Winthrop University’s women’s golf team finished the first round of the 2026 Big South Conference Championship tied for second place on Apr. 19 at Fripp Island Resort’s Ocean Creek Course.
The team’s strong start marks its best opening-round position in the championship since 2009, when it was third after the first round. Winthrop posted a team score of 304, which is also its lowest single-round score at the event since shooting a 294 in the second round of the 2021 championship.
Junior Constanca Mendonca led Winthrop with a two-under-par score of 70, tying her for second individually and making her the first Eagle to shoot under par during championship play since Valentine Savioz achieved that mark in 2021. It is also Mendonca’s second consecutive year finishing among the top five players after day one of this tournament. Freshman Alayna Friedt and senior Maelle Dreyer each carded rounds of five-over-par (77), tying them for thirteenth place.
As a team, Winthrop matched High Point for best performance on par-four holes and ranked third among all teams on par-three holes. The Eagles were also second overall in total birdies with thirteen made during Sunday’s play. Individually, Mendonca shared first place in par-three scoring at two-under and was tied for third on par-five holes at one-under. Friedt led her teammates on par-four scoring, finishing even-par there to tie for third across all competitors.
Looking ahead, Winthrop will be paired with High Point and Radford during Monday’s second round, beginning their tee times from hole one at 9:48 a.m.
