Samford finishes eighth at Old Waverly Classic
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Samford’s Sydney Needham earned the best finish of her 2014 fall season Wednesday as the Bulldogs’ sophomore native of Carrollton, Ga., placed seventh at the Old Waverly Bulldog Classic hosted by Mississippi State University at the par-72, 6,113-yard Old Waverly Golf Club.
Needham closed out the 13-team, three-day competition with a final-round score 75 on Wednesday and concluded the tournament at 2-over-par 218 (72-71-75). Against some of the top competition in the nation, and at one of the toughest courses in the South, Needham finished just five strokes behind USF’s third-place Ashley Burke (72-66-75=213).
The field for this week’s 54-hole event also included Cincinnati, Florida International, Houston, Iowa, Memphis, Mercer, Murray State, South Alabama, Southern Miss and Troy.
As a team, Samford carded a 54-hole score of 905 (291-298-316) and ended the three-round event just two strokes behind seventh-place Iowa.
Host school Mississippi State, which is ranked No. 5 in the nation, earned the team championship title with a final score of 6-under-par 858 (285-277-296). The Bulldogs’ Ally McDonald claimed individual medalist honors with a tournament-best score of 9-under-par 207 (69-67-71).
Samford’s Bailey Gray closed out the tournament with a three-round score of 224 (69-72-83) and tied for 21st place in the individual standings. The Bulldogs’ Haley Harrington, Emily Stallings and Arin Eddy all finished with scores of 230 (73-76-81), 233 (77-79-77) and 245 (83-79-83), respectively.
Mercer finishes 11th at Old Waverly Bulldog Classic
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Mercer sophomore Katy Harris fired a 2-over 74 to help the women's golf team elevate to an 11th-place finish in Wednesday's final round of the Old Waverly Bulldog Invitational.
Mercer's team score of 313 on Wednesday combined with scores of 311 and 300 in the first two rounds to position the Bears two strokes ahead of Southern Miss and two strokes behind South Alabama. Host Mississippi State captured the tournament title at 858, while South Florida (882) and Houston (885) finished second and third.
Harris collected scores of 74, 72 and 74 to land Mercer's top placement for the fourth time this season. Her three-day total of 220 equaled the effort of Mississippi State's Ji Eun Baik and Logan Chaney and was just one shot outside of a top-10 finish.
Sophomore Marin Hanna booked her second-straight 77 on Wednesday to close the event in a tie for 39th at 229. Senior Sarah Louie Brown and freshman Hannah Mae Deems both tied for 61st place at 241. Brown carded an 82 on Wednesday while Deems turned in an 80.
Senior Meredith Owen tied for 70th at the event with a 56-hole score of 247. Owen's final round 90 followed scores of 83 and 74 on Monday and Tuesday.
Mercer's showing at the Old Waverly Bulldogs Invitational marked the final fall event for the team in 2014. The Bears return to competitive play on Feb. 8 in the Lady Bulldog Individual Championship, hosted by Georgia.