DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The University of South Alabama women's golf team claimed its second Sun Belt Conference championship—the first in 22 years—Wednesday, finishing with a season-low 877 combined score at the LPGA International – Hills Course. The victory sends the Jaguars to the NCAA regional for the first time in program history.
Sophomores Siti Shaari and Caroline Berge earned top-five finishes and were named to the 2019 All-Tournament team after shooting their best 54-hole totals of the season.
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
Event (Host): 2019 Sun Belt Conference Championship (Sun Belt)
Dates: April 15-17 (Monday-Wednesday)
Format: 54 holes (18/18/18)
Start Time: 7 a.m.
Course: LPGA International – Hills Course (par 72, 6,050 yds)
Live Results
TEAM SCORES
1) South Alabama 295-290-292—877 (+13); 2) Texas State 290-296-294—880 (+16); 3) Georgia Southern 291-298-293—882 (+18); 4) Troy 291-297-298—886 (+22); 5) Arkansas State 299-294-296—889 (+25); 6) Coastal Carolina 303-295-293—891 (+27); 7) UT Arlington 311-299-300—910 (+46); 8) Appalachian State 303-307-304—914 (+50); 9) ULM 310-311-298—919 (+55); 10) Georgia State 315-310-305—930 (+66); 11) Little Rock 311-317-317—945 (+81)
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
1) Ella Ofstedahl, Georgia Southern, 73-71-69—213 (-3); 2) Siti Shaari, South Alabama, 72-70-72—214 (-2); 3) Anne-Charlotte Mora, Texas State, 70-72-74—216 (E); 4) Jenjira Jinangkul, Coastal Carolina, 74-71-72—217 (+1); 5) Caroline Berge, South Alabama, 72-74-73—219 (+3); 6) Maria Jose Atristain Vega, Arkansas State, 73-74-73—220 (+4); T7) Ansley Bowman, Georgia Southern, 71-74-76—221 (+5); T7) Olivia Schmidt, Arkansas State, 77-68-76—221 (+5); T7) Bianca Lohbauer, Troy, 73-75-73—221 (+5); T7) Sasikarn Somboonsup, Texas State, 70-76-75—221 (+5); T7) Sarah Harrison, Troy, 72-72-77—221 (+5)
SOUTH ALABAMA SCORES
2) Siti Shaari, 72-70-72—214 (-2); 5) Caroline Berge, 72-74-73—219 (+3); T14) Julie Hovland, 75-73-75—223 (+7); T26) MacKenzie Peyton, 76-73-78—227 (+11); 46) Lexi Worrell, 87-78-72—237 (+21)
TEE SHOTS
-Shaari's 2-under-par 214 score earned her runner-up individual honors. She tied for first in the field in par-3 (3.00, E) and par-4 (3.90, -3) scoring, held a 5.08 (+1) average on par-5s, and led the Jaguars with 10 birdies and 36 holes played at even-par.
-Berge claimed her second top-five finish of the season and set a new career-low tournament score with a 3-over-par 219 total. She was even on par-3 and par-4 holes, tying for first and fifth overall, respectively, and recorded eight birdies.
-Julie Hovland averaged 4.83 (-2) on par-5 holes, tying for second in the field, and carded seven birdies. The sophomore was 1-under-par on the back nine Wednesday.
-MacKenzie Peyton finished among the top 20 in birdies (6) and par-3 (3.17, +2) and par-5 (5.08, +1) scoring.
-All five Jaguars carded multiple birdies today. Senior Lexi Worrell had five on the day, including four on the front nine, while Peyton and Shaari each went back-to-back.
-Coach Matt Luther led the Jaguars to a conference championship in his fourth season.
THEY SAID IT
Head Coach Matt Luther
On his initial reaction to winning the conference tournament: "I'm exhausted. It's been a long season. I'm ecstatic for our student-athletes. They worked their tails off and it's been fun to watch today. It was a blast this week."
On putting in rounds two and three: "We putted well. The speed was good. The big deal for us today was staying present and at the shot at hand and not getting too up or too down. We did a great job of that and held on to finish."
On Shaari's round: "I didn't see her hit a shot until the 18th hole, but for her to close out the way she did and get it done for the team right there at the end was awesome. I'm super proud of her and everything she's done."
On NCAA regionals: "It's huge. It's exciting. It's what we work for and we want to get out and keep playing. We've got class in the morning and practice on Friday, so it's the life of a student-athlete."
On his message to the team moving forward: "The message never changes: you guys have got game. Go play, do the work, stick with the process and trust what you're doing. It's nice when it pays off like this."
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/WeAreSouth_JAGS. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
Join the Chip In Club, the women's golf specific support club of the Jaguar Athletic Fund. All donations to the Chip In Club go directly to support the South Alabama women's golf program. For more information on how you can join visit: jaguarathleticfund.com/chipinclub.
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