2010 SBC Championship - Final Results

MUSCLE SHOALS, Ala. - University of South Alabama women's golf shot a tournament-low 298  Wednesday to earn a fourth-place finish at the 2010 Sun Belt Conference Championship at Robert Trent Jones at The Shoals.

The Lady Jaguars bettered their second round score by six strokes, and finished the tournament 41-over-par with a team score of 905. Their fourth-place finish marked their highest finish since the 2008 SBC Championship, where the Lady Jags finished third.

"Today was our best round of the tournament," USA head coach T.J. Jackson said. "It was a true team effort, because we had everyone contribute to the team score, and you can't ask for anything more than that. The girls put forth a tremendous effort, and just played solid golf. I couldn't be happier for them.

"I feel like we put our best effort forward in this tournament. Obviously, we would like to finish higher, and we had an opportunity to do that, but it was a good finish and a good tournament for us. We want to play our best golf at the conference tournament, and I think we accomplished that."

USA sophomore Ana Garcia (82-76-71) turned in the Lady Jaguars' lowest score of the final round with a 1-under-par 71, and finished at 13-over-par for the tournament with a three-day total of 229. Garcia birdied the final two holes, and finished with five birdies on the day.

"Throughout the tournament, the last two holes played the toughest of the whole golf course," Jackson said. "So, for her to birdie the last two is just a tremendous finish."

Freshman Fanny Eineren (77-75-73) shot 1-over-par Wednesday to finish 9-over-par for the tournament with a three-round total of 225, and captured the Lady Jags' highest finish at 12th place. Eineren carded two birdies in the final round, with one each on the front and back nine.

"Both Fanny [Eineren] and Ana [Garcia] played well today," Jackson said. "They drove the team to get to 298. Fanny just played real solid all the way through the tournament, and Ana came back with a 76 and 71 after shooting 82 in the first round."

USA senior Claudia Wolf (70-81-76) earned a top-20 finish after shooting 4-over-par in Wednesday's final round. The Igls, Austria, native finished 11-over-par for the tournament with a three-round total of 227. Wolf carded three birdies in the final round, and finished with a team-high 10 birdies for the championship.

Nina Offenberg (76-72-80) also earned a top-20 finish at 11-over-par with a three-round total of 228. Freshman Sarah-Louise Winter (80-84-78) posted her lowest round of the tournament Wednesday with a 6-over-par 78.

"Nina's 76 and 72 in the first two rounds were solid," Jackson said. "Sarah-Louise [Winter] was the first out today, and she posted a score that got us under 300," Jackson said."She took Anna Sellen-Runefjell's  place and filled in nicely. She had two counting scores in the fifth spot, and they made a difference."

"Looking at their effort, they gave everything they had, and it showed in the scores," Jackson said. "While we did have some big numbers out there that could have gotten us down, the team didn't allow that to happen. They bounced back with some good golf and posted some good scores. They fought hard, and I give them all the credit for doing that."

Denver won their seventh consecutive team SBC title with a 1-over-par team score of 865. Denver's Kimberly Kim (69-75-71) won the individual championship with a 1-under-par score of 215.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com.  Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

-USA-

2010 Sun Belt Conference Championship

Robert Trent Jones at The Shoals:  The Schoolmaster Course - Muscle Shoals, Ala.

par-72, 6,123 yards

 Team standings

1) Denver, 865; 2) Middle Tennessee, 899; 3) UALR, 900; 4) South Alabama, 905; 5) North Texas, 910; 6) Florida International, 912; 7) Arkansas St., 913; 8) Troy, 926; 9) Florida Atlantic, 927; 10) Louisiana-Monroe, 936; 11) Western Kentucky, 947.

Individual standings

1) Kimberly Kim, Denver, 215; 2) Ellie Givens, Denver, 216; 3) Kelly Drack, Denver, 217; 4) Karisa Akin, Middle Tennessee, 218; 5) Stephanie Sherlock, Denver, 219; 6) Paula Hurtado, Florida International, 220; 7) Sarah Faller, Denver, 221; T8) Mallory Fraiche, UALR, 224; T8) Olivia Love, Middle Tennessee, 224; T8) Cristina Marin, Florida International, 224; T8) Emelie Westrup, UALR, 224.