Little Rock increased its lead to 24 shots at the Ohio Valley Conference Women’s Golf Championship on Apr. 20, as the team finished the second round at Dalton Golf and Country Club in Georgia.
The Trojans’ strong performance puts them in a commanding position heading into the final round of the tournament. The team posted a score of 302 for the day, improving by nine strokes from their opening round, and now holds a total score of 613 (+37) after two rounds. Tennessee Tech trails in second place with a score of 637, followed by Morehead State at 641.
Head coach Jenna Birch said her players benefited from calmer weather conditions compared to Sunday. “We did a really good job staying patient and letting the round come to us today,” Birch said. “The conditions were much calmer, and I thought we handled that well by sticking to our game plan and not trying to force anything.”
Little Rock players occupy the top four spots on the individual leaderboard. Junior Eleonore Aernouts leads all competitors at +6 after shooting a steady second-round score of 74. “She’s been incredibly consistent for us all year, and this week is no different,” Birch said about Aernouts. “She’s managing the course really well and putting herself in great positions.” Cloe Poizac sits in second place at +8 after carding a 76; Fehild Graesel is third at +11 following her round of 77; while Iara Martin is tied for fourth with +12 after posting a score of 75.
Birch credited teamwork for Little Rock’s current standing: “It’s been a total team effort,” she said. “To have four players at the top of the leaderboard says a lot about how focused and prepared this group is. They’re feeding off each other in a really positive way.” Elvira Flodstrom completes Little Rock’s scoring group, currently ranked seventeenth overall.
Looking ahead to Tuesday’s final round, Birch emphasized focus: “We’ve put ourselves in a great position, but the job’s not finished,” she said. “Tomorrow is about staying locked in, one shot at a time, and finishing what we started.”
