TU wins C-USA women's golf title
BY Staff Reports
Thursday, April 26, 2012
4/26/12 at 6:39 AM
GULF SHORES, Ala. - The Tulsa women golfers team led wire-to-wire to pick up its second Conference USA Tournament on Tuesday in its seven years as a league member and earn C-USA's automatic qualification to the NCAA regional championship.
On a sunny 70-degree day with light winds, the Hurricane turned in the day's best round for the second consecutive day with a score of 6-over-par 294. Tulsa carded a 54-hole total of 884 to claim a 13-stroke victory over second-place UCF at the par-72 Peninsula Golf and Racquet Club. The Hurricane placed all five golfers among the top-13 individuals led by senior Marita Engzelius' third-place performance.
Engzelius and junior Kristina Merkle earned all-tournament team honors as the duo finished among the top-5 individuals. Merkle had her eighth top-6 finish in nine tournaments this season as she placed fifth overall.
"Our whole lineup gave us some good rounds. ... This victory is special, especially for our three seniors," said Tulsa coach Randy Keck. "We lost by just a slim margin last year and it really stung. The kids took that to heart and we made a vow last year that we were going to win this time. They stepped up and worked extremely hard leading up to it."
The victory gave Tulsa its second C-USA title in seven years as a league member, the first since winning in 2008. It also marks the 12th conference title in 19 years of conference play. Tulsa women's golf did not join a conference until the 1993-94 season.
Results
Teams
| 1. Tulsa |
299-291-294 - 884
|
| 2. UCF |
306-293-298 - 897
|
| 3. Tulane |
301-296-304 - 901
|
| 4. Memphis |
310-316-303 - 929
|
| 5. SMU |
313-311-305 - 929
|
| 6. East Carolina |
319-302-309 - 930
|
| 7. UTEP |
319-314-311 - 944
|
| 8. Marshall |
321-313-315 - 949
|
| 9. UAB |
321-315-314 - 950
|
| 10. Southern Miss |
347-322-322 - 991
|
Tulsa Individuals
| 3t. Marita Engzelius |
71-72-78 - 221
|
| 5 Kristina Merkle |
76-73-73 - 222
|
| 7t. Kamryn Ruffin |
74-78-72 - 224
|
| 11. Sarah Elliot |
78-74-73 - 225
|
| 13t. Anna Young |
80-72-76 - 228
|
Top 5 Individuals
| 1. Marita Engzelius, Tulsa |
71-72 - 143
|
| 2. M. Porras-Lopez, Tulane |
73-72 - 145
|
| 3. Caitlin Watts, UAB |
70-76 - 146
|
| 4t. Felicia Espericueta, SMU |
74-73 - 147
|
| 4t. Katie Mitchell, UCF |
75-72 - 147
|
All-Tournament Team
Maribel Porras-Lopez, Tulane (individual medalist); Felicia Espericueta, SMU; Marita Engzelius, Tulsa; Katie Mitchell, UCF; Kristina Merkle, Tulsa
