|
10/8/2006 Vanderbilt shot a 10-over par 298 and posted three Commodores among the top 10 finishers en route to winning the Lady Tar Heel Invitational Sunday at the UNC Finley Golf Course (Par 72, 6,285 yards) in Chapel Hill, N.C. The 18th-ranked Commodores (301+294+298=893) grabbed the tournament lead on Friday and maintained their advantage throughout the competition winning the event in wire-to-wire fashion. Vanderbilt held off second-place and ninth-ranked Virginia (303+301+294=898) by five strokes and two-time defending national champion and second-ranked Duke (303+304+292=899) by six strokes. The tournament field included 11 squads ranked in the latest Golfweek magazine poll. “We never let anything bother us throughout the tournament,” Vanderbilt head coach Martha Richards said. “I was proud that the team was persistent and patient and just played the golf course. It’s the best I’ve seen this team play and is as good as any win we’ve had at Vanderbilt.” The team title was Vanderbilt’s first since its historic 2003-04 campaign that saw the Commodores win five tournaments, including both the SEC Championship and the NCAA Central Regional crown. Commodore senior Chris Brady tied two other players for fourth place. Brady (74+73+72=219) carded an even-par 72 on Sunday. She took a bogie on No. 5, posted a birdie on No. 7 and shot even par on the other 16 holes. Brady finished five strokes behind Ashley Knoll (73+72+69=214) of Texas A&M and Caroline Westrup (73+72+69=214) of Florida State who shared medalist honors. Two other Commodores finished in the top 10, including sophomore Jacqui Concolino (76+70+74=220) who tied for seventh place and senior Kristen Svicarovich (76+71+75=222) who tied for ninth place. Concolino was steady most of the day, shooting even par on 14 holes to go along one birdie and 3 bogeys. Svicarovich parred 13 holes with a birdie and four bogies. Junior Liebelei Lawrence (75+80+77=232) tied for 34th place with a 5-over par 77 on Sunday. Freshman Brooke Goodwin (85+82+78=245) put together her best round of the tournament on Sunday with a 6-over par 78 to finish 78th. “To place three players in the top 10 is outstanding,” Richards said. “That’s the type of performance you need to come out on top and now we understand what it takes to win tournaments.” The Commodores next compete in the Stanford-Pepsi Women’s Intercollegiate Oct. 20-22 in Palo Alto, Calif. Highlights of Vanderbilt’s Win to Appear on the Golf Channel: Highlights and interviews from the Lady Tar Heel Invitational will air on the Golf Channel as part of the “College Central” show on Wednesday, Oct. 11, at 5:30 p.m. CT. Lady Tar Heel Invitational Team Standings Individual Standings Vanderbilt Scores |
