April 19, 2011

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. - The Samford University women's golf team turned in its best round of the 2011 Southern Conference Championship on Tuesday as the Bulldogs carded a final day score of 319 at the pristine Moss Creek North Golf Course. With its third-round performance, Samford earned a seventh-place finish at the highly-competitive 10-team tournament.

The Bulldogs concluded the 54-hole event with a total team score of 967 (323-325-319). Individually, Samford's Sarah Butts led the way with a final three-round tally of 236 (78-80-78). With her three-round performance, the Bulldogs' junior from Carrollton, Ga., earned a tie for 17th place in the individual standings.

Samford's true freshman Alex Jasper completed her stellar performance at the 2011 SoCon Championship with a third-round score of 78. The Bulldogs' native of Clarksville, Tenn., finished the 54-hole tournament with a total tally of 240 (82-80-78).

Following Jasper in scoring, Samford's Anna Heim turned in a final mark of 247 (78-83-86) at the SoCon Championship. True freshman Natalie Mitchell finished fourth on the team with a 54-hole score of 249 (85-87-77), while sophomore Kayla Turner tallied a three-round total of 254 (86-82-86).

Mitchell, the Bulldogs' native of Germantown, Tenn., turned in Samford's best score of the day Tuesday as she fired a final-round mark of 77.

Chattanooga repeated as SoCon champions after shooting a three-day total 900 (+36) and placing all four scorers in the top seven at the 2011 SoCon Women's Golf Championship at the Moss Creek Golf Club.

Since the SoCon Tournament has been held at Moss Creek Golf Club since 2009, Chattanooga registered a day-low 292 (+4) on Tuesday and a three-day course low +36. The Lady Mocs finished comfortably ahead of second place College of Charleston which put together a three-day score of 930 (+66).

Chattanooga's Emma de Groot shot a 3-over-par 219 for the tournament and led all three days to win her first individual conference title. The Chattanooga senior earned her fourth consecutive all-conference honor and was selected as the SoCon Player of the Year by the coaches.

Joining de Groot in the top seven for Chattanooga was freshman Jordan Britt (2nd, 222), Maria Juliana Loza (T-5th, 230) and Christine Wolf (T-7th, 231). Britt, who shot a tournament-low 2-under-par 70 in the final round, was selected on the all-freshman team while Loza and Wolf were honored by the coaches on the all-conference team.

Also taking home honors for the Lady Mocs were Marion Duvernay and Yushira Budhram, who both received all-freshman recognition. Along with the players, Chattanooga's Colette Murray was selected as the SoCon Coach of the Year for the second straight season.

College of Charleston finished second for a consecutive season and was led by all-conference selection Leigh Whittaker (4th, 230) and Ainhoa Nogales (T-7, 231).

Furman (934) finished four strokes behind the Cougars to claim third while Western Carolina (936) came in fourth place. Stefanie Kenoyer represented the Paladins on the all-conference team while Josefine Sundh and Malin Jansson were the Catamounts players on the all-conference.

Elon's Tara McFadden was the lone Phoenix on the all-conference team, as the team finished with a three-day total of 956 to come in fifth.

Coming in sixth was UNC Greensboro (956), followed by Samford (967) in seventh.

Wofford (975) finished in eighth place and was led by all-conference selection Alex Rankin (T-7th, 231) and Freshman of the Year Anne Marie Covar.

Appalachian State (979) and The Citadel (1049) complete the final standings, respectively. Yue Xu from Appalachian State, last season's medalist, earned all-conference for the Mountaineers.

With the win, Chattanooga advanced to its third consecutive NCAA regional which will be held May 5-7.

Tuesday's round was Samford's final competition of the 2011 spring campaign. The future looks bright for the Samford women's golf team as all five members of this year's starting squad return to action next season.

Butts will be the Bulldogs' lone senior on the roster in 2012, while Heim and Turner will both be juniors. Samford's highly-touted freshmen this season in Jasper and Mitchell will enter next year as sophomores.

2011 Southern Conference Honors

All-Conference Team
Yue Xu, Appalachian State
Leigh Whittaker, College of Charleston
Tara McFadden, Elon
Stefanie Kenoyer, Furman
Emma de Groot, Chattanooga
Maria Juliana Loza, Chattanooga
Christine Wolf, Chattanooga
Josefine Sundh, Western Carolina
Alex Rankin, Wofford

All-Freshman Team
Jordan Britt, Chattanooga
Yushira Budhram, Chattanooga
Marion Duvernay, Chattanooga
Lizzie Bundy, UNC Greensboro
Anne Marie Covar, Wofford

Player of the Year
Emma de Groot, Chattanooga

Freshman of the Year
Anne Marie Covar, Wofford

Coach of the Year
Colette Murray, Chattanooga