BURLINGTON, N.C. – Ashley Lafontaine has a flair for the dramatic at Alamance Country Club. A year after birdieing her final hole to win the Elon Invitational in just her second college event, the sophomore achieved another career-first in Monday's second round at Elon's home tournament. 

On her 32nd hole of the day, Lafontaine stepped onto the tee on the par-3 16th hole at Alamance Country Club. With the hole playing 158 yards, Lafontaine hit a 7-iron to a flag cut in the back portion of the green. The ball landed and dripped into the cup for Lafontaine's first ever hole-in-one. 

"I was in disbelief because I've never had one before, so I was like, 'there's no way it went in,' and then the girls who were on the next tee box screamed and they were like, 'it went in' and then everyone started cheering," Lafontaine said. "It was so fun."

The ace was the zenith of a 2-under par 69 for Lafontaine in the second round, Elon's lowest score of the day and the second lowest round in the tournament on Monday. After a long day of golf, Lafontaine said the hole-in-one gave her momentum to finish off her second round. 

"I was starting to be a little lower on energy, so it gave me a good boost to finish the round," Lafontaine said. "It was super exciting to hit a good shot and have it roll into the hole perfectly." 

Last year, Lafontaine made a birdie on the 54th and final hole of this event to win. In her five career rounds in competition at Alamance Country Club, Lafontaine has broken par three times, including consecutive rounds of 68 a year ago en route to victory. 

Alamance Country Club is Elon's home course, as the Phoenix often play practice rounds there throughout the year. For Lafontaine and the other members of the Elon University women's golf team, Alamance provides a home-course advantage.  

"Last year, having no expectations coming into the tournament and doing very well has allowed me to have a lot of confidence on this course," Lafontaine said. "Even though I don't have my best game, I am still able to put up a good score because I know where to be and where not to be."
 

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'Rising Phoenix' is a new student-led initiative to cover Elon Athletics. Through innovative content creation and storytelling, Elon University students will have the opportunity to highlight the moments, people and events that make an impact, leveraging the athletic department's various web and social media platforms for distribution. Follow Rising Phoenix on Twitter (@EURisingPhoenix) and Instagram (@elonrisingphoenix). Interested in joining this initiative as a content creator (video, graphics, writing, storytelling, or more)? Contact Jacob Kisamore at jkisamore@elon.edu.

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