Results

MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama women's golf team earned a runner-up finish at the Hoover Invite Sept. 20-21 at Heatherwood Golf & Country Club in Birmingham, Ala.

South Alabama (301-304-286) entered Tuesday's final round tied for seventh place before posting a 2-under par team total of 286 in the final round to earn its best finish of the season.

TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
Event (Host): Hoover Invite (Hosted by UAB)
Dates: September 20-21 (Monday – Tuesday)
Format: 54 holes (36/18)  
Course: Heatherwood Golf & Country Club (Birmingham, Ala.)
Par:  72
Yardage:  5,839 yards
 
TEAM SCORES
1) Florida Atlantic, 301-285-295—881 (+17);  2) South Alabama, 301-304-286—891 (+27);  3) Troy, 299-296-298—893 (+29);  4) Southern Miss, 308-287-299—894 (+30);  5) Jacksonville, 300-302-297—899 (+35);  6) Samford, 308-290-303—901 (+37);  7) Jacksonville State, 300-305-302—907 (+43);  8) ULM, 305-297-314—916 (+52);  9) Southern Illinois, 313-309-304—926 (+62);  10) UAB, 311-305-313-928 (+64);  11) Belmont, 310-308-323—941 (+77)

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
1) Letizia Bagnoli, FAU, 73-69-65—207 (-9);  2) ShaeBug Scarberry, Troy, 73-71-70—214 (-2);  3) Claire Vermette, JSU, 70-74-72—216 (E);  4) Julie Hovland, USA, 73-75-70—218 (+2);  T5) Chantal Dueringer, ULM, 75-68-76—219 (+3);  T5) Bailey Dunstan, Samford, 72-69-78—219 (+3);  7) Casey Powell, JU, 74-71-75—220 (+4);  T8) Momoka Ando, USM, 76-72-73—221 (+5);  T8) Moyea Russell, SIU, 74-73-74—221 (+5);  T10) Siti Shaari, USA, 79-74-69—222 (+6);  T10) Blanka Decker, FAU, 76-70-76—222 (+6);  T10) Berta Sanchez Sabe, JSU, 75-73-74—222 (+6)

SOUTH ALABAMA SCORES
4) Julie Hovland, 73-75-70—218 (+2);  T10) Siti Shaari, 79-74-69—222 (+6);  13) Carlota Garcia*, 79-72-72—223 (+7);  T24) Cassidy Lambert, 79-77-73—229 (+13);  T24) Belinda May, 73-82-74—229 (+13);  T40) Malia Uyeshiro, 76-78-80—234 (+18)
* Denotes played as individual

TEE SHOTS
- May led the field in par five scoring, finishing with a 6-under par stroke average of 4.33 on par fives in three rounds.
- Hovland and Lambert each played par fives at 3-under par with a stroke average of 4.67. Garcia and Shaari each played par fives at 1-under par for an average of 4.89.
- May and Shaari both played par threes at an average of even par.
- Garcia tied for second among the field in pars (39).
- Hovland carded three consecutive birdies on holes 4-6 in round one.
- In round two, Hovland strung together three straight birdies on holes 3-5, and also carded three consecutive birdies on holes 4-6 in the final round.
- Shaari birdied holes 4-6 in the final round, with the birdie at No. 6 moving her to 5-under par at the time.
- Shaari's 3-under par 69, which included a 3-under par 32 on Heatherwood's back nine holes, marked her lowest round of the season.
- South Alabama's 2-under par total of 286 in the final round marked a season low, and is the lowest team round since the Jags shot a 286 in the final round of the Callaway Gardens Invite (Oct. 19-21) last season.
- The tournament was originally scheduled to be held at Hoover Country Club in Hoover, Ala., but was moved to Heatherwood Golf & CC after flooding at HCC prior to the start of the event.

QUOTES
Head Coach Matt Luther 
- On Siti Shaari's and Julie Hovland's final rounds:
"We have enough depth that when those two get it going, we have a gear that we haven't had before and it was good to see. When we get it going we can wax everybody, we just need to start better. We dug way too deep of a hole on the first day, just not being ready to go."

- On freshmen Cassidy Lambert and Malia Uyeshiro after two tournaments:
"Malia is from Phoenix (Ariz.), so she is still getting her feet under her in the South; she took some lumps this week. Cassidy has played a little bit more in this part of the country, and she definitely makes a pile of birdies. She just has to kind of figure out the freshman stuff of not making doubles and triples. When she does that she is going to be off to the races."

- On playing a different course than what was expected:
"Hoover Country Club, the course we were supposed to play, was basically flooded and we found that out Saturday morning. By the time we left Sunday morning, we knew where we were going and what we were doing. It's the same for everybody; that's how it works in golf. It's not like we had to deal with anything that no one else did, so dealing with adversity is part of it and we saw that at (NCAA) regionals last year. Being adaptable is part of the game."

- On difference in the courses:
"They were really almost the same golf course, the only difference was Heatherwood (CC) was way more penalizing if you hit it outside of the fairways where you could get away with some of that stuff at Hoover (CC). It just made for a little bit of a tougher test."

- On improvements heading into the final fall tournament:
"It is just keep grinding away, but we have some strategy stuff to work on – better execution of the game plan from the first hole and not taking 27 or 36 holes to figure it out, which we did this week. We just need a better understanding and execution of what we're trying to do, because we obviously have the ability to play with anybody anywhere, we just need to do that for all 54 holes."

UP NEXT
The Jaguars return to action Oct. 11-12 at the Lady Red Wolves Classic in Jonesboro, Ark. 

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.