Women's Golf Finishes Fourth at Lady Gator Invitational
3/12/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
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| Sarah Strum |
GAINESVILLE, Fla. ?? Powered by a career best by sophomore Sarah Sturm, Alabama finished fourth at the SunTrust Lady Gator Invitational in Gainesville, Fla. Host Florida won its own event, with Purdue and South Florida finishing in the second and third spots, respectively.
With the third-place finish the Tide earned its second top-five finish in as many outings in the spring season. Alabama earned fifth-place honors at the LSU/Cleveland Classic last weekend.
“For the most part, we have been playing much better in the last few weeks,” head coach Mic Potter said. “Several players have started to improve their scores and in turn, our team numbers have gotten a little better. We still have some things to improve on, but I’m pleased with our effort the last two weekends.”
Sturm became the first player other than teammate Jenny Suh to lead the Tide at an event this season by tallying a 218 in the 54-hole event, shattering her previous career mark of 225. The sophomore fired a 71 in the final round of the tournament, setting another career record for 18 holes.
Sturm’s effort helped her to a runner-up finish in the individual standings, as Sturm finished one shot behind Sandra Gal of Florida, who won medalist honors with her 217 finish.
“Sarah has been on the verge of breaking out all season,” Potter said. “She was always just a putt or two away from some really good scores the last few tournaments, but she put it all together this weekend.”
Suh wasn’t far behind however, as the standout junior shot a 219 in three rounds to help her to a third-place finish, the 17th top-10 placing of her career. Suh carded rounds of 71, 73 and 75 to earn yet another top-five finish.
Laura Goodwin, who had a career performance at last weekend’s LSU/Cleveland Classic, continued to play well for the Tide and earned a top-25 finish at the Lady Gator. Goodwin carded rounds of 78, 75 and 77 at the event and has now competed in all seven of the team’s tournaments this season as a true freshman.
Seniors Carina Sorensen and Audrey Gale rounded out the lineup for the Tide. Sorensen placed 50th with a 238, while Gale earned a tie for 51st place after firing a 239 at the two-day event.
The Tide’s next competition will be in Athens, Ga., at the Liz Murphey Intercollegiate. That event will be played on March 24-26 and will be Alabama’s final tournament prior to the 2006 SEC Championships, which will take place in Nashville, Tenn., on April 14-16.
