Sunday, April 25, 2004

GREENSBORO, N.C. (April 25, 2004) -- The East Tennessee State University women's golf team wrapped up the Southern Conference Championships in fifth place Sunday, while Furman swept both the team and individual titles.

For the Lady Bucs, sophomore Ashley Barton (Seffner, Fla.) led the way with a sixth-place finish at 234, while junior Danielle O'Reilly (Vancouver, British Columbia) put together one of her best efforts of the year by finishing ninth at 236.

Furman won the tournament going away, finishing 32 shots over defending champion Western Carolina (936). Hosts UNC Greensboro finished third at 941, followed by Elon in fourth at 959, and East Tennessee State in fifth at 961. College of Charleston was one shot behind the Bucs in sixth at 962, followed by Appalachian State in seventh at 997. Wofford and The Citadel tied for eighth at 1028.

Furman senior Sarah Johnston, the SoCon Player of the Year, knocked in a three foot birde putt to defeat fellow Lady Paladin Jenny Suh on the first hole of the sudden death playoff to capture medalist honors. Johnston and Suh, the conference Freshman of the Year, each carded six-over-par 213s for the tournament. "It feels good to win on such a tough course," Johnson said. "It's disappointing to have to beat my own teammate, but it's a nice victory."

UNC Greensboro's Polly Willett fired a tournament-low 68 on Sunday to finish in third on the individual leaderboard at 222. Furman's Theresa Paik (225) and Western Carolina's Ashley Hovda (226) finished fourth and fifth, respectively.

2004 SoCon All-Conference Teams
First Team
Sarah Johnston, Furman
Jenny Suh, Furman
Brandy Andersen, Western Carolina
Becca Twiner, Western Carolina
Sapna Patel, College of Charleston

Second Team
Polly Willett, UNC Greensboro
Theresa Paik, Furman
Amber Kuss, College of Charleston
Ashley Hovda, Western Carolina
Connor Atkinson, Furman

Player of the Year: Sarah Johnston, Furman

Freshman of the Year: Jenny Suh, Furman

Coach of the Year: Mic Potter, Furman