Monday, March 03, 2008

 MOBILE, Ala. (March 3, 2008) - Despite gusty winds and less than ideal course conditions, the ETSU women's golf team overcame the obstacles in a big way during first round play in the University of South Alabama Lady Jaguar Invitational at the Azalea City Golf Course, taking the overall team lead heading into Tuesday's second and final round.

The Buccaneers were powered by an all-around team effort, however senior Natalia Giraldo (Cali, Colombia) led the way by posting a 1-over-par 73 to tie with Southern Mississippi's Virginia Espejo and Middle Tennessee State's Jamey Dillard for the individual lead. Along with Giraldo, no other ETSU player posted a score above 79, allowing the Bucs to finish with a team score of 301 and lead by an impressive seven strokes over Southern Miss.

"I'm really proud of the fight our girls showed today," said ETSU head coach Stefanie Reynolds. "We were facing 20 mph winds that were swirling all day, and even with the tough conditions we didn't post a score outside of the 70s. Natalia and Sinead (O'Sullivan) are up there leading us again, but the whole team is really battling."

Along with Giraldo, sophomore Sinead O'Sullivan (Galway, Ireland) fired a 2-over 74 to finish tied for fourth and just one stroke off the lead, while fellow sophomore Laura Jansone (Jurmala, Latvia) is also in contention after posting a first round score of 3-over 75. Along with that trio, sophomore Kennie Leigh Eisenhower (Newport, Tenn.) and junior Lucy Gould (Bargoed, Wales) both posted 79 to finish tied for 32^nd on the leaderboard.

While weather is expected to threaten the second and final round of play Tuesday, Reynolds said the team is ready to go either way.

"We're playing well right now so it would be good to get back out there," Reynolds said. "But even if the weather turns worse, we can bring home a tournament. It's a win, win. That's the way we're looking at it."

For results and a recap of Tuesday's play, visit ETSUBucs.com Tuesday evening. For more on ETSU women's golf throughout the spring, including up-to-date statistics and tournament information, click on the women's golf link at ETSUBucs.com.