Paladins Survive NCAA East Regional, Advance To National Championship
Furman Travels To Albuquerque For The NCAA Championship May 20-23.
Athens, Ga. -- The Furman women's golf team shot a final round 301 at the NCAA East Regional on Saturday and slipped into eighth place in the final moments to clinch its 16th trip to the NCAA Division I National Championship.
The Paladins (292-307-301=900) were nine-over-par at the turn, but shot just four-over-par on the final nine holes to finish at +36 for the 54-hole tournament. Furman, shown in ninth place following the completion of its round, was forced to watch as New Mexico and Wake Forest finished their rounds at the 18th green. The Demon Deacons' final player birdied the 18th to clinch seventh place, but the Lobos dropped seven shots as a team over their final three holes to help Furman secure its first trip the NCAA Finals since 2005.
"One of the biggest things for us was that no one expected us to do it," said head coach Jen Hanna of the team's berth in the NCAA Championship. "This team has improved, they have worked hard and it is well deserved. We're not going to nationals just to be there. We want to compete for a championship."
The Paladins, by finishing in the top eight, will compete in the 24-team NCAA Championship May 20-23, at the University of New Mexico Championship Course in Albuquerque, New Mexico. In 1987, Furman claimed a second place finish at the NCAAs on the same course.
Corrine Carr (69-76-75=220), Stefanie Kenoyer (75-78-75=228) and Blair Lamb (76-74-75=225) each posted final round scores of three-over 75 to lead the Paladins while Jackie Hilea (72-79-76=227) chipped in with a four-over 76.
Carr, who notched a career-best round of 69 on Thursday, finished at four-over to grab a share of 10th place. Lamb finished in a tie for 24th at nine-over-par.
Furman's freshman duo of Kenoyer and Hilea once again drove the Paladins down the stretch. Hilea, who started the day on the No. 10 tee, bounced back from a 42 on the back nine to shoot one-under on the front. Kenoyer, the Southern Conference's individual medalist, was four-over-par after six holes but played the final 12 at one-under to contribute to Furman's rally.
Benedicte Toumpsin of South Carolina claimed individual medalist honors at two-over-par. Amanda Blumenherst, the nation's top-ranked player and Sara-Maude Juneau of Louisville tied for second at one-under.
Florida (290-295-298=883) edged Duke (285-303-296=884) by one stroke to claim the East Regional title. Georgia, Auburn, Virginia, South Carolina, Wake Forest and Furman rounded out the top eight.
Complete results for all three NCAA Division I women's golf regionals are available at www.golfstatresults.com.
8 Furman 292 307 301 900
T10 Corrine Carr 69 76 75 220
T24 Blair Lamb 76 74 75 225
T32 Jackie Hilea 72 79 76 227
T36 Stefanie Kenoyer 75 78 75 228
104 Ashley Baker 80 87 87 254
Kirchmayr Finishes 13th at NCAA Regional
AUSTIN, TEXAS - College of Charleston’s Steffi Kirchmayr posted a 219 in 54 holes to finish 13th at the NCAA Women’s Golf Central Regional Tournament being held May 8-10 at the University of Texas Golf Club in Austin, Texas.
Kirchmayr missed the cut to the National Championship by four strokes after shooting a 77 in the final round.
The top two individuals, not on a team that finish in the top eight, advance to the NCAA Championship to be held May 20-23 at the University of New Mexico Championship Golf Course in Albuquerque, New Mexico
The native of Pocking, Germany, earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament as an individual. The two-time Southern Conference Player-of-the-Year tied for third in the league tournament April 22.
The junior opened the third round from hole 10 with four bogeys before paring the next five holes. She turned with a 40 and started the front nine with a birdie before ending the round with three bogeys in her last eight holes of the tournament.
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de Groot Nabs Top 20 Finish at NCAA Regional
ATHENS, Ga. -- Chattanooga freshman golfer Emma de Groot fired a 2-over Saturday at the par 72, 6,335 UGA Golf Course on the final day of the NCAA Women’s Golf East Regional securing a top 20 finish.
de Groot, ranked 66th in the country by Golfstat, had an even score on the back nine after starting on the 10th tee this morning. She birdied the par-3 13th to move to 1-under, but evened her score with a bogey on the par-4 15th. She remained even through six more holes and bogeyed the fourth and ninth holes to close out the round with a 2-over 74.
The Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, native finished tied for 17th out of 108 golfers with a three-round score of 7-over, 223.
South Carolina’s No. 32 Benedicte Toumpsin shot a 4-over Saturday, but managed to hang on to claim medalist honors with a three-round score of 214 (-2). Duke’s Amanda Blumenherst, the No. 1 ranked player in the country, was tied for second with Louisville’s Sara-Maude Juneau at 1-under. Georgia’s Krystle Caithness (No. 47), No. 12 Cydney Clanton of Auburn and New Mexico’s Alexandra Phelps finished at 1-over tied for fourth.
Florida posted an upset of the overall top-ranked Blue Devils to win the Regional by one stroke with a 19-over 883. Duke was second with an 884 team score and host Georgia rallied to finish third with a team score of 889.
The top eight teams advance to the finals along with the top two individuals not on those teams. Auburn placed fourth followed by Virginia, South Carolina, Wake Forest and the Southern Conference’s Furman University.
Furman’s Corrine Carr was the top finisher for the Lady Paladins tied for 10th with a three day score of 220 (+4). The top two individual finishers were Juneau and Phelps whose New Mexico team will host the national championships in Albuquerque.
De Groot finished seventh in the individuals whose team was not one of the top eight. She caps off a year with nine top 10 finishes that included a pair of wins and three runner-up honors.
Top 10 Teams
1. (5) Florida +19 290-295-298 883
2. (1) Duke +20 285-303-296 884
3. (8) Georgia +25 299-300-290 889
4. (10) Auburn +30 296-302-296 894
5. (20) Virginia +34 296-310-292 898
6. (32) South Carolina +35 291-303-305 899
(15) Wake Forest +35 298-305-296 899
8. (35) Furman +36 292-307-301 900
9. (31) New Mexico +37 304-301-296 901
10. (22) Lousiville +48 293-315-304 912
Top 20 Individuals
1. (32) Benedicte Toumpson, South Carolina 68-70-76 214
2. (1) Amanda Blumenherst, Duke 68-73-74 215
Sara-Maude Juneau, Louisville 67-74-74 215
4. (47) Krystle Caithness, Georgia 70-73-74 217
(12) Cydney Clanton, Auburn 70-75-72 217
Alexandra Phelps, New Mexico 71-73-73 217
7. (41) Tiffany Chudy, Florida 72-75-71 218
Joy Kim, Virginia 73-77-68 218
9. Carmen Perez, UNC Wilmington 71-72-76 219
10. Corrine Carr, Furman 71-72-76 220
(42) Garrett Phillips, Georgia 77-74-69 220
(96) Julia Potter, Missouri 73-75-72 220
Jessica Yadloczky, Florida 73-72-75 220
14. (60) Candace Schepperle, Auburn 74-76-71 221
15. Ornella Jouven, Florida 72-73-77 222
(58) Marci Turner, Tennessee 73-75-74 222
17. (66) Emma de Groot, Chattanooga 73-76-74 223
(99) Anna Scott, Georgia State 75-75-73 223
(25) Hannah Yun, Florida 73-75-75 223
20. (27) Dori Carter, Mississippi 77-75-72 224
(59) Cindy LaCrosse, Louisville 72-79-73 224
(61) Jennifer Pandolfi, Duke 72-83-69 224
(35) Natalie Sheary, Wake Forest 72-80-72 224