Marina Alex Season 2008-09
As a Senior (2011-12)
Named the SEC Women’s Golfer of the Year for the second time of her career, only the second women’s plsyer in the history of the SEC to accomplish that feat (Vicki Goetz, Georgia)…Also named a first-team All-American by NGCA…She also won both awards as a sophomore in 2010… Alex finished in the top five in five events this year, including a second-place finish at the SEC Championships in Fayetteville, Ark., and a third-place finish at the NCAA Central Regional… Also had three top fives at the Stanford Intercollegiate (4th), the LSU Golf Classic (5th), and the Vanderbilt/Texas Dual (1st), while also registering two other top ten finishes (Cougar Classic, t-9th; Central District Invitational, t-6th). For the season, Alex has a 72.7 stroke average, and departs as the Commodores’ all-time leader in stroke average with a 73.1 career mark.
Summer 2011
Advanced to the match play portion of the U.S. Women[apos]s Amateur…Teamed with Lauren Stratton at the 2nd Annual Hooters Collegiate Team Championship to finish second in the match play format.
As a Junior (2010-11)
Led the team with a 73.7 stroke average and had three top 20 finishes, two top tens, and one top five…Best finish of the season came in the team[apos]s opener at the NCAA Fall Preview in College Station, Texas, when she finished second out of 93 golfers with an eight-under par, 208 (67-71-70)…Has posted the team[apos]s two lowest rounds of the season – a 66 in the first round of the Pac-10/SEC Challenge, and 67 at the Fall Preview in the first round…Finished ninth at the Pac 10/SEC Challenge at Stanford with a two-over, 215 (66-70-79)…Ended the Tar Heel Invitational in a tie for 16th with a three-under par, 213 (74-70-69)…Led team with a 20th-place finish at NCAA East Regional in Daytona Beach, Fla. (77-70-73=220)…Placed 22nd at the NCAA Championship (72-76-74-73=295)…Off the course, was named to the 2011 Spring Academic Honor Roll.
As a Sophomore (2009-10)
Named a National Golf Coaches Association (NGCA) first team All-American and SEC Player of the Year…Finished the year sixth in the Golfstat Cup standings, an award given to the nation[apos]s lowest individual stroke average (71.59)…Named on the NGCA All-East Regional team…Won the SEC Individual Championship in Tuscaloosa, defeating Tennessee[apos]s Erica Popson on the second playoff hole; became first Commodore golfer since May Wood in 2004 and only the second Vanderbilt golfer all-time to finish first at the SEC Championship…Finished in the top 10 in 11 of 12 tournaments in 2009-10…Had one win, four second-place finishes (Mason Rudolph, Tar Heel Invite, Kinderlou Forest, Longhorn Invite), two top fives (T-3rd, Stanford Intercollegiate; T-5th, Auburn Invite), and four top 10[apos]s (T-7th, Duramed Cougar Classic; T-6th, Tiger Wave Classic; T-6th, Bryan National Collegiate; T-9th, NCAA East Regional)…Was team[apos]s second-best finisher at the NCAA Championship, tying for 21st with a score of 292 (75-72-73-72); Posted seven rounds in the 60[apos]s, including an SEC Championship-individual round-tying record of 65 on the second day of the tournament; her 65 tied a nine-year old record held by LSU[apos]s Katy Harris…Her runner-up finish at the Mason Rudolph is the highest finish by a Vanderbilt golfer since Jacqui Concolino finished as a runner-up in the 2005 tournament….Finished the season as one of the nation[apos]s top statistical leaders – finished eighth in the nation in par-3 scoring (3.04), third in par-4 scoring (4.03), second in par-5 scoring (4.75), second in subpar strokes per round (3.77), third in greens in regulation (.776), and seventh in putts on greens in regulation (1.833)…Her 208 (71-65-72) at the SEC Championship is the second-best three-round individual total in the history of the program, and her 209 (66-71-72) at the Stanford Intercollegiate ties for the third-best individual round in Commodore women[apos]s golf history.
Summer of 2009
Qualified for the U.S. Women[apos]s Open at Saucon Valley Golf Club in Bethlehem, Pa., after finishing fourth at sectional qualifying in Neshanic Station, N.J…Won medalist honors at local qualifying for the Open in Pinehurst, N.C….Shot an 18-over par 160 (82-78) in the first two rounds of the U.S. Open…Also earned an exemption to the U.S. Women[apos]s Amateur in St. Louis after qualifying for the U.S. Open…Finished in a tie for second place in U.S. Amateur stroke play this summer.
As a Freshman (2008-09)
Led the team with a 74.3 stroke average and had four top 20 finishes and three top tens in her first year of collegiate competition…Played in every tournament of the season…Finished sixth at the Mason Rudolph Women[apos]s Championship with a four-under par 212 (69-73-70) in her first collegiate tournament…Ended the season strong with a 10th place finish at the Ladies Midwest Shootout (78-77=155), a 17th place finish at the SEC Championships (73-69-79=221), and a fifth place at the NCAA East Regional in Gainesville when she fired a 214 (69-72-73)…Her fifth place finish qualified her for the NCAA Championships as an individual, where she finished in a tie for 37th with a total of 15-over par 303 (79-81-74-69)…Her 143 (74-69) on the final 36 holes also tied a tournament best, a total she shared with individual champion Maria Hernandez of Purdue and Calle Nelson of Virgina.
Amateur and High School Highlights:
First team All-County, All-League and All-State for four years … Named the Golfer of the Year by the Bergen Record in her junior and senior seasons … A two-time Bergen Record Athlete of the Week … Won the Boys[apos] Passaic County Championship twice, and shot a five-under par 32 to win the New Jersey High School Girls[apos] State Championship by a record eight shots … Was the runner-up in the New Jersey State Amateur in 2005, 2007 Scott Robertson Memorial, 2007 AJGA Philly Runner and Fidelity Investments at Richer Park … Made the quarterfinals of the 2007 Polo Junior Classic … Qualified for three USGA Junior Girls Championships.
Personal:
Born Aug. 2, 1990 … Parents are Steve and Marissa … Has a brother, Anthony … Major is Interdisciplinary Studies … Member of the National Honor Society and Italian National Honor Society … Maintained a 4.0 GPA or higher throughout high school … Chose Vanderbilt over Wake Forest, Princeton and Tennessee.
Alex[apos]s Statistics:
Year | Rounds | Strokes | Average
2011-12 | 34 | 2,471 | 72.7
2010-11 | 34 | 2,507 | 73.7
2009-10 | 34 | 2,434 | 71.6
2008-09 | 32 | 2,378 | 74.3
Career | 134 | 9,790 | 73.1