Hancock's top-10 finish leads Comets at A.I.I. tourney

Cottey College senior Rachel Hancock was in the top-5 after the first round of play at the Association of Independent Institutions conference golf tournament Monday in Victoria, Texas.

She ultimately had to settle for a top-10 finish, though, after finishing round two on Tuesday with a combined score of 172 (+15) — good enough for ninth place.

After ending the first round with a one-stroke lead over the University of the Southwest, the Comets as a team finished third out of three teams with a score of 734 (378 day one, 356 day two).

The University of Houston-Victoria won the A.I.I. team crown on its home course with a score of 643. Southwest edged out Cottey for second place with a team score of 731. Our Lady of the Lake's Ceci Lattuada won the individual competition with a score of 150 (+6).

On the par-72 course at The Club at Colony Creek, Hancock shot an 85 on day one, which had her in fifth place at the time. Hancock followed that up with an 87 on day two.

Teammates Grace Palmer, Julia Scism, and Rachael Carver finished 11th, 12th, and 13th, respectively.

Sophomores Palmer and Carver both shaved nine strokes off their round-one scores, with Palmer shooting an 87 after opening with a 96 (for a total score of 183) and Carver shooting a 100 on day one and a 91 on day two (for a total score of 191).

Scism, also a sophomore, shot a 97 her first round, then a 91 her second, for a total score of 188.