Friday, March 11, 2005

BLYTHEWOOD, S.C. (March 11, 2005) - On a blustery day outside of Columbia, S.C., the East Tennessee State University women's golf team attempted to overcome the elements, finishing tied for 9^th place on the team leaderboard Friday in the first round of the Lady Gamecock Classic at the University Club.

The Lady Bucs, who posted a team score of 326, are currently 18 strokes back of New Mexico, which leads the tournament with a score of 308. On the individual leaderboard, a pair of South Carolina freshmen are at the top, with Caroline Rominger in first place at even-par and Whitney Simons in second place at 1-over. The top ETSU finisher was freshman Natalia Giraldo (Cali, Colombia), who posted a score of 79.

Other ETSU results included a 22^nd-place finish by freshman Maria Ringdahl (Oland, Sweden) and a 33^rd-place showing by senior Danielle O'Reilly (Whistler, British Columbia). Both junior Ashley Barton (Seffner, Fla.) and freshman Cindy Phillips (Johnson City, Tenn.) are in 54^th.

Second round play will continue on Saturday. For complete results, see below.