April 10, 2006

HATTIESBURG, Miss. ---- The Samford University women's golf team is currently in ninth place following the first day of competition at the 2006 Lady Eagle Classic, hosted by Southern Miss, at the Canebrake Country Club in Hattiesburg, Miss., on Monday.

The Bulldogs shot a combined score of 635 through two rounds of play. Samford shot a 322 in the first round but improved to a 313 in round two.

"There were a lot of good teams here and the scores were pretty low on what I thought was a pretty tough golf course," said Samford head coach Ian Thompson. "I was glad to see us improve to shoot a 313 in the second round. I'd like to see us improve to a 310 tomorrow. Right now, I'm not concerned with where we finish, but how we shoot as we get ready to head to the conference tournament."

Samford was led by Stephanie Larson and Maria Troche. The two are tied for 26th, as each shot a 156 through two rounds. Larson shot an 80 in round one and improved to shoot a 76 in round two. Troche shot a 77 in the first round and followed up with a 79 in the second round.

"I was very pleased with Stephanie's performance today," Thompson said. "It was good to see her play as well as she did, and hopefully she'll turn in another solid score tomorrow."

Kelly Stout tied for 35th overall in the tournament. Stout fired a 79 in round one and an 80 in round two, to combine for a 159. Courtney Warr shot an 86 in round one and a 78 in round two to place 47th, and Ashleigh Hicks rounded out the Bulldogs' top five, with a combined score of 170. Hicks shot an 86 in round one and an 84 in round two.

The 2006 Lady Eagle Classic is set to tee off on Tuesday at 7:30 a.m., with a shotgun start. Results will be posted at www.southernmiss.com following the conclusion of the final round.