Sunday, March 14, 2004

TEGA CAY, S.C. (March 14, 2004) - After tying with Coastal Carolina following regulation play Sunday in the final round of The Shamrock Intercollegiate at the Tega Cay Golf Club, the East Tennessee State University women's golf team had its sights set on a second-straight tournament title. But this time it was not meant to be.

Despite firing all pars and a birdie on the playoff hole, the Lady Bucs were bested by Coastal, which carded two birdies and the rest pars to take the tournament title with a score of 977 (331-329-317). Still, ETSU head coach Stefanie Reynolds and the rest of the Lady Bucs were proud of their effort.

"Coming into this tournament I would have been ecstatic with a top three," Reynolds said. "But after beating Augusta State for the first time in our program's history and taking Coastal Carolina right to the end, our players are really starting to believe and they're really talking about the roll we're on. Right now, they don't fear anyone."

The Lady Bucs (341-315-321=977) finished even with Coastal Carolina thanks mainly to the efforts of the sophomore trio of Ashley Barton (Seffner, Fla.), Laura Diaz (Aquadilla, P.R.) and Kailey Brooks (Bracebridge, Ontario, Canada).

Barton finished tied for fourth on the individual leaderboard at 239, just 10 strokes back of champion Ashley Harris of Mercer, while Diaz placed tied for 12th at 245. Meanwhile, sophomore Kailey Brooks (Bracebridge, Ontario, Canada) finished tied for 14th at 236. Other Lady Buc results included senior Kristen Fletcher (Cookeville, Tenn.), who finished tied for 28th at 253, and junior Robin Downes (Johnson City, Tenn.), who finished tied for 37th at 256.

The ETSU women's golf team will return to play March 22-23 at the Samford Intercollegiate.