University of Minnesota Athletics
Gopher Women Will Look to Keep Streak Alive
3/19/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
Winthrop Intercollegiate: Minnesota will hope to keep its streak of finishing in the top 10 in all but one tournament this season at the Winthrop Intercollegiate in South Carolina. The Gophers are coming off of a fifth place finish in Arizona. The event will take place at the 6,000 yard, par 72 Rock Hill Country Club. Tee times for the first and third rounds are scheduled for 7:30 a.m. with an 11:00 a.m. shotgun start for the second round.
The tournament field includes 12 teams, 10 of which are ranked in the most recent Golfweek rankings. Oral Roberts is the highest ranked team at 67th in the country. The Gophers are close behind at 71. The field includes: Cleveland State (220), Gardner-Webb (153), High Point (204), Minnesota (71), Oral Roberts (67), Presbyterian College (227), Saint Francis (233), St. John's (NR), South Carolina-Upstate (NR), Winthrop (121), Wisconsin-Green Bay (234) and Yale (114).
A Top 10 season: With three events remaining on the schedule before the Big Ten Championships Minnesota is putting together one of the most successful seasons in school history. The Gophers have finished in the top 10 in six of seven tournaments this season, four of which were also top-five finishes. Individually, Minnesota’s roster includes seven players that hold season averages under 80. Sophomore Teresa Puga leads the team with an average of 74.8.
Speaking of the Big Ten Championships, Minnesota finished in a tie for eighth place in last years event, the highest finish in three years.
Rio Verde Recap: The Gophers shot a combined score of 306 in the final round to finish in fifth place at the 20-team invitational. This was the fourth top-five finish of the 2008-09 season for Minnesota.
The Gophers finished with a 54-hole score of 916, one stroke behind fourth place Toledo and two strokes behind third place Eastern Michigan. The University of Kansas led the entire tournament and won the team title by 24 strokes over Arkansas-Little Rock.
For the second consecutive day, the entire Minnesota lineup carded scores that were sub-80. Leading the way on Sunday was freshman Courtney Massey with a 2-over par 74. Sophomore Michele Edlin carded a 76 while fellow sophomores Mary Narzisi and Samantha Sommers both shot 78.
Overall, Edlin finished in a tie for 26th place with a score of 229, one shot lower than Massey, Teresa Puga and Sommers, who all tied for 30th place with scores of 230. Narzisi’s 54-hole total of 237 put her in a tie for 59th place.
The Gophers: Minnesota’s lineup for the Winthrop Intercollegiate will include senior Paige Bromen, sophomores Michele Edlin, Mary Narzisi, Teresa Puga and Samantha Sommers. Freshman Courtney Massey will play the event as an individual.
Up Next: The Gophers will be off until Apr. 6-7 when they will travel Indiana to take part in the Indiana Invitational
Players Mentioned
