Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Samford Women’s Golf Sits At Sixth After First Day Of Chris Banister Classic

--- Bulldogs weather unpleasant conditions to get 36 holes in ---

Oct. 16, 2006

JACKSONVILLE, Ala. ---- The Samford University women’s golf team endured the wind and the rain today, finishing in sixth place after 36 holes in the first day of the Chris Banister Fall Classic. The tournament, hosted by Jacksonville State, is being held at the Silver Lakes Golf Course.

“It was raining most of the day, and windy,” Samford head women’s golf coach Ian Thompson said. “Those were difficult conditions on an already difficult course.”

Due to a possible storm coming through the area tomorrow, the teams decided to play 36 holes today instead of 27 holes as plan. Samford sat at fourth place out of eight teams after the first round of 18, shooting 329. Following the second round, the Bulldogs had dropped to sixth place after shooting 330, 659 overall.

“That score of 329 is close to what I expected,” said Thompson, “especially in the conditions we were playing in on such a hard course.”

Leading the Bulldogs in the first day of the tournament was sophomore Maria Troche, shooting 78-83 = 161, putting her at 12th place overall. Freshmen Katelyn Stanier (80-84 = 16) and Heather Arnold (87-80 = 164) sit in ties after two rounds, Stanier at 12th and Arnold at 22nd. Sophomore Kellie O’Connell is in 27th place, shooting 86-83 = 169, and junior Courtney Warr (85-87 = 172) is in a tie for 31st.

“I thought, anyone shooting 80 was good for us, considering the difficulty of the course,” said Thompson. “Maria Troche had a great first round but had uncharacteristic high numbers in the second round. Kately Stanier had a solid first day, and Heather Arnold showed much improvement in the second round.

“I’d hoped for a little more but considering the conditions, we can’t be disappointed. We are definitely a better team this year, and that shows.”

Playing as individuals for Samford were junior Brooke Barriento (88-84 = 172), sophomore Stephanie Larson (89-87 = 176), sophomore Caroline Herman (94-86 = 180), and senior Ashleigh Hicks (91-92 = 183).

The final round of the 54-hole event will begin with a shot-gun start at 8 a.m.

*** SAMFORD BULLDOGS ***

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