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MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama women's golf team earned a top-five finish at the USA Intercollegiate at RTJ Magnolia Grove's Crossings Course Sept. 4-6.

USA (293-288-287) shot 1-under par in the final round of the tournament to move into the top five of the final results. Julie Hovland (72-72-71) finished tied for 11th with a 1-under par total of 215 over three rounds, and Belinda May (73-68-75) finished tied for 15th with an even par total of 216, which included a career-low 4-under par 68 in round two.

TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
Event (Host): USA Intercollegiate (South Alabama)
Dates: September 4-6 (Saturday - Monday)
Format: 54 holes (18/18/18)  
Course: RTJ at Magnolia Grove – Crossings Course (par 72, 6,002 yards)
 
TEAM SCORES
1) Sam Houston State, 285-274-274—833 (-31);  2) South Florida, 280-290-282—852 (-12);  3) Middle Tennessee, 282-286-287—855 (-9);  4) Arkansas State, 293-282-292—867 (+3);  5) South Alabama, 293-288-287—868 (+4);  6) Houston Baptist, 288-290-300—878 (+14);  7) Little Rock, 297-296-288—881 (+17);  8) Troy, 291-300-292—883 (+19);  9) Georgia State, 299-295-290—884 (+20);  10) Western Kentucky, 293-302-290—885 (+21);  11) ULM, 297-300-292—889 (+25);  12) UAB, 303-297-290—890 (+26);  13) Memphis, 305-293-293—891 (+27);  14) Southern Miss, 309-291-294—894 (+30);  15) UTEP, 301-305-291—897 (+33);  16) UT Arlington, 307-303-299—909 (+45);  17) Lamar, 313-310-298—921 (+57)

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
1) Zulaikah Nasser, SHSU, 68-66-67—201 (-15);  2) Jennifer Herbst, SHSU, 69-68-66—203 (-13);  T3) Melanie Green, USF, 65-72-68—205 (-11);  T3) Sophie Burks, MT, 68-68-69—205 (-11);  5) Olivia Schmidt, ASU, 68-66-74—208 (-8);  6) Anna Takahashi, SHSU, 73-67-70—210 (-8);  7) Morgan Baxendale, USF, 73-72-67—212 (-4);  T8) Caroline Caudill, MT, 69-72-72—213 (-3);  T8) Kenlie Barrett, WKU, 71-72-70—213 (-3);  10) Elise Parel, HBU, 70-72-72—214 (-2)

SOUTH ALABAMA SCORES
T11) Julie Hovland, 72-72-71—215 (-1);  T15) Belinda May, 73-68-75—216 (E);  T22) Siti Shaari, 73-72-73—218 (+2);  T25) Cassidy Lambert*, 73-74-72—219 (+3);  T40) Carolta Garcia, 75-76-71—222 (+6);  T59) Malia Uyeshiro, 77-77-72—226 (+10)
* Denotes played as individual

TEE SHOTS
- Hovland finished tied for 11th with a three-round, 1-under par total of 215. She shot even par in the first two rounds before posting a 1-under par 71 in the final round.
- May earned a top-15 finish with a three-round, even par total of 216. May carded a career-low 4-under par 68 in the second round of the tournament.
- Garcia tied her career low in the final round with a 1-under par 71.
- Freshmen Uyeshiro and Lambert each carded an even par 72 in the final round of their first collegiate tournament.
- South Alabama improved its score each round, and posted a 1-under par team total of 287 in the final round.
- Garcia and May each carded an eagle in the tournament, and were just one of seven players in the field to do so.
- South Alabama tied with Lamar for the most eagles in the event with two apiece.
- The Jags played par threes at 3-over par with an average of 3.05 strokes per hole, which tied for second-best in the tournament.
- Middle Tennessee played par-five holes at 18-under par. SHSU led the field in par four (-13) and par three scoring (-10).
- May and Shaari each played par fours at 1-under par for the tournament with a stroke average of 3.97.
- Garcia and Hovland each played par threes at 1-under par with a stroke average of 2.92.
- Garcia, Hovland, Lambert and May each played par fives at 1-under par with a stroke average of 4.92.
- Uyeshiro played par threes at even par for the tournament with a stroke average of 3.00.
- Shaari played par fives at even par with a stroke average of 5.00.

QUOTES
Head Coach Matt Luther 
- On the tournament:
"We saw a lot of good stuff, but we have a lot of room to get better. Our freshmen have shown up ready to play, which is great. Cassidy (Lambert) did a great job in the individual spot, so we're definitely deeper than we have ever been. There was just a lot of solid golf played, and for us to finish fifth without anybody really having a great tournament is pretty special."

- On improvements from first tournament:
"We have a short, abbreviated fall with some new players, so we're just still getting acclimated and helping the freshmen figure out how we do stuff. We'll look at some stats from this tournament and pick a few spots to improve on, but most of our work will start in October."

- On positive that stood out in the tournament:
"Just a lot of solid play. We're six-deep and that's great. We made a couple of big numbers, but we didn't shoot any big scores. No one shot over 77, which is awesome; there was just a ton of solid golf. I think our floor is coming up and our ceiling is going to move up as well."

UP NEXT
The Jaguars return to action Sept. 20-21 at the Hoover Invitational, 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.