Sept. 13, 2011
Vanderbilt opened its fall season with a solid, 6th-place finish at the Cougar Classic in Charleston, S.C., with a final team score of 865 (290-291-284). Senior Marina Alex led all Vanderbilt players for the tournament with a three-under par, 213 (72-70-71), which tied her for ninth on the individual leaderboard.
The Commodores posted their best team round of the tournament on Tuesday – counting junior Lauren Stratton’s 70, freshman Kendall Martindale and Alex’s 71, and junior Anna Leigh Keith’s 72 – for a score of 284. Freshman Irina Gabasa had a solid round for Vanderbilt on Tuesday, carding a 73, and sophomore Rene Sobolewski, who played as an individual, fired a 74 in her final round around Yeamens Hall.
LSU won the team championship after firing a tournament-low 277 on Tuesday. The Tigers defeated second-place North Carolina by five strokes and third-place Florida by eight.
LSU’s Austin Ernst claimed medalist honors with a 13-under par, 203 (67-69-67). Ernst defeated Tennessee’s Eric Popson, the first and second round leader, by four strokes.
“Overall, when we shoot four under for the day, we end up pretty good,” said Vanderbilt head coach Greg Allen. “Teams are really good these days, and we need to be on it from start to finish in these tournaments, because the competition is so good. It felt like a regional out there today with the good scores and the fact that only five strokes separated the fourth place team from the 10th place team.
“I saw a lot of good things this weekend. We made a lot of birdies and it’s exciting to watch this team. From 1-6, we’ve got some girls who can play.”
Vanderbilt tees off in their own Mason Rudolph Fall Preview September 23-25 at the Vanderbilt Legends Club in Franklin, Tenn.
6. Vanderbilt – 290-291-284=865
T-9. Marina Alex – 72-70-71=213 (-3)
T-12. Lauren Stratton – 73-71-70=214 (-2)
T-30. Kendall Martindale – 73-75-71=219 (+3)
T-30. Anna Leigh Keith – 72-75-72=219 (+3)
T-44. Rene Sobolewski – 74-73-74=221 (+5)*
T-52. Irina Gabasa – 74-76-73=223 (+7)
*Played as an individual
