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MOBILE, Ala. – University of South Alabama women's golfer Julie Hovland captured individual medalist honors at the 2020 USA Intercollegiate, held Sept. 5-7 at Robert Trent Jones' Magnolia Grove on The Crossings Course.

Hovland (68-70-66) finished with a three-round, 12-under par total of 204 to win medalist honors by seven strokes. Her 6-under par 66 in Monday's final round tied for the lowest single-round in program history, while her three-round score marked the lowest three-round total in South Alabama women's golf history.

South Alabama (290-289-288) posted a three-round, 3-over par total of 867, and finished runner-up in the tournament. The Jaguars return to action Sept. 21-22 at the Hoover Invite, hosted by UAB, in Hoover, Ala.

TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
Event (Host): USA Intercollegiate (South Alabama)
Dates: September 5-7 (Saturday - Monday)
Format: 54 holes (18/18/18)  
Course: RTJ at Magnolia Grove – Crossings Course (par 72, 6,002 yards)
 
TEAM SCORES
1) Western Kentucky, 286-288-284—858 (-6);  2) South Alabama, 290-289-288—867 (+3);  3) ULM, 292-300-286—878 (+14);  4) UAB, 293-293-293—879 (+15);  5) Arkansas State, 302-303-289—894 (+30);  6) Little Rock, 311-292-308—911 (+47);  7) Lamar, 306-316-295—917 (+53)

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
1) Julie Hovland, USA, 68-70-66—204 (-12);  2) Rylea Marcum, WKU, 67-74-70—211 (-5);  T3) Chantal Dueringer, ULM, 73-70-70—213 (-3);   T3) Olivia Schmidt, ASU, 73-75-65—213 (-3);  T3) Teri Doss, WKU, 73-71-69—213 (-3);  6) Siti Shaari, USA, 73-70-72—215 (-1);  7) Mary Joiner, WKU, 73-72-71—216 (E);  T8) Sarah Arnold*, WKU, 69-79-69—217 (+1);  T8) Pin-Hsuan (Shelley) Chen, UAB, 71-74-72—217 (+1);  T8) Tia Teiniketo, UAB, 73-72-72—217 (+1);  T8) Emilia Smith, UAB, 72-71-74—217 (+1)
* - denotes competed as individual

SOUTH ALABAMA SCORES
1) Julie Hovland, 68-70-66—204 (-12);  6) Siti Shaari, 73-70-72—215 (-1);  T20) Belinda May, 74-75-74—223 (+7);  27) Nele Mattner, 75-79-77—231 (+15);  33) Carolta Garia, 83-74-76—233 (+17);  T34) Caroline Berge, 81-76-77—234 (+18)

TEE SHOTS
- Hovland's three-round total of 204 set a new program record for the lowest three-round tournament score. She shot under par in each round of the event.
- Hovland's 6-under par 66 in Monday's final round marked a career low, and tied Elin Andersson (2005) and Siti Shaari (2019) for the lowest single-round in Jaguar history.
- Garcia posted the lowest three-round total of her career with a 233, and earned her best career finish to date.
- May recorded the first top-20 finish of her career, finishing tied for 20th with a career-low three-round total of 223.
- South Alabama finished second in the tournament, marking its second consecutive top-five finish dating back to last year's final tournament at the UNF Collegiate (March 9-10) in Jacksonville, Fla.
- Hovland led the field in par five scoring, playing the par fives at 7-under par over three rounds for a stroke average of 4.42. She played the par fours at 4-under par for an average of 3.87 strokes, and posted a 1-under par scoring average (2.92) on par threes.
- Hovland also led the field in birdies with 17, while Shaari ranked fifth with 11 birdies in three rounds.
- May played par fives at 3-under par for an average of 4.75 strokes, and Shaari played them at 2-under par with an average of 4.83.

QUOTES
Head Coach Matt Luther 
- On the tournament:
"We saw a lot of good stuff. We were just solid; we kind of handled business. We got beat but we didn't beat ourselves, which is fantastic."

- On Julie Hovland's play:
"That's what hard work coming together looks like. She has been nothing but a growth-mindset for three years, and this is what it looks like. She is patient and does everything right; she is the model of the student-athlete you want in your program."

- On the team's focus:
"It just looked like any other tournament once we got to the tee. Had I not had a mask on, I would have forgotten this (COVID) was going on. I think that is great for everybody. It seemed like everyone in the field was just a little more happier than normal to be here. It is great to get a tournament in the books and kind of put the blueprint out for college golf of this is how you can do it."

- On improvements from the weekend:
"I think the foundation of what we are doing is here. We have two freshmen who are sophomores now with a year under their belts, and it is starting to show in the steadiness of their scores. Now is the fun part; it is time to start fine-tuning to win tournaments instead of finishing second."

- On handling COVID during the tournament:
"We had all negative test results for the entire field, and that's a testament to the responsibility and maturity of the student-athletes in our sport, as well as the diligence of administrators within each school and conference."

Julie Hovland
- On winning individual medalist honors:
"It has been a great week. I'm just excited to be back playing again, especially with my team and playing at home; it has just been great."

- On her 6-under par 66 in the final round:
"I was just hitting it in the fairway, hitting some greens and making some putts. It was really just boring golf."

- On what it means to win medalist honors in the first tournament of the season:
"It is really cool. This is my first individual win, and I am just really excited and thankful to be out here."

UP NEXT
The Jaguars return to action Sept. 21-22 at the Hoover Invite, hosted by UAB, in Hoover, Ala.

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.