COLUMBIA, S.C. — After losing three seniors last season on a team which finished fifth in the country, no one expected the LSU women’s golf team to be right back in the hunt for another trip to the NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championships in 1999.
But Coach Karen Bahnsen proved the experts wrong as two freshmen and a mid-semester transfer combined with returnees Lisette Lee and Katy Wilkinson to lead LSU back to the championships with a third-place finish Saturday in the NCAA East Regional tournament at South Carolina’s University Club.
In fact, it marked the second straight year LSU finished third in the East Regional and it marks the first time in the 20 years of the program that the LSU women’s golf team will go to the championships in consecutive years. It will be LSU’s fifth overall appearance in the event, which this year is scheduled for the Tulsa Country Club in Tulsa, Okla., May 19-22.
Joining Lee and Wilkinson on this year’s NCAA team will be freshman Tina Howard and Meredith Duncan and junior Leslie McClurg, who transferred from Northern Arizona to LSU between semesters.
“I can’t tell you how excited we are about qualifying to go back again,” said Bahnsen, in her 15th year as women’s golf coach. “I have tried to tell everyone not to judge this team by what it did in the fall when we were trying to get all the pieces to fit together. But the results in the spring proved this team belonged and I couldn’t be prouder. They’ve worked so hard and it has paid dividends.”
LSU posted a 54-hole total of 893, good enough for third at 29-over par. Georgia wins the region at 884 (20-over), one shot better than Furman at 885. The other qualifying teams were: Duke at 894, Florida State (901), Ohio State (904), host South Carolina (908) and Auburn (912). Wake Forest and North Carolina tied for ninth, one out of the qualifying spots, by two strokes.
Howard posted the best round of the day for the Tigers with a one-under 71, giving her a three-day total of one-over par 217 (72-74-71), good enough for a tie for fourth place and her first top 10 finish of the season. She was two strokes out of the three-way tie for first with Kelly Lagedrost of South Florida, Beth Bauer of Duke and Jennifer Perri of Furman at one-under par 215.
Lee, one of the keys to the Tigers great spring, posted her fourth top 10 in the last five tournaments, finishing at three-over 219 (71-71-77) to finish in a tie for seventh place. LSU’s other two counting scores on the day were also 77s by Wilkinson and Duncan. Wilkinson finished in a tie for 41st at 13-over 229 (80-72-77), while Duncan was in a group at 16-over 232.
McClurg finished at 21-over par 237.
In all, four of the six teams from the SEC advanced to the Division I championships.
NCAA East Regional Women’s Golf At Columbia, S.C.
Final Team Results (Top 8 Advance)
(Par 288 864)
1. Georgia 300-294-290 — 884 +20
2. Furman 290-293-302 — 885 +21
3. LSU 299-292-302 — 893 +29
4. Duke 297-300-297 — 894 +30
5. Florida St. 296-304-301 — 901 +37
6. Ohio State 301-299-304 — 904 +40
7. South Carolina 299-302-307 — 908 +44
8. Auburn 306-298-308 — 912 +48
9. Wake Forest 307-300-307 — 914 +50
9. North Carolina 308-299-307 — 914 +50
11. Michigan State 304-304-307 — 915 +51
12. Indiana 310-306-303 — 919 +55
13. South Florida 299-307-314 — 920 +56
13. Tennessee 312-296-312 — 920 +56
15. Memphis 301-310-312 — 923 +59
16. Mississippi 312-306-308 — 926 +62
17. Purdue 316-303-309 — 928 +64
18. Penn State 307-309-317 — 933 +69
19. Campbell 311-312-319 — 942 +78
Top Individuals (Par 72-216)
1. Kelly Lagedrost, South Florida 72-73-70 — 215 -1
1. Beth Bauer, Duke 74-70-71 — 215 -1
1. Jennifer Perri, Furman 71-71-73 — 215 -1
4. Tina Howard, LSU 72-74-71 — 217 +1
4. Stacey Burnett, Furman 72-70-75 — 217 +1
LSU Scores
t4. Tina Howard 72-74-71 — 217 +1
t7. Lisette Lee 71-71-77 — 219 +3
t41. Katy Wilkinson 80-72-77 — 229 +13
t57. Meredith Duncan 78-77-77 — 232 +16
t77. Leslie McClurg 78-75-84 — 237 +21