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UNCP roundup: Golf finishes 17th at AU-Erskine Fall Kickoff

the robesonian, lumberton, n.c.
·5 min read

Sep. 12—GREENWOOD, S.C. — Chessa Lee carded a five-over-par in the final round of action at the AU-Erskine Fall Kick-Off to pace the UNC Pembroke golf team to a 17th place finish at the AU-Erskine Fall Kick-Off at The Links at Stoney Point on Tuesday.

A junior, Lee registered a team-best 77 in the final found of action to finish in a tie for 64th place on the individual leaderboard. Kennedy McGaha of Anderson won the tournament after carding a seven-under-par 209 in the three rounds of action. Toni Blackwell (+36) finished the tournament in a tie 75th place, while newcomer Emmerson Barley (+44) carded a 13-over-par 85 in the final round to finish in 83rd place. Newcomer Michelle Guerra Landa (+52) finished in 85th place to complete the scoring for the Black & Gold, while freshman Lauren Locklear (+68) finished the three rounds 87th place.

The Braves will be back in action on October 2 for the Patsy Rendleman Invitational in Salisbury. The two-day tournament will be played at the Country Club of Salisbury.

Bigford named CC Defensive Player of the Week

A 5-0 shutout from the UNC Pembroke soccer back line, as well as three shots in Saturday's dominant win over Converse, has helped Ilaya Bigford grab Conference Carolinas Defensive Player of the Week honors, the league announced Tuesday morning.

Bigford, a senior from Richlands, played all 90 minutes in the Black & Gold's only game last week. She was part of a back line that allowed only one Converse shot, tying a school record for fewest shots allowed. Bigford has played the full 90 minutes in two of three games this season, while logging 71 minutes in the other.

The Braves (2-1-0, 1-0-0 CC) will head to Gaffney, S.C. Wednesday for a non-conference matchup against Limestone (0-2-0, 0-0-0 SAC). Kickoff at Saints Field is set for 7 p.m.

Bell's hat trick propels Braves past Converse

Mercy Bell's first collegiate hat trick was more than enough to lead UNC Pembroke (2-1-0, 1-0-0 CC) past visiting Converse (0-2-1, 0-1-0 CC) on Saturday afternoon. The Black & Gold was dominant on both sides of the pitch, finishing with 33 shots while only allowing one from the Valkyries.

It was the second-straight victory for the Braves, who improved to 13-9-1 all-time in conference openers. The result was the second-straight defeat for Converse, who fell to 0-9-0 in the all-time series with UNCP.

Ashley Forbes scored her first goal for the Black & Gold, with Bea Vazquez recording her first collegiate goal to round out the scoring.

Ashleigh Harris broke free down the left side and delivered a perfect pass to Bell in front of the net, who put it away with her left foot to start the scoring in the third minute.

Three minutes later, Abigail Lowry played a header over to Bell who made a move to get free for a shot, and delivered a perfect strike from the edge of the box over the goalkeeper's hands into the back of the net.

Bell took control of the ball in the 48th minute, beat her defender down the left side, and fired a well-placed shot past the diving keeper to complete her hat trick.

Forbes made a couple of moves to shake free for an 84th-minute shot and found the back of the net past the diving netminder.

In the 90th minute, Bea Vazquez took a Devyn Hart pass and fired a perfectly-placed left footed shot into the side net from just outside the box to finish the scoring.

Bell notched her 11th, 12th, and 13th career goals in Saturday's contest. Forbes and Vazquez recorded their first goals as Braves.

Senior Chiara Coppin and redshirt junior Anna Bass combined for their second-straight clean sheet.

The Braves allowed only one shot, tying a school record in the process.

Twenty-one players logged playing time for the Black & Gold, with all of them seeing at least eight minutes on the afternoon.

Braves wrestling adds 11 for 2023-24 season

UNC Pembroke wrestling head coach Othello "O.T." Johnson announced the completion of his 2023-24 roster with the addition of 11 student-athletes — eight freshman and three transfers — on Monday.

Joey Bruscino (Greensboro/Southeast Guilford HS), Avery Buonocore (Wilmington/E.A. Laney HS), Connor Cooper (Marietta, Georgia/Hill Grove HS), Bryce Gadson (Charlotte/Cox Mill HS), Samuel Hutchison (Knoxville, Tennessee/Halls HS), Daniel Karmanov (Holly Springs/Apex Friendship HS), Tyler Nelson (Alpharetta, Georgia/Mount Pisgah HS), and Trystan Richardson (Wilmington/E.A. Laney HS) all signed a National Letter of Intent to continue their academic and athletic careers with the Braves, while Scott Joll (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania/West Virginia), Keegan Roberson (Chicago, Illinois/Campbell) and Ryan Weinzen (Norman, Pennsylvania/Clarion) are all transfer student-athletes that will be eligible to compete immediately.

"We are grateful to have all of these students athletes, their families and their willingness to allow us to be a part of their academic and athletic journey, and to play a small part in their future success," Johnson said. "Each of them brings a unique wrestling background to our BraveTough family, and we are excited for them. This is one of the strongest recruiting classes we have had in our program's rich history in almost two decades, with guys from all over the country from Illinois, Tennessee, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and obviously North Carolina, who are a fit our culture and university."