Lander Wins First Tournament in Program History

Results

The first Lander women's golf team claimed its first-ever tournament victory Tuesday afternoon when in defeated 14 other teams in the two-day, two-round Dana Rader Intercollegiate which was hosted by Pfeiffer University at the 5,845-yard, par-72 Ballantyne Resort.

Lander scored a low 615 (305-310) and was followed by: 2. Midwestern State 618, 3. Pfeiffer 632, 4. Wingate 634, 5. Mount Olive 637, 6. Anderson 656, 7. Queens 659, 8. Erskine 668, 9. Kutztown and Lenoir-Rhyne 674, 11. Milligan 682, 12. West Chester 686, 13. Concord 698, 14. Belmont Abbey 710, and 15 Barton 801.

The Bearcats were led by Marianna Martins and Ashley Shinn, who placed fifth and seventh respectively. Martins shot an 7-over-par 151 (75-76), while Shinn carded a 152 (73-79). Also included in the team score were Valentina Bueno, who finished 17th with a 157 (79-78), and Dea Mahendra, who tied for 18th with 158 (81-77). Rachel Uremovich tied for 21st with a 160 (78-82).

Armstrong Atlantic State University junior Kelly Pearce fired a two-over-par 74 on Tuesday to capture the Dana Rader Intercollegiate individual title, becoming the third Pirate women's golfer to win a tournament this spring season.

Pearce finished the two-day event with a five-over-par 149 total, tied with Mount Olive's Emelie Andersson and Pfeiffer's Chelsea Demers. A scorecard tiebreaker was applied to the three golfers and Pearce won the tiebreaker to take the title.

She joins sophomore Kristen Sammarco, who won the Kiawah Island Intercollegiate, and sophomore Jenna Birch, who captured the Newberry Invitational as Pirates who have won individual tournaments this spring. It is the first individual win for Pearce, who is a two-time All-PBC honoree for Armstrong.
Birch fashioned her third Top 10 performance of the season by tying for seventh after a second-round 77, giving her a two-day 152 total, eight-over-par. Senior Kim Knox carded a 74 on Tuesday to finish in 16th place individually with a 156 total, while senior Victoria Bennett shot a 91 to finish tied for 37th individually with a 168 total. Junior Jessica Tomberlin rounded out the Pirate individuals competing in the event with a 90 on Tuesday, finishing tied for 56th with a 173 total.

Lady Saints Pull Away from Field, Capture North Georgia Invitational
Results

DAHLONEGA, GA – For the third time this spring the North Georgia women's golf team improved on the first round score as they dropped 14 strokes. shooting a team total of 313 on day two en route to winning the 2012 North Georgia Spring Invitational contested at Achasta by Reynolds.

The Lady Saints proved dominant on their home course, shooting a two-round total of 640 (327-313) to beat Young Harris by 74 stokes, while Truett-McConnell finished in third with a tournament total of 811 (394-417).

Catalina Olarte had her best round of the spring, following up an opening round 76 with a three-over-par 75 as she earned individual honors.  Courtney Moore of Young Harris shot a final round 75 to finish in second place seven shots off Olarte's pace, while Abbey Gill and Casey Truelove finished in a tie for third. Erica Breeden rounded out the top five with her final round 79.

Olarte's victory was her first as a member of the Lady Saints and was the first win for a member of the team in program history. The Manizales, Colombia, native continues to etch her name in the school's record books as she holds nearly ever record in the three-year program history.

Gill continued her consistent play following up an opening round 81 with a final round 81 as she had her best finish as a member of the Lady Saints.
Truelove and Breeden continue to improve in the second year at North Georgia for head coach Leigh Anne Hunter. Breeden also had her best finish, sneaking into the top five for the first time in her career. She followed up an opening round 86 with a seven-over-par 79, while Truelove shaved six strokes off her opening round 84 on day two to jump into a tie for third.

LeeAnn Noble finished in ninth place with a two round total of 192 (96-96), while Jodie Borchert came in 11th place, shaving two strokes off her opening round 103 in the final round.

Morgan Blackwell finished in a tie for 16th, following up an opening round 110 with a 108.

The Lady Saints return to the links on April 2-3, when they travel to Greeneville, Tennessee, to take part in the Agnes McAmis Memorial Invitational contested at the Link Hills Country Club.

No. 9 UNCP Women's Golf Finishes Third At Richmond Spider Invitational
Results

SOUTHPORT – Ninth-ranked UNCP booked its best round of the tournament, but was unable to make up any ground on second-round leader Boston College as the Lady Braves finished third at the NCAA Division I-laden Richmond Spider Invitational on Sunday afternoon at The Reserve Golf Club at St. James Plantation.

UNC Pembroke (338-320-319/977), the only non-NCAA Division I school participating in the tournament, finished 14 strokes off the pace set by both Boston College (312-328-323/963) and Charleston Southern (329-317-317), while Delaware (330-329-324/983) finished the weekend in fourth place. Winthrop (335-326-328/989) and tournament-host Richmond (335-326-328) finished in a tie for fifth.

The Lady Braves were led by Meghan Moore who carded a three-round total of 240 (82-81-77) en route to finishing in a tie for seventh with Delaware's Andrea Slane. Dana Watkins (86-75-80/241) concluded the weekend in a tie for ninth alongside Charleston Southern's Katelyn Bensch, while Shauna Walor (84-82-81/247) exited the event in a tie for 19th. Jenn Crow (86-85-81/252) and Kelly Sumner (87-82-87/256) finished tied for 30th and tied for 35th, respectively.

Boston College's Katia Joo (76-78-76/230) grabbed medalist honors by four strokes over Winthrop's Jennifer Dilger (78-77-79/234).

UNCP will continue the Spring portion of its 2011-12 schedule, March 26-27, when it heads to Charlotte for the Wingate-hosted Ralph Hargett Memorial Invitational.