POTTSBORO, Texas (March 21) – The Cameron women’s golf team continued their impressive season with a fourth place finish at last weekend’s Pepsi Lion Invitational golf tournament, hosted by Texas A&M – Commerce. A total of fifteen teams competed in the event, including the likes of Redlands Community College, Dallas Baptist University, and many other formidable teams. Cameron shot a combined score of 341 to begin the first round in fourth place, and shot 335 on Tuesday to solidify their fourth place finish.
“What we did is we just got through it. The weather conditions and course conditions made it very difficult but the girls just kept grinding,” Head Coach Rick Goodwin said. “Nobody was happy with they way they played, but we were pleased to shoot better in round two than we did in round one. If we can continue to get a shot here or shot there we won’t lose our momentum.”
The Aggies finished twenty-six strokes behind third place St. Edwards, and fifty-one strokes behind first place Oklahoma City University. Cameron also finished a solid ten strokes ahead of fifth place Southwestern College. They defeated both Arkansas Tech and Texas A&M – Commerce, the two teams Cameron was paired with on the second day.
Senior Janel Bailey had the best finish for the Aggie squad, taking sixteenth place overall with a two-day combined score of 164 (81-83). Her first round score had her in twelfth place by the end of Monday.
“I’m extremely happy and pleased with our finish,” Coach Goodwin said. “The kids don’t ever give up. The effort is there and they all try hard. The bottom line is that I’m pleased with the tournament. It was a good test for me to see who is playing well right now under tournament conditions.”
Sophomore Renee Breeze led the team on the second day after shooting a team-best 81. Her overall score of 166 (85-81) was good enough to finish in a tie for eighteenth place in the tournament.
The other three Aggies to finish in the top fifty overall were seniors Laura Madden and Krystle McCorgary, and sophomore Lauren Gonzales. Madden and McCorgary finished in thirty-second and forty-ninth place after shooting combined scores of 172 (87-85) and 179 (89-90), respectively. Gonzales finished in a tie for thirty-fourth place overall with a two-day score of 174 (88-86).
“We played a lot better this year than we did last year,” Coach Goodwin said. “Our program is building and I am happy. If we can move up and play well in the final two tournaments it will be a very successful year. Everybody has improved”
Senior Jennifer Madden and freshman Anna Hataway, who played as independents, both had solid tournaments as well. Madden shot a combined score of 174 (87-87) for a thirty-fourth place finish. Hataway finished in twenty-ninth place with a two-day score of 170 (86-84).
The Aggies are off this weekend and next compete in the West Texas A&M/Subway Invitational at the Tacosa Country Club in Amarillo, Texas. The event runs from April 1-3.
”Hopefully there will be more regional and conference teams (at the WTAMU/Subway Invite). If we can step up there then we would definitely move up in the regional rankings,” Coach Goodwin said. “Right now we are just trying to grow for a second year program, and we have been doing well so far.”