University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Southern Miss Golfers Win Rain-Shortened Lady Eagle Classic
4/8/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
Southern Miss Golfers Win
Rain-Shortened Lady Eagle Classic
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- Heavy overnight rain, and more of the same predicted throughout the day Tuesday, forced tournament officials to cancel the final round of the 11th Annual Lady Eagle Classic at Shadow Ridge Golf Club here.
Teams managed to finish Monday's initial 18-hole round and were midway through the second round when rain forced a postponement. Plans for today originally called for teams to finish the second round and end the Classic at 36 holes. However, heavy overnight rain, and continuing rain and accompanying lightening Tuesday turned the event into a one round tournament.
Head Coach Julie Gallup's team shot a single-round, team-record 295 in the tournament's opening round Monday, and earned the tournament victory. Middle Tennessee State finished second, 16 shots back. Southern Miss' Jennifer Keefe used her first-round 35-36--71 to earn medalist honors. Teammate Natasha Vincent took second, at 37-37--74. In fact, the Lady Eagles took the top four spots, with Ofelia Lopez (40-35--75) and Brena Quaranto (38-37--75) tied for third place. Southern Miss' Ashlea Deener finished in a tie for 12th place at 39-39--78.
"You never like to see a tournament shortened, but we really had no other options, considering the weather," Gallup said. "The tournament was still a good one for us. We played better than we have all season, and we should go into the upcoming conference tournament with a lot of confidence.
"A lot of people, including the staff at Shadow Ridge, worked hard to make our tournament successful and I think the visiting teams enjoyed their stay in Hattiesburg, despite the weather problems we experienced. I also was really pleased with how well our team played, and especially so Jennifer (Keefe), who had the only under-par round of the tournament."
The 2003 Lady Eagle Invitational was the final regular-season tournament of the spring for Southern Miss. The Lady Eagles will next play in the Conference USA Championship in Lake Jovita, Fla., April 19-21. The league tournament is being hosted by South Florida.
