CONCORD, N.C. – The Jacksonville State women's golf team bounced back from a slow start on Monday to claim seventh in the inaugural Charlotte Invitational on Tuesday.
 
The Gamecocks rallied after a morning 321, shooting a second-round 303 and a final-round 306 to climb up the leaderboard after posting a 54-hole score of 930 on the par-72, 6,381-yard Cabarrus Country Club. It was the first tournament ever hosted by Charlotte, whose women's golf team is just in its fifth season of competition.
 
"I'm very encouraged by the way we bounced back this week," JSU Women's Golf Coach Robbie Fields said. "We have a lot of high standards individually, so we really focused on allowing ourselves to make mistakes and I feel like our team did a great job of that—especially turning an 18 stroke improvement from round 1 to round 2. We'll continue learning and growing, but I'm really proud of this team and look forward to closing out our fall season next week."
 
Jax State was led in the tournament by senior Claire Vermette. The St. Petersburg, Fla., native claimed the Gamecocks' top individual finish for the third time in their four fall tournaments, tying for 13^th with a 54-hoel score of 225.
 
"Claire continues to be such a steady presence for this team but is only scratching the surface," Fields said. "I saw a lot of really exciting golf this week and I know she's going to work her tail off to clean up her mistakes before Monday."
 
Vermette opened the two-day event with a one-over 73 in Monday's early round before shooting an afternoon 77 and a final round 75 on Tuesday. She took advantage of scoring opportunities on Cabarrus' par-five holes, shooting a combined 1-under on those during play. 
 
"This week was all about staying calm and keeping things simple," Vermette said. "I tried my best to play each hole the way we had strategized before the round, and remain focused when things didn't go as planned. I'm excited to take some of this momentum to our last tournament of the fall next weekend."
 
Sophomore Paula Perez Cubinas signed for a total score of 232, giving the Girona, Spain, native a 31^st-place finish. She carded rounds of 81-73-78, to post her score and used two birdies in her final seven holes on Tuesday to close her tournament.
 
Freshman Luciana Calbimonte got better in every round of her tournament. The Cochabamba, Bolivia, native shot rounds of 84-79-76 to tie for 46^th with a 239. She also played the par-five holes on the course at 2-under, which was tied for third-best in the 73-player field. Her final-round 76 catapulted her 12 spots up the leaderboard.
 
Freshman Ebby Somers also climbed the leaderboard on Tuesday, shooting a final-round 77 that pushed the Valdosta, Ga., native eight spots up the board into a tie for 50^th. Her total score of 240 was bolstered by play that saw her sign for three birdies in each of her last two rounds.
 
Freshman Anna Ymbern Quinoa finished 65^th after rounds of 83-84-80 gave the Saint Cugat del Valles, Spain, native a 54-hole 247. Redshirt freshman Aaron Whitley competed as an individual and only posted two rounds, shooting 77 in the first round and 80 in the final round.
 
The Gamecocks will wrap up their fall schedule on Monday, when they open play in Southern Miss' The Judson at the Hattiesburg (Miss.) Country Club.