Women's Golf Sets Sights on Cougar Classic
9/13/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
Sept. 13, 2008
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The No. 10 ranked University of Alabama women's golf team will return to the Yeamans Hall golf course for the third straight year to do battle in the Cougar Fall Classic in Charleston, S.C., Sept. 14-16. The Tide took third in the tournament last year behind a strong performance from Kathleen Ekey who turned in an eighth place finish.
"This is one of our favorite tournaments of the year because we get to stay there right on the grounds at the club," head coach Mic Potter said. "We have had a good deal of success at this tournament. We play well here, the girls like it and I look for us to improve on what we did last week at the Preview."
UA is coming off a fifth place finish in a loaded field at the NCAA Fall Preview that included 14 teams ranked in Golfweek's preseason top 20. The Tide posted an 886 (+22) over the 54-hole tournament at the Caves Valley Golf Club, which is also the site of this year's NCAA Championships in May. UA saved its best round for last, firing a 290 (+2) in the final round to ensure a spot in the top five.
Freshman Brooke Pancake made her debut with the Tide a memorable one earning a top 10 finish at the NCAA Fall Preview in her first career tournament. Pancake finished in a tie for 7th with two rounds of par or better in one of the most prestigious tournaments of the fall season.
Sophomore Camilla Lennarth narrowly missed the top 10 wrapping up the tournament in a tie for 12th. The Stockholm, Sweden native shot the low round of the tournament for Alabama with her 70 (-2) on day one.
The Cougar Fall Classic features one of the largest fields the Tide will face all season. The 22-team field includes six top 25 teams with No. 9 Georgia coming in as the highest ranked squad. The Bulldogs eked Alabama by two strokes at the NCAA Fall Preview to finish fourth.
Over half of the twelve SEC teams will compete in the Cougar Classic. Seven teams will make the trip to Charleston with three of the teams ranked in the top 15 led by Georgia with the Tide one slot behind at No. 10 and LSU enters the tournament ranked No. 13. Tennessee, South Carolina, Ole Miss and Mississippi St. round out the SEC participants.
Live scoring for the tournament will be available on Golfstat.com beginning Sept. 14. Alabama's next outing will be at the Mason Rudolph Women's Championship in Franklin, Tenn. beginning on Sept. 26.
