Women?s Golf Next Stop is LSU/Cleveland Golf Classic
3/13/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The Alabama women's golf team will face a short turnaround this week as the team just finished competing in the UCF Challenge and will now head to Baton Rouge, La. to participate in the LSU/Cleveland Golf Classic. The competition will be held at the par-72 University Club.
Sophomore Rhea Nair put together a career-best performance at the UCF challenge, posting her best 18 and 54-hole scores in her stint at UA. Nair finished in a tie for fifth with a four-under par 212. She shot a second round 69 (-3), the best of the tournament for the Tide and her personal best at UA.
Alabama will face another solid field at the LSU/Cleveland Classic as 13 of the 17 teams set to compete are ranked in the top 50 of the Golfweek rankings. Wake Forest enters the tournament as the highest ranked team at 10th followed closely by Georgia and Alabama at 13th and 14th respectively.
Seven representatives from the SEC are scheduled to play including the Tide. Four of the SEC schools are ranked in the top 30.
After a slow start, the Tide battled back in the UCF Challenge to finish in a tie for sixth in one of the toughest fields the nation has to offer. Alabama finished day one in a tie for 13th place but came up with solid efforts in rounds two and three to finish with an 872 (+8) overall.
Nine of the nation's top 12 teams competed in the UCF Challenge with all 18 teams ranked in the top 50. The top-ranked Duke Blue Devils lived up to its billing, winning the event with a 13-under par 851.
Alabama competed in the LSU/Cleveland Classic last year, finishing in fifth place. Three current Tide golfers finished in the top 31 in the individual competition last season. Current senior Sarah Sturm led the way, finishing in 21st place followed by sophomore Laura Goodwin in 28th place and sophomore Helena Blomberg who concluded the tournament in 31th place.
Alabama will continue its spring slate with a tournament in Georgia. The Tide will compete in the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic on Friday, March 23 at the University Club.
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