Cougars Finish Fifth, Whittaker Takes Individual Title
KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. - Leigh Whittaker (Baden-Baden, Germany) shot a 71 in third round to add to her two rounds of 67 and win individual medalist honors at the Palmetto Intercollegiate held at Oak Point Golf Course on Kiawah Island, S.C., Oct. 25-26. Whittaker's 11-under par 205 helped the College of Charleston women's golf team, which led after the first two rounds, to a tie for fifth with Morehead State. Kennesaw State fired a 295 to win the team title by five strokes over Coastal Carolina.
The Cougars, which fired a season-low 287 in the first round, carded a 311 in the third to finish with an 889. Whittaker's 67 in the first and second rounds tied the College of Charleston record for lowest round. She posted 15 birdies in three rounds to give her an under-par performance each of the three rounds. With a 205, she finished with the lowest tournament total ever for the Cougars.
"Leigh (Whittaker) had an unbelievable tournament," said head coach Jamie Futrell. "She had the best performance by a Cougar in the history of the program and I couldn't be happier for her."
Coastal Carolina's Courtney Boe placed second with a 214 and in third was Kennesaw State's Ket Preamchuen with a 215. Tied for fourth were Kansas' Katy Nugent, Campbell's Michelle Koh and Jacksonville State's Lucia Fernandez with a 216 each. The top five finishers earned All-Tournament honors.
Ainhoa Nogales (Pozuelo de Alarcon, Spain) tied for 24th for the Cougars with a 225 and tied for 28th was Kathy Boehm (Poing, Germany) with her 227 in three rounds. Vanessa Koechli (Greer, S.C.) tied for 57th with a 238 and tied for 65th was Anna Martin (Easley, S.C.) with a 241.
Competing as individuals were Kathryn Miranda (Lexington, S.C.) and Walker McLear (Durham, N.C.). Miranda tied for 68th with a 242 and McLear tied for 86th with a 254.
"While the team struggled today, a fifth-place finish in this field was a solid one for the team. We didn't play well in practice leading up to the tournament, but the team stepped up yesterday with a great performance. That helped offset some of our play today. Overall, I'm pleased with the effort and look forward to the spring season."
The Cougars are off until Feb. 21-23, 2011 when they host the Edwin Watts/Kiawah Island Classic being held at Oak and Cougar Point Golf Clubs
Team Results
1 - Kennesaw St., 282-298-295=875
2 - Coastal Carolina, 295-287-298=880
3 - Campbell, 299-284-303=886
4 - Kansas, 296-296-295=887
T5 - Morehead State, 293-299-297=889
T5 - College of Charleston, 287-291-311=889
7 - Jacksonville St., 297-296-303=896
8 - Western Carolina, 291-307-308=906
9 - East Tennessee State, 294-298-316=908
10 - Elon, 303-304-316=923
11 - Wichita State, 310-300-314=924
T12 - Illinois State, 307-312-310=929
T12 - Richmond, 311-307-311=929
T12 - Miami, 302-309-318=929
15 - Charleston Southern, 307-308-324=939
16 - Eastern Kentucky, 319-319-314=952
17 - High Point, 327-319-328=974
18 - The Citadel, 327-330-332=989
College of Charleston Results
1 - Leigh Whittaker, 67-67-71=205
T24 - Ainhoa Nogales, 70-73-82=225
T28 - Kathy Boehm, 76-75-76=227
T57 - Vanessa Koechli, 80-76-82=238
T65 - Anna Martin, 74-81-86=241
T68 - Kathryn Miranda, 81-78-83=242
T86 - Walker McLear, 87-88-79=254
SAMFORD WOMEN'S GOLF: RAIN HALTS PLAY ON FINAL DAY OF 2010 MEMPHIS INVITATIONAL
--- The Bulldogs finish 12th out of 18 teams at the talent-laden competition ---
GERMANTOWN, Tenn. --- Amidst rainy and windy conditions at the Ridgeway Country Club on Tuesday, the Samford University women's golf team carded a final 36-hole score of 652 (324-328) to finish the two-day competition in 12th place at the 18-team 2010 Memphis Invitational.
The teams were initially scheduled to play three rounds (54 holes) this week, but the weather forced administrators to halt the competition following Tuesday morning's completion of the second round.
Samford fired a total team score of 324 in the first round, followed by a 328 in the final 18 holes of play.
Illinois earned the championship title of the 2010 Memphis Invitational with a 36-hole mark of 615 (314-301), while hometown-favorite Memphis (305-316) and Missouri State (310-311) both finished tied for third place at 621.
Individually, Mississippi State's Erika Thornton (71-76) and Vicky Correa (76-71) both concluded the two-day competition in a two-way tie for first place with identical scores of 147.
Samford was paced this week by junior Sarah Butts. The Bulldogs' native of Carrollton, Ga., carded a 36-hole score of 157 (78-79) to earn a 25th-place finish in the individual standings. Sophomore Anna Heim followed with a two-round total of 164 (83-81), while freshman Savannah Schubert fired a 165 (80-85) and her classmate Alex Jasper tallied a 166 (83-83).
Rounding out Samford's scoring Tuesday was sophomore Kayla Turner who finished with a two-day total of 168 (83-85).
The Samford University women's golf team will next be in action Friday through Sunday as the Bulldogs are slated to compete in the 2010 Furman Invitational to be held at the Furman University Country Club in Greenville, S.C.
Lebak Leads Elon to 10th at Palmetto Intercollegiate
KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. -- Lauren Lebak's final round score of 77 helped the Elon junior to a tie for 28th-place with a final tally of 227 (75-75-77) at the Palmetto Intercollegiate on Tuesday. The Phoenix finished the 18-team tournament with a 10th-place showing thanks to a score of 923 (303-304-316).
In a tie for 40th, Elon's Tara McFadden (75-74-81--230) and Virginia Mayer (75-78-77--230) were the next-best finishers for the Phoenix. Mayer finished her three rounds by shooting one-under on the par-three holes.
Meghan Green posted an 82 during her third and final round to place in a tie for 68th with a three-round mark of 242 (83-77-82). Lindsey Thomka rounded out Elon's participants by placing in a tie for 73rd with a score of 243 (78-84-81).
College of Charleston's Leigh Whittaker claimed the individual title, besting 91 other golfers, by posting a three-round score of 205 (67-67-71).
Kennesaw State won the team crown by five strokes over Coastal Carolina. KSU tallied a final mark of 875 (282-298-295) to CCU's 880 (295-297-298). Campbell (299-284-303--886) and Kansas (296-296-295--887) held down spots three and four while Morehead State (293-299-297--889) and Southern Conference foe College of Charleston (297-291-311--889) tied for fifth.
Two other SoCon rivals were in the field. Western Carolina placed eighth with a score of 906 (291-307-308) while The Citadel's total of 989 (327-330-332) placed it 18th.
This event concluded Elon's fall season. The Phoenix will return to the links on Feb. 20-22 at the Edwin Watts-Kiawah Island Classic.
WCU Women's Golf Finished Eighth to Conclude Fall at Palmetto Intercollegiate
Catamounts led by junior Rachel Nelson with a career-low, 54-hole score
Kiawah Island, S.C. - Western Carolina junior Rachel Nelson recorded a career-low, 54-hole score of 224 to lead the Catamounts to an eighth-place finish at the Palmetto Intercollegiate which concluded on Tuesday afternoon at the par-72, 5,912-yard Oak Point Golf Course. WCU matched the program's ninth-best, 54-hole score, duplicating the 906 - and eighth-place finish - tallied at the same event one year ago.
The tournament concludes the fall portion of the Catamounts 2010-11 schedule. WCU placed inside the top 10 as a team in all four tournaments including twice finishing tied for third and winning the Tribe Invitational back on Oct. 15-17.
Nelson, a native of West Chester, Ohio, recorded her second-best career finish while also posting her career-low round of 70 during the event. It is the first time in her three-year career that she has led the team, becoming the fourth different Catamount to pace the squad in tournament play this fall.
Kennesaw State claimed the team championship as tournament host, College of Charleston, fell off into a tie for fifth place after a final round 311. The Owls won by five strokes over second place Coastal Carolina, 875-to-880. Campbell placed third with an 886 with Kansas in fourth-place, 12 strokes off the pace with Charleston and Morehead State tied for fifth at 889.
Leigh Whittaker from the College of Charleston claimed individual medalist honors after carding an 11-under, 205, over the two-day event. She bested runner-up Courtney Boe (214) from Coastal Carolina by nine strokes.
Nelson's classmate, Blaire Minter, finished tied for 35th for the Catamounts with a three-round score of 228, capped with a four-over 76 on Tuesday. Minter posted 40 par-scores at the event, the second-most among the 92-golfer field. She was followed by sophomore Malin Jansson in 39th, one stroke in arrears at 229. Jansson was also one of six golfers to record an Eagle during the 54-hole event.
Rounding out WCU's finishers were senior Josefine Sundh in a tie for 43rd, falling from 29th with a final round of 81 to shoot 231, with classmate Tiffany Schisler tied for 57th, improving 17 positions with the squad's lowest final round of 75 on Tuesday.
Western Carolina will return to action after the first of the year, returning to the South Carolina Lowcountry and Kiawah Island for the Kiawah Island Classic on Feb. 19-22, 2011. The Catamounts finished 11th a year ago amidst a very talented field at the same event.