ALBANY, Ga. ? University of South Alabama women’s golfer Ana Garcia took first place in the First Flight of the 2009 Women’s Southern Amateur Championship Friday at Stonebridge Golf and Country Club.

“It’s great experience for all of the kids to play during the summer and get as much experience as possible,” head coach T.J. Jackson said. “For Ana to play as well as she did in this tournament, it should propel her to play well the rest of this summer and get ready to go in the fall. I’m really proud of her.”

Garcia shot a 79 in the tournament’s opening round on Monday. That total landed her in the First Flight of the match play bracket, three strokes back of qualifying for the Championship Flight.

Garcia returned to the course Tuesday for the first round of match play and advanced with a 1-up victory over Sarah Phillips-Durst. In Wednesday’s quarterfinal match against Leigh Phillips, Garcia won 2-up to advance to the semifinals.

In Thursday’s semifinals, Garcia defeated Corrie Tayman 2-up to advance to Friday’s championship match with Tiffany Phelps. Garcia defeated Phelps 3 and 2 to claim the championship in the First Flight.

To view the complete bracket, click here.

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).