Tuesday, September 17
Waynesville, N.C.
All Day
Samford University
at
Western Carolina Great Smokies Intercollegiate
The 2013-14 Samford women's golf team has already earned first- and second-place finishes in two events this season.
Golf Places Second At Great Smokies Intercollegiate
9.17.13 | Women's Golf
Samford’s Needham and Gray finish second and fourth at the 67-player competition
Final Results
WAYNESVILLE, N.C. -- The Samford University women's golf team carded a final-round score of 293 on Tuesday to earn a second-place finish at the 15th-annual Great Smokies Intercollegiate hosted by Western Carolina University at the par 72, 5,932-yard Waynesville Inn and Golf Resort.
"This was another great tournament for our players," said Samford head coach Rachel Ingram. "It was a great performance to finish 2-under par and to finish in second place behind tournament host Western Carolina. Our first round of 7-under-par 281 broke the tournament record and was the lowest score ever turned in by the Samford women's golf team. I am so honored to coach these devoted and talented ladies."
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Samford concluded the two-day, 36-hole event with a total team score of 2-under-par 574 and finished just four strokes behind first-place Western Carolina (283-287 = 570). Rounding out the top-five teams in the tournament were Mercer (285-291 = 576), Eastern Kentucky (294-288 = 582) and Methodist University (292-298 = 590).
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Both Western Carolina and Samford broke the previous Great Smokies Intercollegiate tournament 36-hole benchmark of 575, which was carded by Morehead State in 2012.
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The Catamounts now own the Great Smokies Intercollegiate two-round record by shooting a school 36-hole record score of 570, erasing the previous best two-round score of 576 shot back in 2005. Samford carded a 574, also better than the previous standard for 36-hole play at the Great Smokies Intercollegiate.
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Just last week, Needham cruised to the championship title of the 2013 FedEx Memphis Intercollegiate. Needham, the Bulldogs' talented native of Carrollton, Ga., has now opened her collegiate career with first- and second-place finishes, respectively.
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Bailey Gray, Samford's junior native of Trussville, Ala., registered a fourth-place finish Tuesday. After opening the tournament with a career-best 67 on Monday, she posted a second-round tally of 74 for a final mark of 3-under-par 141.
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Senior Alex Jasper, who was competing as an individual in the Great Smokies Intercollegiate, also finished the tournament with a two-day total of 141 (72-69). Samford's native of Clarksville, Tenn., concluded the event tied for fourth place at the Waynesville Inn and Golf Resort.
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The Bulldogs' Natalie Mitchell finished tied for 10th place with a 36-hole mark of 144 (71-73), while true freshman Haley Harrington carded a 151 (77-74) and Emily Stallings added a 154 (75-79).
"These ladies really played their hearts out this week and I am excited about our next tournament this weekend at Furman," Ingram said. "The team is playing well, they are thinking their way around the course and walking confidently. I really thought that Sydney, Bailey, Alex and Natalie did outstanding jobs this week. I am very excited about this team and competing in the rest of the season."
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On Monday, Samford fired a school-record, 18-hole team mark of 281 at the Great Smokies Intercollegiate. The Bulldogs' monumental opening-round total of 281 surpassed their previous best mark of 291, which was set at last season's Great Smokies Intercollegiate.
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Samford's opening round Monday proved to be the lowest 18-hole score in tournament history, shooting 281 to eclipse the previous tournament record of 282 carded by Gardner-Webb in the second round of the 2011 Great Smokies Intercollegiate.
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So far this season, under the tutelage of first-year head coach Rachel Ingram, the Bulldogs have earned consecutive finishes of first place at the FedEx Memphis Intercollegiate and second place at the 2013 Great Smokies Intercollegiate.
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The Samford University women's golf team will next be in action this Friday through Sunday at the Lady Paladin Invitational being hosted by Furman University at the Furman Golf Course in Greenville, S.C.
Final Results
Thursday, October 01
Tuesday, September 29
Sunday, September 27
Sunday, September 27
