Sept. 11, 2013
Vanderbilt junior Kendall Martindale fired a one-over par, 211 (71-69-71), and finished in a tie for 10th at the Dale McNamara Fall Preview in Tulsa, Okla., in one of the best fields of the season. As a team, the Commodores finished in 13th place with a final team score of 878 (287-295-296).
The top 10 was Martindale’s eighth career top 10 after carding seven in 2012-13. Martindale was the Commodores’ leading scorer a year ago.
Sophomore Morgan Ransom also turned in an impressive and personal-best result, finishing in a tie for 17th with a 215 (69-77-69), which included the team’s low round of 69 on Wednesday at the Tulsa Country Club. Her 17th-place standing on the individual leader board is her first-ever top 20 finish.
“I’m really proud of our All-American coming out and playing like an all-American this week. Kendall made a lot of birdies and a top 10 in this field is impressive,” said Vanderbilt head coach Greg Allen. “She showed some fight today after starting her round four over after two holes only to bounce back and shoot 71. I’m so proud with the way Morgan played this week. Starting and finishing the tournament with 69 is solid.”
Defending national champion Southern California captured the team championship Wednesday with a total of 848 (288-284-276), four strokes better than second-place Oklahoma. Individually, the Trojans’ Kyung Kim shot a six-under par, 204 (69-69-66) to win medalist honors. Kim defeated Noemi Jimenez of Arizona State, Julie Yang of Oklahoma, and Stephanie Meadow of Alabama by two strokes.
“I wasn’t sure coming in what to think about this week,” said Allen. “I just wanted the girls to play hard and compete on every shot and they did that. Unfortunately, a few struggled with their ball striking and this course will punish you if you’re not hitting it well. The good thing is that it’s very early in the season and our team is loaded with talent. I’m not worried and feel very confident we will bounce back.”
The Commodores are in action next at their own Mason Rudolph Championship, September 20-22, at the Vanderbilt Legends Club in Franklin.
