Hildenbrand fifth, Pioneers sixth after day one of The Battle at Hilton Head

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. — Tusculum freshman Maylei Hildenbrand is tied for fifth place after the opening 36 holes at The Battle at Hilton Head, which is being held at the par-72, 5,934-yard Palmetto Dunes Golf Club.

The Pioneers are sixth in the team competition after posting an aggregate score of 633. Tusculum shot 323 on its first 18 holes, led by Hildenbrand who carded an ever-par score of 72 to share the first round lead with Dilyara Bulambayeva of Lincoln Memorial and Emmanuel’s Mara Martinez. TU shaved 13 strokes off its first round score with a 310 in Monday’s second 18.

The Wingate Bulldogs, the second-ranked team in NCAA Division II, has the first day lead with 612 including a solid 302 in their second round.

Bulambayeva has the first day lead for medalist after posting a three-over par total of 72-75=147 and leads by one shot over the trio of Martinez, Ida Peterson (Carson-Newman) and Terra Schmitt (Barton) at 148 (+4). Hildenbrand is just two shots behind the leaders as the Greeneville, Tennessee rookie finished with 72-77=149 (+5) and shares fifth place honors with Wingate’s Amely Bochaton (77-72=149).

Carson-Newman is second in the team race after posting a 617. Host Lincoln Memorial is third with 617, followed by Emmanuel (627), Barton (632), Tusculum (633), Indianapolis (635), USC Beaufort (641), Mount Olive (651), Columbus State (657), Converse (658), North Greenville (662), Montana State-Billings (664) and Shorter (712).

Hildenbrand had a steady opening round as she recorded one birdie, one bogey and 16 pars. Of those 16 pars, 12 in a row came down the stretch before a birdie on the last hole of the round. Her second round consisted for two birdies, five bogeys, one double bogeys and 10 pars for her five-over par 77.

Tusculum junior Reagan Padilla started off slow and posted an 83 in her first round. She rebounded and fired a one-over par 73 in her second round which included three birdies, four bogeys and 11 pars. She climbed 17 spots on the leaderboard and is tied for 18^th place at 156.

Emilie Bergh-Jacobsen and Delfin Filiz are tied for 45^th with 166, while Annabelle Mozingo rounds out the TU scoring with 85-83=168 which has her in 52^nd place.

The final round of the two-day, 54-hole tournament will be played on the Robert Trent Jones Course of Palmetto Dunes and will begin with an 8:30 a.m. shotgun start.

Team Scores (36-Hole Total)

Tusculum Individual Scores