Women's Golf Opens Spring Season at UCF Challenge
3/6/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
March 6, 2009
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The No. 5 University of Alabama women's golf team tees off its spring season against a formidable field at the University of Central Florida Challenge on the par-72, 6,301-yard tract at the Red Tail Country Club in Sorrento, Fla., March 8-10.
The Crimson Tide completed one the finest fall slates in school history and will look to build on that success in the spring. Alabama notched top-five finishes in three of the four stroke play events that the team played this fall and most recently took second place in the prestigious Hooter's Match Play Championships. At the Cougar Fall Classic, the Tide posted a 54-hole team score under par for only the second time in school history, 863 (-1), en route to a second place finish.
At least one Crimson Tide competitor has finished in the top 10 of the individual standings in every tournament this year. Senior Kathleen Ekey leads the squad with three top 10's while her teammates, sophomore Camilla Lennarth and freshman Brooke Pancake, each have two top 10 finishes to their credit.
Ekey enters the UCF Challenge as the No. 1 player in the Alabama lineup followed by Lennarth, who wrapped up the fall season as the team leader in scoring average at 72.93. Sophomore Courtney Harter, junior Rhea Nair and Pancake round out the Tide lineup. Nair is competing in her first tournament of the year after missing the fall with a nagging wrist injury.
The Crimson Tide will face an ultra-competitive field that features 18 teams, with 10 of the squads ranked in the top 15 of the Golfweek/Sagarin polls. Alabama enters as the fourth highest-ranked team behind No. 1 Arizona State, No. 2 UCLA and No. 3 USC. No. 8 Auburn and No. 9 Duke round out the top 10 teams scheduled to play.
"(This tournament) is an excellent measuring stick for us, right out of the blocks," head coach Mic Potter said. "The team is eager to compete against someone other than their teammates, so they are really looking forward to the tournament."
The UCF Challenge also features 29 of the top 50 individuals in women's college golf. Three Alabama golfers check in on the list with Lennarth at No. 20, Ekey at No. 27 and Pancake at No. 30. Pancake led the nation in the fall in fairways hit at a 96 percent clip.
Six Southeastern Conference schools are making the trip to Sorrento, Fla., four of which are ranked in the top 15. Alabama and Auburn lead the field followed by No. 11 LSU and No. 14 Vanderbilt. Florida and Tennessee come in ranked outside the top 25.
The Tide competed at the UCF Challenge last season and finished in a tie for sixth with a score of 872 (+8). Nair fired three rounds of par or better and concluded play in a tie for fifth place and a career-low 54-hole score of 212 (-4).
Teams will tee off at 8 a.m. CT on Sunday morning and live stats will be available at golfstat.com.
Players Mentioned
