Women's Golf ties for third at the Cougar Classic
HANAHAN, S.C. -- Texas' finest 54-hole performance in 12 seasons culminated Tuesday afternoon with a six-over 294, as the Longhorns finished in a tie for third place at the 20-team Cougar Classic at the par 72, 6,159-yard Yeaman's Hall Golf Club. Under first-year head coach Martha Richards, Texas tied for third place alongside Alabama with an 11-over 875. At six-over par, Notre Dame claimed the tournament title by one stroke over second-place Tennessee. LSU rounded out the top five with a 19-over 883. Notre Dame's Lisa Maunu took medalist honors at six-under par. "The ladies are excited, and they should be," Richards said. "They played very well throughout the tournament. Today was the toughest day. The wind swirled, and that made it tougher to pick the right clubs, but we competed hard all week." UT junior Caney Hines enjoyed her finest round of the tournament with a one-under 71. After beginning play at the second hole, Hines (San Antonio, Texas) opened with a 35 on the first nine, highlighted by a birdie at the par four fourth hole. Hines added birdies at the 11th, 15th and 18th holes to finish the event tied for 12th place at two-over par. Senior Ashley Rollins, competing in her first tournament for Texas after playing two-and-one-half-seasons at The University of New Mexico, completed the event as UT's top finisher with a tie for eighth place at one-over par. Rollins (Austin, Texas/Westwood HS) opened with a 35 on the front nine behind two birdies and added one more at the 17th hole to finish with a 38 on the back nine. "Caney (Hines) had a super last day, shooting under par in the final round and finishing just outside of the top 10," Richards said. "Ashley (Rollins) played really well. Yesterday, she was on a hot birdie streak, and today, she was consistent." Senior Kelley Louth stroked a 38 on the front nine before finishing with a 37 on the back nine. Louth (Victoria, Texas) finished in a tie for 17th place at three-over par. Sophomore Shannon Fish shaved one stroke off of her second round and finished with a three-over 75 in the final round. At seven-over for the tournament, Fish (Spring, Texas) tied for 31st place. Senior Julia Best (Bulverde, Texas) shot a five-over 77 in the final round to finish in a tie for 42nd place at nine-over par. "Kelley (Louth) was consistent, and Shannon (Fish) and Julia (Best) played some really good golf," Richards concluded. "The thing I'm excited about is knowing we can play better golf. The credit goes to these ladies. They prepared well and made our lives really easy this week. I'm really proud of them. There are some very talented players on this team, but we've got some talented players at home, too." Texas returns to action on Friday, Oct. 5 at the Lady Tar Heel Invitational in Chapel Hill, N.C. Texas Tournament Notes · With its third-place finish, Texas registered its best tournament showing since the Susie Maxwell Berning Classic (April 9-10, 2006), when UT placed third. · The Cougar Classic marked the first time Texas shot three sub-300 rounds in the same tournament since the Stanford Pepsi Intercollegiate (Oct. 15-17, 2004). · UT marked its best finish in a season-opening tournament since the 2001 NCAA Fall Preview, when the Longhorns tied for first place. · Texas defeated eight of the 10 schools featured in the GolfStat Top 50. The unranked Longhorns topped No. 19 Texas A&M (22 strokes), No. 21 North Carolina (14 strokes), No. 27 South Carolina (14 strokes), No. 32 Florida State (15 strokes), No. 33 LSU (8 strokes), No. 36 N.C. State (17 strokes), No. 41 South Florida (37 strokes) and No. 44 Furman (18 strokes) 2007 Cougar Classic Final Top Six Individuals Final Texas Individual Finishes
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