Story Courtesy Western Carolina sports information

CULLOWHEE, NC - Carding the lowest team score of all 14 teams on the final day, the Western Carolina women's golf team shot 307 for a total team score of 943 to improve one position and finish fourth at the Lady Herd/El Diablo Intercollegiate on Tuesday, recording its seventh top five finish in eight seasonal events. Senior Ashley Hovda led the Catamounts with a seventh-place showing, while sophomore Malin Fryk improved to 10th in the final standings at the par 72, 5,942-yard El Diablo Golf and Country Club.

The University of Maryland finished with a team 310 over the final 18 holes but held on to claim the team title with a three-day score of 916. The Terrapins edged Florida Atlantic in second at 925, followed by Missouri State (938), Western Carolina (943), and North Texas (956) rounding out the top five.

Individually, FAU's June Bolme shot par in the final round to win individual medalist honors at 220, three strokes ahead of teammate Praewnapa Phol-Uayporn who was second after shooting 223 over the two days.

Hovda advanced five places in the final round, shooting her best round of the tournament, 76, on Tuesday to lead the Catamounts with a seventh-place finish. The Springfield, Ohio, native led the tournament in par 3 scoring after shooting even par on the courses' shortest holes and ranked tied for fourth with seven birdies. Also making an improvement on the final day was Malin Fryk, who moved from a tie for 21st to 10th in the final standings after carding a team tournament-best round of 75. She finished among the leaders in par 4 scoring with an average of 4.27 strokes.

Sophomore Kandy Carland, who led the Catamounts in each of the first two rounds, tallied her best finish of the 2005-06 season, slipping into a tie for 13th with a three-round total of 235, which ties her career-best, 54-hole score. Last season, Carland also fired 235 at the Unlimited Potential/Baytree Classic in Myrtle Beach, S.C. The Hendersonville, N.C., native led the Catamounts in par 5 scoring for the tournament by carding even par.

Rounding out Western's finishers were junior Bianca Melone, who advanced four positions with a final round 80 to shoot 246 for the tournament and place in a tie for 34th, and senior Brandy Andersen, who gained 21 positions over the final round to place 44th. Andersen lowered her scoring by 12 strokes off the second round to card a three-round 251.

As a team, the Catamounts ranked second in the tournament in par 4 scoring with an average of 4.47 strokes. WCU carded 20 total birdies and ranked tied for third with 139 pars. Also, despite finishing one place lower than the squad did a year ago at the same event, the Catamounts whittled six strokes off of last year's team score, improving a 949 to this year's 943, which ranks as the 16th-best team three-round tournament score in WCU history.

Western will try for its eighth-straight top five finish next Monday and Tuesday, March 27-28, as it visits the UNC Wilmington Lady Seahawk Invitational in Wallace, N.C.

Teams                      Scores

1 Maryland, U. of            306 300 310   916

2 Florida Atlantic U.        305 311 309   925

3 Missouri State Univ.       319 310 309   938

4 Western Carolina U.        319 317 307   943

5 North Texas, U. of         324 311 321   956

6 Wichita State Univ.        331 315 314   960

7 Murray State Univ.         317 331 315   963

8 Eastern Kentucky           328 316 330   974

9 Xavier University          327 327 329   983

10 Cincinnati, U. of         327 335 322   984

11 Boston College            333 327 333   993

12 Marshall University       340 321 340  1001

13 Youngstown State          333 340 336  1009

14 Hartford, U. of           353 356 352  1061

4 Western Carolina U.     319 317 307  943

7 Ashley Hovda             79  77  76  232

T 10 Malin Fryk            81  78  75  234

T 13 Kandy Carland         76  79  80  235

T 34 Bianca Melone         83  83  80  246

44 Brandy Andersen         87  88  76  251