Taylorsville's Deems advances to GSGA Women's Match Play semifinals

Mercer University golfer Hannah Mae Deems of Taylorsville continued her strong play at the 2017 Women’s Match Play Championship Friday on the Great Waters Golf Course at Reynold’s Plantation Lake Oconee in Eatonton (6,007-yards, par-72).

Deems, who was low medalist with a 3-under-par 141 (71-70), 36-hole total on Wednesday and Thursday, entered Friday’s match play portion of the championship as the No. 1-seed.

In the rising senior’s morning round, Deems defeated Meghan Nay of Canton 2&1 and dispatched ninth-seed Woo Wade of Dunwoody 5&4 in the quarterfinals. Nay is a rising redshirt sophomore at University of Louisville. Wade is a Marist High School 16-year-old sophomore.

Against Nay, Deems survived a back-and-forth match and actually trailed by one hole through number seven, but rallied to win holes 12, 15, and 16 down the stretch for her opening win.

Deem’s victory over Wade was a bit more dominant. She went 3-up through four holes and was 5-up through 12 and cruised into Saturday’s semifinals.

In the semifinals Saturday morning, Deems will face 4th-seeded Tess Davenport of Buford who went 20 holes in both of her matches on Friday. The Mill Creek high schooler finished third in her state high school tournament only a couple of weeks ago. She defeated Canton’s Abigail Bolt in the Round of 16 and outlasted Elisa Yang of Norcross in the quarterfinals.

Katy Harris (St. Simons Island, junior, Ole Miss) and Caroline Craig (Sautee Nacoochee, High School junior) will square off in the other semifinal Saturday morning.

The championship match will be just after noon on Saturday.