Wednesday, 19 March 2008
The Tulsa women’s golf team captured the team championship at the Samford University Women’s Intercollegiate on Tuesday afternoon. The Hurricane carded a final round 303 and finished with a 20-over par 884 score, 17 strokes better than second-place Tennessee-Chattanooga at the Limestone Spring Golf Course.
It’s the second tournament victory for the Hurricane in the last three events, as Tulsa claimed the tournament title at the Kitahara Fresno State Invitational in February. Tulsa has not won two tournament crowns in the same season since the 2002-03 campaign.
“During the first 36 holes, we played very well with balanced scoring from top to bottom. The effort was fantastic and the girls worked hard,” said first-year Head Coach Randy Keck. “As with a lot of tournaments you tend to get a little conservative with a big lead and that’s what we did today. We didn’t play our best golf today, but we’re excited about the victory.”
The Hurricane had five golfers place among the top-15 individuals. Senior Michaela Cavener (Ponca City, Okla.) had her fifth top-10 performance of the season with a second-place finish. She carded rounds of 74-70-73 for a one-over par 217 total, placing six strokes behind individual medalist Emma deGroot of Chattanooga, who shot a four-under par 68 on Tuesday for a 54-hole score of 211.
Fellow senior Tara Goedeken, the individual leader after two rounds, carded a final round 83 after opening day rounds of 70-71. Her 224 score put her in a tie for seventh place, her fifth top-20 performance of the year. Freshman Kelly Fuchik (Tulsa, Okla./Bishop Kelley HS) also finished among the top-10 individuals with a ninth-place outing, moving up from 26th place at the start of the day. On Tuesday, Fuchik turned in Tulsa’s best score of the day with a one-under par 71 for a total of 226. It was Fuchik’s fourth top-15 finish this year, including the second top-10 finish in her last three tournaments.
Tulsa newcomer Woori Shin and senior Leisl Hasbrouck tied for 13th place with 229 totals. Shin had her third top-15 finish in as many tournaments after carding a final round 77 today, while Hasbrouck shot an 82 on her final round.
Tulsa freshman Brooke Baker (Edmond, Okla./Memorial HS), playing as an individual for the Hurricane, had the best finish among the nine golfers playing as individuals at the Samford Intercollegiate this week. Baker had a final round 75 and finished with a 230 total for 17th place.
“We feel really good about the victory and the progress of this team. We’ve come a lot further in a shorter amount of time than what we imagined, and mainly that’s because of the hard work of the kids. They’ve remained focused and have played well,” added Keck.
Chattanooga began third round action in fifth place, but turned in the best team round of the day with a 298 but it still wasn’t enough to catch the Hurricane. Jacksonville State, Missouri State and Illinois rounded out the top-5 teams.
Tulsa will be in action next at the UALR Invitational, March 22-23.
Team Results
1. Tulsa 290-291-303=884
2. Tenn.-Chattanooga 300-303-298=901
3. Jacksonville State 306-296-311=913
T4. Missouri State 307-306-302=915
T4. Illinois 307-291-317=915
6. Murray State 295-304-318=917
T7. Bradley 310-303-317=930
T7. Samford 317-305-308=930
9. Belmont 315-298-323=936
10. South Alabama 316-310-316=942
T11. Birmingham Southern 322-309-318=949
T11. UAB 317-316-316=949
13. Western Kentucky 329-310-327=966
14. Xavier 331-318-321=970
15. Lipscomb 336-314-345=995
Tulsa Results
2. Michaela Cavener 74-70-73=217
T7. Tara Goedeken 70-71-83=224
9. Kelly Fuchik 81-74-71=226
T13. Leisl Hasbrouck 71-76-82=229
T13. Woori Shin 75-77-77=229
T17. Brooke Baker* 76-79-75=230
*playing as an individual
Top-5 Individuals
1. Emma deGroot, Chattanooga 72-71-68=211
2. Michaela Cavener, Tulsa 74-70-73=217
T3. Amy Phalaljivin, Missouri St. 69-76-75=220
T3. Seul Ki Park, Illinois 76-73-71=220
5. Lorie Warren, Belmont 74-72-75=221
Last Updated ( Wednesday, 19 March 2008 )