VIRGINIA BEACH, VA. – Graduate student Tara Bettle blew the competition out of the water today setting a tournament and course record seven-under 63 in the final round of the Evie Odom Invitational on Tuesday.
 
From Tara Bettle on breaking the tournament record
"Shooting 63 in the last round was incredible. I am super excited to see that my hard work is paying off and that I was able to not only break my own personal record, but also the course record for the Princess Anne Country Club. Last night in the hotel room, I was telling Anna how I was going to go low if I just putted good one day, and that's exactly what happened today. I hit 17 greens and hit a couple shots really close, which enabled me to make seven birdies and no bogeys. I had so much fun today!"
On the teams' performance
"We all had a little bit of a tough start going into the tournament this weekend, but we were able to improve from day-to-day and ended up beating teams ranked much better than us with a good comeback on the last round. We all learned a lot this week, especially how to stay patient and keep grinding when it doesn't go how we want it to. I am really proud of what this team is doing every day and I am optimistic about our last two tournaments this season. We are really close to doing something great here, I can't wait to see it!"
 
UNC Greensboro (UNCG) women's golf team finished 11th as a team, improving 22 strokes from the first round.  
 
The Spartans shot five-over 285 in the final round, finishing the event shooting 885.  
 
Information
Course: Princess Anne Country Club in Virginia Beach, Va.
Par/Yardage: 70/5824 yards

Highlights

• On her first nine, Bettle totaled four birdies to jump start the morning four-under.
• In her second nine, the Berlin, Germany native added three more birdies to sit seven under 63, moving her up 16 spots from the day before.
• Bettle tied for third overall.
• Her 12 birdies in the three rounds ranked second among the field.
• Freshman Grace Holcomb was the second Spartan on the leaderboard, shooting two-over 72 with one birdie, finishing tied for 52^nd.
• She totaled four birdies at the tournament.
• Senior Hailey Joy and sophomore Victoria Cook tied for 66^th overall, totaling six birdies over the three rounds.
• Cook was just one-over on her first nine and ended the round four-over 74.
• Joy was even par following her first nine holes with two birdies and ended the day six-over 76.
• Junior Anna Bowman had her second birdie of the tournament on the 510-yard hole eight.
• Freshman Gabriela Cruz improved 10 strokes from her first round, rounding out her three days shooting six-over 76.

From Head Coach Ashley Leonard
"Very proud of how we came out today and got under par early. I have told this team how talented they are and learning to win and play good rounds is a process!  We just have to keep getting better in the latter part of our rounds and keep the same momentum throughout."
On Bettle's Performance
"Super proud of Tara firing a bogey-free 63 today! She has been so close this fall and it all finally came together today. She works tremendously hard and to see the hard work payoff is just awesome for her!"
 
Up Next
The Spartans take three weeks off before competing in the Palmetto Intercollegiate on Kiawah Island, South Carolina from Monday, October 25 to Tuesday, October 26.