Apps Finish Third at Ocala Spring Invitational
OCALA, Fla. - Appalachian State University women's golf recorded a pair of program-record 293 rounds to secure a third-place finish at the Morehead State Ocala Spring Invitational. The Mountaineers carded a 293-300-293=886 (+22), led by Lauren Smith's third-place finish at 69-76-71=216 (E).
Yue Xu finished just one stroke back of her classmate in a tie for fifth at 69-71-77=217 (+1), while Mimi Burke ranked third for Appalachian with a 79-75-71=225 (+9) to place 15th.
Rumbidzai Masamvu finished 20th with a 76-78-74=228 (+12) and freshman Elena Thomas finished strong with a 83-87-77=247 (+31) to place 45th.
Competing individually, Brittany Zachrich placed 36th with an 85-78-77=240 (+26).
Nearby Stetson took home the team title with an 880 (+18) and the Hatters' Alex Buelow earned the individual medal with a 210 (-6) over 54 holes.
ASU finished the event just two strokes behind host Morehead State's 884 (+20).
Appalachian moves onto the Low Country Intercollegiate to defend its 2011 team championship. The event takes place on March 25-26 at Hilton Head, S.C.'s Moss Creek Plantation, the site of next month's Southern Conference Tournament.
NOTES: Appalachian's previous team low round was 299, set in Sept. 2010 at the Great Smokies Invitational ... Smith and Xu's opening round 69 tied the individual 18-hole record, originally set by Xu in the April 2010 SoCon Tournament.
Mierzwa Places Sixth at Pinehurst Challenge
PINEHURST, N.C. -- Martyna Mierzwa completed the Pinehurst Challenge with a one-over 217 to place sixth individually as the Elon women's golf team posted a 13th-place showing with a 919 (307-302-310).
Mierzwa earned her best finish of the 2011-12 year and was the top Southern Conference performer in the tournament. She carded rounds of 70 and 72 on Monday before posting a 75 on Tuesday.
Virginia Mayer's 229 (77-75-77) placed her in a tie for 42nd among the 94 golfers in the field. She was followed by Diana Davis who shot a 237 (82-77-78) to tie for 66th.
In a tie for 70th was Elon's Lauren Lebak who shot a 239 (78-81-80). Kristi Ingram rounded out the Phoenix contingent, tying for 78th with a tournament score of 246 (87-78-81).
NC State's Brittany Marchand captured medalist honors with a 211 (73-70-68).
The 21st-ranked Wolfpack also captured the team title with a mark of 865 (286-285-294).
The next five teams in the standings were No. 53 Maryland (296-290-296--882), Old Dominion (296-293-294--883), No. 51 East Carolina (289-297-301--887), No. 96 UNC Wilmington (295-298-299--892) and No. 78 Penn State (305-288-299--892).
The 17-team field also featured top-100 programs in No. 75 UNCG (7th; 299-297-300--896), No. 98 James Madison (8th; 311-295-297--903), No. 97 Samford (299-298-307--904), No. 79 Middle Tennessee State (10th; 305-300-300--905) and No. 85 College of Charleston (11th; 307-304-299--910).
Elon will be back on the links for its final tune-up before the SoCon Championship when the Phoenix participates in the Low Country Intercollegiate in Hilton Head, S.C that begins on March 24.
Spartans finish seventh at Pinehurst Challenge
PINEHURST, N.C. - The UNCG women's golf team held steady Tuesday in the third and final round of the Pinehurst Challenge to finish in seventh place.
Fanny Cnops had the highest finish for the Spartans at Pinehurst No. 6, shooting a three-round total of 220, which tied her for 12th place overall. She shot a 1-over 73 in the third round to move up one spot in the individual standings.
Begona Sarabia shot a third-round 77 for a two-day total of 225, good enough to tie her for 25th.
Ana Lucia Martinez capped off her tournament with a 1-over par 73, putting her at 226 (77-76-73) to finish in a tie for 28th.
Both Berglind Bjornsdotir and Courtney Taylor shot 77 on Tuesday for the Spartans, finishing them tied for 34th (227) and tied for 42nd (229), respectively.
Brittany Marchand of NC State was the individual champion, shooting a 54-hole total of 211. NC State also took the top team honor, collectively shooting an 865, 17 strokes ahead of second-place Maryland.
UNCG carded a 54-hole total of 896 and finished ahead of the three other Southern Conference schools in the field. Samford finished ninth at 904, College of Charleston was 11th at 910 and Elon was 13th at 919.
"I'm pleased that we beat all of the schools in the SoCon," UNCG coach Emily Marron said. "That was good leading up to the conference championship."
UNCG will get back to action on April 6 when it co-hosts the Bryan National Collegiate in Brown Summit, N.C.
AGATE
7. UNCG 299-297-300--896
Individual
T12. Fanny Cnops 77-70-73--220
T25. Begona Sarabia 74-74-77--225
T28. Ana Lucia Martinez 77-76-73--226
T34. Berglind Bjornsdotir 73-77-77--227
T42. Courtney Taylor 75-77-77--229
SAMFORD WOMEN'S GOLF: BULLDOGS FINISH NINTH AT 2012 PINEHURST CHALLENGE
--- Samford's Anna Heim paces the team with a 54-hole score of 223 ---
PINEHURST, N.C. --- The Samford University women's golf team placed ninth at the talent-laden Pinehurst Challenge on Tuesday as the Bulldogs finished the three-round competition with a total team score of 904 (299-298-307). The 17-team tournament was held at the prestigious par-72, 5,992-yard Pinehurst No. 6 Golf Course.
The highly-competitive field of the 2012 Pinehurst Challenge included Samford, College of Charleston, East Carolina, Elon, Georgetown, James Madison, Marshall, Maryland, Middle Tennessee State, North Carolina State, UNCG, UNC-Wilmington, Old Dominion, Penn State, Richmond, Tennessee Tech and Western Michigan.
Samford closed out the 54-hole tournament with a final-round score of 307 on Tuesday. The Bulldogs placed ninth out of 17 teams and finished just one stroke behind eighth-place James Madison.
NC State and Maryland, both out of the Atlantic Coast Conference, finished first and second, respectively, while Old Dominion earned a third-place finish in the three-round event. NC State dominated the field with a final team score of 865 and topped second-place Maryland by 17 strokes. Maryland carded a 54-hole mark of 882, while Old Dominion finished one stroke behind at 883.
Individually, NC State's Brittany Marchand earned the championship title of the 2012 Pinehurst Challenge with a 5-under-par 211. She finished two strokes ahead of her teammate Vivian Tsui and Old Dominion's Elizabeth Haycock at 213.
Samford's Anna Heim fired a team-best 73 on Tuesday to finish tied for 17th place in the individual standings. The Bulldogs' junior from Lafayette, La., carded a three-round score of 223 (75-75-73), while true freshman Bailey Gray followed closely with a 54-hole tally of 226 (73-74-79).
Alex Jasper, Samford's sophomore native of Clarksville, Tenn., finished third on the team with a final score of 227 (78-73-76). The Bulldogs' Natalie Mitchell and Sarah Butts then rounded out their scoring with three-round totals of 230 (75-76-79) and 234 (76-77-81), respectively.
The Samford University women's golf team will next be in action Monday as the Bulldogs begin play in the 2012 Arkansas-Little Rock Invitational which will be held March 26-27 at the Diamante Country Club in Hot Springs Village, Ark.
CofC Women's Golf Finishes 11th in Pinehurst Challenge
PINEHURST, N.C. - The College of Charleston women's golf team posted the sixth-best final round as they moved up and finished 11th at the Pinehurst Challenge Tuesday.
North Carolina State won the tournament with a team score of 1-over 865 as they beat runner-up Maryland, who shot 18-over. The Cougars shot rounds of 307-304-299=910 (+46).
Senior Leigh Whittaker led the Cougars for the tournament as she came back from an opening round 77 to shoot 73-73 in the next two rounds and finish at 7-over and tie for 17th.
Junior Anna Martin also shot 73 on the final day and fellow junior Vanessa Koechli shot 74.
Up next the Cougars travel to Browns Summit, N.C. for the Bryan National Intercollegiate hosted by Wake Forest at the Bryan Park Champions Course.
11 Charleston, Coll. of 307 304 299 910
T 17 Leigh Whittaker 77 73 73 223
T 34 Katharina Boehm 74 74 79 227
T 42 Vanessa Koechli 77 78 74 229
T 54 Anna Martin 80 79 73 232
T 66 Ainhoa Nogales 79 79 79 237
Individuals
T 63 Kathryn Miranda Charleston 75 79 81 235
T 73 Regina Rosas Charleston 78 78 84 240
80 CC Buford Charleston 83 84 80 247
T 83 Walker McLear Charleston 84 86 86 256
1 North Carolina State 286 285 294 865 +1
2 Maryland, U. of 296 290 296 882 +18
3 Old Dominion Univ. 296 293 294 883 +19
4 East Carolina Univ. 289 297 301 887 +23
5 UNCW 295 298 299 892 +28
Penn State Univ. 305 288 299 892 +28
7 UNCG 299 297 300 896 +32
8 James Madison Univ. 311 295 297 903 +39
9 Samford University 299 298 307 904 +40
10 Middle Tennessee St 305 300 300 905 +41
11 Charleston, Coll. of 307 304 299 910 +46
12 Richmond, U. of 301 303 310 914 +50
13 Elon University 307 302 310 919 +55
14 Georgetown U. 312 303 312 927 +63
15 Tennessee Tech U. 317 325 321 963 +99
16 Marshall University 311 328 328 967 +103
DNF Western Michigan U. 312 303 DNF