Minter Leads WCU Women's Golf to Fifth-Place Finish
Senior placed in a two-way tie for sixth at the Panther Intercollegiate
Stockbridge, Ga. - Senior Blaire Minter posted her first top-10 finish of the spring season, pacing Western Carolina to a fifth-place finish at the John Kirk Panther Intercollegiate hosted by Georgia State at the par-72, 6,047-yard Eagle's Landing Country Club. Minter finished tied for sixth-place with a three-round score of 218 while the Catamounts shot 299 on Tuesday to finish at 896 overall.
The Univ. of Maryland earned a six-stroke victory over Mississippi State, 885-to-891, while East Tennessee State's Gabriella Wahl earned the individual medalist honors with an impressive 7-under, 209. ETSU finished third in the team standings at 892 followed by Campbell in fourth at 895, just edging the Catamounts in fifth place.
Wahl edged Mississippi State's Ally McDonald by three strokes in the runner-up position.
Entering the final round in a tie for third place, Minter carded five bogies against 13 pars over the final 18 holes to shoot 77 on Tuesday. The Marietta, Ga., native carded her career-low round over the first 18 holes on Monday, backing it up with an even-par, 72. Minter made the turn at three-over, closing the back nine with consecutive bogies. She was poised to finish at four-over, but a bogey on the par-4 ninth hole relegated her to two-over on the front, five for the day.
Freshman Sofie Kvarnstrom shot the team's low round of the final day at 71, rallying from a tie for 22nd to record a top-10 finish - the second of her collegiate career and first since the season-opening event. Kvarnstrom played the first eight holes of the back nine even before a bogie on the par-5 18th left her at one-over at the turn. She moved to two-over with a second-consecutive bogie on the first hole of the front nine, but the Orebro, Sweden, product finished strong with three-straight birdies on holes No. 6, No. 7 and No. 8 to move to one-under, 71, for the round.
Senior Rachel Nelson also posted a final-round run towards the top of the leader board, moving from a tie for 38th to finish tied for 25th overall at 13-over, 229. Nelson finished her last 18 holes at one-over, 73, to cap her tournament, posting three bogies and a pair of birdies.
Rounding out WCU's scoring five were freshman Maria Kjelldorff in 32nd at 233 and junior Michelle Bello in a tie for 43rd at 238. Kjelldorff had a busy round with four bogies on both the front and back nine, countering with a pair of birdies on the front for the six-over, 78. Bello likewise had a busy day on the scorecard with six bogies and a pair of doubles in the 10-over, 82.
Playing unattached as individuals, freshman Katy Kile shot 82 on Tuesday to finish at 237 (80-75-82) while senior Christina Amoriello turned in cards for two rounds, shooting 86 on the second 18 Monday and 81 on Tuesday.
Western Carolina is scheduled to have one more tune-up event prior to the Southern Conference Championship at Hilton Head Island on April 15-17. The Catamounts travel to Morganton, N.C., and the Mimosa Hills Intercollegiate on April 2-3 for a 36-hole event.
Furman Golf Finishes Sixth At John Kirk/Panther Intercollegiate
Stockbridge, Ga. - Furman's Laura Wearn (+1) carded a final round 72 to finish in fifth place and help the Paladins to a sixth place finish on Tuesday in the John Kirk/Panther Intercollegiate at the par-72 Eagle's Landing Country Club.
Wearn, a junior, notched three birdies and an eagle at the par-5, No. 6 to shoot a one-under on the front nine and climb into the top five at one-over. Liz Wendt notched a three-over 75 to finish in a tie for 21st while Alexa Rancourt (+9) placed ninth with a five-over 77 on Tuesday.
Maryland (+21) claimed the tournament title with Mississippi State (+27), East Tennessee State (+28), Campbell (+31) and Western Carolina (+32) rounding out the top five. Furman recorded a 16-over 304 on Tuesday to claim sixth place in the 11-team field.
ETSU's Gabriella Wahl (-7) shot a 69 to cruise to the individual title.
Furman returns to action April 9-10, at the Knights and Pirates Invitational in Melbourne, Fla.
Furman Results
6 Furman 299 300 304 903
5 Laura Wearn 71 74 72 217
T18 Alexa Rancourt 76 72 77 225
T21 Liz Wendt 75 77 75 227
T48 Inga Gunnarsdottir 83 77 80 240
T53 Daffodil Sanchez 77 83 86 246
*T48 Mackenzie Puryear 79 76 85 240
* Laura DeMarco 84 85 WD
* - playing as individual
SAMFORD WOMEN'S GOLF FINISHES 11TH AT 2012 UALR CLASSIC
--- The 19-team, two-day competition was held at the Diamante Country Club ---
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. --- The Samford University women's golf team turned in its best round of the Sixth Annual University of Arkansas-Little Rock Classic on Tuesday as the Bulldogs closed out the two-day competition with a third-round mark of 300 to finish 11th at the Diamante Country Club.
The 19-team UALR Classic featured seven squads ranked in the top-100 nationally by GolfStat.com, led by No. 31 Tulsa. The teams played 36 holes Monday and then closed out the 54-hole event with the final 18 holes Tuesday.
The highly-competitive field for the tournament consisted of Samford, UALR, Arkansas State, Ball State, Central Arkansas, Eastern Michigan, Louisiana-Monroe, Middle Tennessee, UMKC, Missouri State, North Texas, Northern Colorado, Northern Iowa, Oral Roberts, Texas A&M Corpus Christi, UTEP, Troy, Tulsa and Wichita State.
Samford finished the 2012 UALR Classic in 11th place Tuesday, just seven strokes out of the seventh position and only one stroke behind 10th-place Troy. The Bulldogs improved their score in each of the three rounds of the tournament and finished the two-day competition with a total team mark of 913 (309-304-300).
UTEP won the team title with a final score of 897 (304-300-293) and charged back in the third round of play to upend both second-place Tulsa (297-303-298) and third-place Middle Tennessee (299-302-298). Karisa Akin, of Middle Tennessee, earned Individual Medalist honors by posting a tournament-best score of 1-under-par 215 (74-70-71).
Individually, Samford was paced by sophomore Alex Jasper who posted a 54-hole score of 226 (74-79-73). She was followed by the Bulldogs' true freshman Emily Stallings (77-76-76=229), senior Sarah Butts (77-77-78=232) and Natalie Mitchell (81-76-75=232). Junior Anna Heim overcame a difficult first round to finish with a 54-hole mark of 233 (82-75-76).
The Samford University women's golf team will next be in action April 9-10 as the Bulldogs play host to a talented field of teams in the 2012 Samford Intercollegiate to be held at the Limestone Springs Golf Club in Oneonta, Ala.