GOLDEN SUNS FINISH FIRST DAY OF GSC WOMEN'S GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPS IN FIFTH PLACE; FINAL ROUND SET FOR MONDAY

        HOT SPRINGS, Arkansas – Arkansas Tech’s Women’s Golf completed the first day of competition at the 2008 Women’s Golf Championships here at the Hot Springs Country Club in fifth place out of nine teams.

The Golden Suns shot a 352 in the first round to finish 16 shots behind fourth place Harding and four shots in front of fifth place West Georgia. The 353 score was nearly four shots worse than its season average of 349.1 in 15 rounds of golf this season.

“We didn’t shoot a very good score today and that was disappointing,” Golden Suns Head Coach Amy White said. “We need to rebound and perform better tomorrow if we want to improve our standing.”

At last season’s GSC Championships, Tech had a school-best second place finish as they shot a 645 for the 36-hole event.

West Florida, the two-time defending GSC Champions and the No. 11 ranked team in NCAA Division II, leads the nine-team field entering Monday’s final round as the Lady Argonauts shot a 315 in the first round. Henderson State shot a 326 to enter the final round in second place, while Montevallo fired a 330 in Sunday’s first round.

Leading the way for Tech was freshman Ana Morales (Bogota, Columbia). Morales, who was named a First-Team All-GSC selection on Friday by the league’s coaches, carded an 84 in the first round to finish in a two-way tie for 14th place. Morales shot a 40 on the front nine, but struggled on the back nine as she fired a 44 on the 5,834-yard Hot Springs Country Club course.

West Florida’s Natalina Espinosa leads the way as she fired a two-over par 74 in Sunday’s first round. Henderson State’s duo of Jenna Chadwick, the co-GSC Player of the Year with West Flordia freshman Bhavna Shetty and Meredith Mosel shot a four-over par 76 to finish tied for second place.  

In addition to Morales, junior Danielle Lewis (Toronto, Canada) shot an 88 (43, 45) to finish in a tie for 18th place, while senior Cassie Bartley (Shirley, Ark.) and freshman Kyla McIsaac (Kentville, Nova Scotia) each shot a 90 to finish tied for 20th place. Both Bartley and McIsaac shot a 46 on the front nine and carded a 44 on the back nine. Freshman Whitney Hicks (Sheridan, Ark.) shot a 95 (51, 44) to finish in a tie for 29th place.

The women will conclude the tournament with another 18 holes on Monday beginning at 10 a.m. In addition, the Wonder Boys open up the 54-hole GSC Men’s Golf Championship on Monday with 36 holes beginning at 8 a.m. and will complete its tournament with 18 holes on Tuesday.

Complete results of the meet will be available daily on the GSC Golf Championship homepage which is located on the GSC’s website at www.gulfsouthconference.org.

First Round results of 2008 GSC Women's Golf Championships

         -- Tech Athletics --