DAHLONEGA – After 36 holes of play in the 11th Annual LeeAnn Noble Memorial Golf Tournament, the No. 20 University of North Georgia (UNG) women's golf team sits in third place and eight shots back of first place No. 2 Anderson at Achasta Golf Club. In second place and one stroke in front of the Nighthawks is No. 7 Wingate.

The scribes of the UNG women's golf and LeeAnn Noble Memorial record books were put to work Monday. In the tournament, the 18-hole team and individual scoring records were broken twice along with the 36-hole individual record. The new tournament records belong to Anderson (18-hole team score: -17), Mary Kelly Mulcahy of Findlay (18-hole individual: -8) and Amely Bochaton of Wingate (36-hole individual: -12).  

On a day in which numerous figures in the Georgia community including UNG head coach Sierra Campbell pledged to donate money to Hurricane Helene relief for every birdie the Nighthawks carded, UNG decided it was in a giving mood. 

With 23 birdies and two eagles between the Nighthawks' five team competitors and three individual golfers, the team shattered the program's 18-hole scoring record Monday. 

UNG finished round one at a combined 10-under-par and one shot behind Wingate. The team scoring mark broke the previous record by nine shots which UNG recorded in the Sixth Annual LeeAnn Noble Memorial back in 2019. 

A number of faces old and new joined forces to make history Monday. Freshman Ellie Jane Riner tied the third-best 18-hole individual score in school history with a four-under 68 that included four birdies on the back nine. 

After birdieing the par-4 10th hole, Riner stumbled with consecutive bogeys at 11 and 12. In the latest edition of The Hawks Nest, Campbell discussed her players' grit and their innate ability to comeback from the improbable. After back-to-back bogeys, Riner ended her opening round with three birdies in her last six holes. Her 69 comes as the first round in the 60s of her young collegiate career.

A familiar face, sophomore Abby Franks had a big outing in the first 18 holes as well. She finished with a three-under 69 that was highlighted by three birdies and an eagle on the par-5, 456-yard 6th hole. The round was Franks' first sub-70 showing this year.

Following Franks' and Riner's leads was junior transfer Cora Mount. The Chickamauga, Ga. native was flawless in her first test at Achasta GC. Mount carded three birdies and zero bogeys en route to a three-under 69 in the opener. 

Senior Ellie Rippee posted an even-par 72 which included five birdies to finish inside the top 30 for the first 18 holes.

In round two, a pair of Nighthawks went below par for the round as Riner managed a one-under 71 while senior Jadin Ware posted a quartet of birdies for a two-under-par 70. 

Ware caught fire on the back nine after conceding bogeys on holes 3 and 7 before making the turn. On the back, Ware settled down with three straight pars before turning the dial up. On the par-4 13th, Ware carded her first birdie of the round. Two holes later she was back to even par with another birdie. On the 373-yard, par-4 16th, Ware recorded her third birdie of the last four holes to post a red number on the scoreboard. 

She would buy one more birdie on her last hole of the day at the par-4 1st, concluding round two at two-under and the first 36-holes at one-under. 

Despite only two Nighthawk golfers posting a sub-par score in round two, Franks and Rippee opened up the scoring (and their coach's pockets) as both eagled the par-5 15th. 

Campbell, jokingly upset with her team's performance, counted up a whopping 50 birdies (42 birdies, four eagles) over the first 36 holes for which she will donate to Hurricane Helene relief.

Heading into the final round of play tomorrow, Riner leads the Nighthawks in fifth place at five-under in total thus far. Franks follows behind in ninth place at three-under. Ware is only a few shots back of those two as she's in 14th place at one-under. 

The final round from Achasta begins with a shotgun start at 9 a.m. tomorrow, Tuesday, Oct. 8. Anderson is in position to win the tournament for the fourth time in history which would become the most in tournament history. Both Wingate and UNG are searching for the first team wins in tournament history as each has one individual medalist winner.