2008-09 Women's Golf Season Review
April 28, 2009 | Women's Golf
Boiling Springs, N.C. - The 2008-09 Gardner-Webb women's golf season was one of a kind, as not only was it the first year for the Bulldogs as a Big South Conference member, but it was also the last collegiate season for not one, not two, but four of the student-athletes on the team in seniors Katie Garahan, Yayoi Garcia, Dana Prozeller and Mackenzie Renner.
The 2008-09 season was highlighted by five top-five finishes and
the receiving of postseason awards by Garahan, who was named the
Big Sough Scholar-Athlete for Women's Golf and earned a spot on the
All-Conference Academic Team, and sophomore Courtney Meyer who was
named to the All-Conference Team.
Gardner-Webb's 2008 fall season teed-off at the 2008 Draper Valley
Women's Intercollegiate tournament hosted by Appalachian State in
Boone, N.C. on September 8-9. The Bulldogs got its season started
on the right track, as the team finished in a tie for third-place
with a two-round combined score of 601, +25. Meyer set the bar
high in the season opening tournament, as she finished in a tie for
sixth-place with a score of 146, +2, to lead the Bulldogs.
After struggling at the 2008 Great Smokies Women's Collegiate in
Cullowhee, N.C. the following week, September 15-16, and finishing
in tenth at the Sea Trail Intercollegiate on September 19-21, the
Bulldogs again claimed another top-five team finish at the Stono
Cup in Charleston, S.C. Meyer again led the way for the Bulldogs,
finish tied for fifth-place overall with her three-round combined
score of 230, +17, as Gardner-Webb carded a 958, +94, to finish in
fourth-place in the team standings.
In its final fall tournament, the Bulldogs as a whole did not play
up to par, finishing in 14th-place overall at the Lady Pirate
Intercollegiate tournament on October 19-21.
Yet with the new spring season came a new semester and a new
championship season, as the Bulldogs finished no lower than seventh
overall in its six spring events.
The 2009 spring season kicked off with a sixth-place team finish at
the 2009 Low Country Intercollegiate on March 7-8 in Hilton Head,
S.C. Garahan paced the Bulldogs with a two-round combined score
of 162, +18, which placed her in 13th-place overall, as the
Bulldogs turned in a team score of 670, +94, to take sixth-place
out of 12 teams.
At the Winthrop University Intercollegiate on March 20-22 in Rock
Hill, S.C., the Bulldogs improved, turning in a three-round
combined team score of 979, +15, to take fifth-place overall. Once
again Meyer led the way with an eighth-place showing, carding a GWU
best 236, +20, for the event.
Yet the best was yet to come for the Bulldogs, as Head Coach Tee
Burton's squad won the next two events, taking first-place overall
at the Larry Nelson Collegiate Invitational and won the University
Cup for the third consecutive year.
At the Larry Nelson Collegiate Invitational in Kennesaw, Ga., the
Bulldogs finished on top of the leader board, ahead of eight other
schools, to win the team championship with a combined team score of
939, +75. Again it was Meyer who led the way, as the sophomore
picked up a fourth-place finish with a three-round score of 229,
+13. However, this time the Bulldogs placed three golfers in the
top-10 overall, as Garcia finished in a tie for seventh with a 237,
+21, and fellow senior Renner finished only one stroke back with a
238, +22, which placed her in a tie for 10th overall.
Only four days later, the women's golf team teamed up with the
men's golf team in Morganton, N.C. to defeat the Appalachian State
Mountaineers in a head-to-head competition, winning the University
Cup with a score of 5.5 to 4.5.
After a one-day hiatus, the Bulldogs remained in Morganton, N.C.
for the 2009 Mimosa Hills Women's Intercollegiate event on April
6-7. The Bulldogs battled tough wins in inclement weather
conditions, yet still managed to finish seventh overall out of 10
teams with a team score of 652, +76.
On April 13-15, the Bulldogs, who entered the tournament as the No.
4 seed, competed in its first ever Big South Women's Golf
Championship. Gardner-Webb finished day one in a three-way tie for
third-place, carding a team round of 322, +34. On day two, the
Bulldogs stumbled a bit, as Gardner-Webb shot a 324, +36, falling
to fifth-place with a two-day score of 646, +70. On the final day
of play, the Bulldogs turned in a 325, +37, as GWU held on to take
fifth-place overall with a three-day combined team score of 971,
+107.
With five-top five team finishes and a fifth-place showing in its
first ever Big South Women's Golf Championship, the future is
bright. The four seniors, who have significantly help build the
program over the last four years, have left the program in good
shape as a new wave of newcomers will join Meyer and freshman
Courtney Finocchiaro in 2009-2010.
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| 2008-09 Women's Golf Season Statistics |
