October 21, 2008
Aggies host OIW, tie for 8th
DUNCAN, Oklahoma (October 21) – Although it wasn’t the finish the Aggie women’s golf team was hoping for, the team did a tremendous job as hosts of the annual Oklahoma Intercollegiate for Women golf tournament at The Territory Golf Club (Duncan, Oklahoma). CU took home an 8th place finish and an overall team score of 651 (323-328). Beautiful weather, stiff competition, and elite golf facilities provided for a great tournament.
“The Territory (Golf Club) is excellent,” Head Coach Rick Goodwin said. “They treat us so well there and everything is done for you. It makes it easier to try and coach and host at the same time. We love playing out there and really appreciate their efforts. They put on a great tournament.”
The Aggies finished in 6th place out of 13 schools last year with a total team score of 626. Cameron’s team score this year tied for the second-best cumulative score for the Aggies this season.
“We weren’t focused and we weren’t ready,” Coach Goodwin said. “I need to figure out how to prepare the girls better when we have a home event. We didn’t play well today, but there are some coaching things I have to learn how to do better. We had too many big scores today and if we can eliminate some of that stuff we can climb up the ladder. We are not ready to move up to the next level until we can win at the level we are at.”
The Tarleton State TexAnns finished with both the team and individual titles. As a team TSU finished with a 588 (286-302), while TexAnn golfers Katy Ward (68-76) and Carla Cooper (70-74) tied for the individual title. Ward’s first round score was a new Oklahoma Intercollegiate for Women record, as well as a Territory Golf Club course record.
The All-Tournament Team consisted of Ward, Cooper, Nicola Race ( Redlands Community College), Melanie Tham (Tarleton State University), Shu Yin Liu (University of Tulsa), and Kristen Tucker (Dallas Baptist). Tulsa competed with their junior varsity team in the tournament. Twelve teams participated this year.
CU’s top finisher this week was junior Kass McGrath. She turned in a two-round score of 151 (76-75) and finished in a tie for 7th place. She was Cameron’s only top ten finisher, as well as CU’s only golfer to record a below-80 round. McGrath also finished the event with the tournament’s most birdies (7), the fourth-best par four scoring average (4.10, +2), and the fourth-best par five scoring average (5.13, +1).
Senior Renee Breeze made the biggest stroke improvement between rounds for the Aggies, shaving three strokes off of her first round score in the final round. She finished in a tie at 36th place with a 165 (84-81).
Junior Marrik Wooten and sophomore Blaze Petty both finished in a tie at 41st place overall with a 168. Wooten, a Duncan-native, shot an 80-88 while Petty turned in an 83-85. Wooten also finished with the event’s third-best par three scoring average (3.00, E).
Rounding out Cameron’s five team scores was sophomore Megan Whan. She finished with a 173 (86-87) which was good enough for a tie at 49th place.
Playing as individual medalists were junior Anna Hataway and sophomore Tori McCollom. Hataway finished in a tie at 52nd place with a 174 (86-88) while McCollom was all alone at 57th place with a 177 (91-86).
The next action for the Cameron women’s golf team is the St. Edward’s University Invitational scheduled for March 1-3, 2009. The event will be played at the Grey Rock Golf Club in Austin, Texas.
“We are heading into the offseason now which means we head to the weight room,” Coach Goodwin said. “We will lift heavier weights to get them stronger, and do a lot of technical training in an effort to get better at our short game. We also will concentrate on our putting, which has been horrid.”