Feb. 18, 2014
Final ResultsThe 14th-ranked Vanderbilt women’s golf team set a new program 54-hole scoring record with a final score of 844 (276-287-281), claimed its first team title since 2007, and Vanderbilt freshman Simin Feng won medalist honors at the Central District Invitational Tuesday at the Lake Ranch-Cypress Course in Lakewood Ranch, Fla.
Vanderbilt knocked off UCF by one stroke and third-place Michigan State by five strokes, both ranked in the top 20, while Feng was officially awarded medalist honors over Allyssa Ferrell of Michigan State due to a scorecard playoff. The tiebreaker started at hole 18, and Feng birdied, while Ferrell shot par. The Commodore freshman from Windermere, Fla., ended the tournament with a nine-under par, 207 (67-69-71).
Feng’s 207 was the lowest 54-hole score in the 14-year history of the Central District Invitational, with the previous being 209. The team score of 844 was a CDI record by 13 strokes (previous: 857 by Florida in 2010). This is the first year the tournament has been held at the Lake Ranch-Cypress Course, with the previous 13 tournaments at River Wilderness Country Club in Parrish, Fla.
“Simin made a clutch nine footer on the last hole to tie,” said Vanderbilt head coach Greg Allen. “She won in a scorecard playoff, but she was ready to go out there and playoff.”
The Commodores, who trailed UCF by two strokes heading into the final round on Tuesday morning, posted an 844 (276-287-281) for the week, and a 281 on Tuesday, the low third round of the tournament. Vanderbilt counted a five-under par, 67, from freshman Antonia Scherer, a two-under par, 70, from junior Kendall Martindale, a one-under par, 71, from Feng, and a one-over par, 73, from sophomore Jennifer Hahn and junior Irina Gabasa. In the final four holes in Tuesday’s round, the Commodores combined for a total of eight birdies and no bogeys. Included in those birdies was a 30-footer by Martindale on 18 and a 33-footer by Scherer on the 17th.
Martindale’s final-round 70 moved her into a tie for sixth in the individual standings with a final tally of 212 (69-73-70), while Scherer’s 67 on Tuesday came on five birdies and no bogeys and moved her three-round total to one-under par, 215 (72-76-67), which vaulted the freshman from Aystetten, Germany, 16 spots up the individual leader board to 17th place.
“I’m so proud of the way they hung in there coming down the stretch, and I’m not sure I’ve ever had this much fun coaching a team,” said Allen. “They really stuck to the process. This win is for every ‘Dore that has carried a Vandy bag for me.”
The win at the Central District is Vanderbilt’s first team victory since the Vanderbilt Triangular in 2007, and Feng is the Commodores’ first medalist since Marina Alex won the 2010 SEC Individual Championship.
Sophomore Jennifer Hahn also carded a top 20 finish after ending the tournament with a 216 (68-75-73). Junior Irina Gabasa finished a stroke back of Hahn with a 217 (74-70-73, T-22), while individual Morgan Ransom fired a three-round score of 222 (79-71-72, T-35).
Vanderbilt returns to the course at the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate March 7-9 in Hilton Head, S.C.
1. Vanderbilt – 276-287-281=844
1. Simin Feng – 67-69-71=207
T6. Kendall Martindale – 69-73-70=212
17. Antonia Scherer – 72-76-67=215
T18. Jennifer Hahn – 68-75-73=216
T22. Irina Gabasa – 74-70-73=217
T35. Morgan Ransom – 79-71-72=222*
*Played as an individual.
