (77-80-73), while Ana Lucia Martinez tied for 55th at 232 (81-74-77). Begona Sarabia tied for 134th at 245 (77-81-87).

The Spartans next compete at the JMU Invitational, March 9-11 in Jacksonville, Fla.

2     UNCG             307     297     295     899
1     Fanny Cnops          72     71     71     214
T31     Berglind Bjornsdottir      82     72     74     228
T43     Courtney Taylor         77     80     73     230
T55     Ana Lucia Martinez     81     74     77     232
T134     Begona Sarabia          77     81     87     245

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