DESTIN, Fla. — The 10th-ranked LSU women’s golf team finished up a strong fall campaign with a third place finish against a strong field of Southeastern Conference and Atlantic Coast Conference teams Sunday in the Chrysler SEC/ACC Challenge at the Raven Course of the Sandestin Resort and Country Club.
The Lady Tigers, fired a second consecutive six-over 290, to finish at 879, 27 over par for the final 54-hole event of the fall season. The only teams to finish ahead of LSU are the No. 1-ranked Duke Blue Devils, who rallied from behind to win by one shot over No. 5 Auburn, 856-857. Auburn had posted a 13-under 271 round on Saturday to take the lead, but Duke out shot the Auburn team by 16 shots on the final day (278-294) to win by the single shot.
LSU’s 879 (299-290-290) was two shots ahead of Wake Forest (300-295-286) at 881. Mississippi State rounded out the top five at 888 (295-289-304).
Melissa Eaton, coming off a strong two-under 69 on Saturday, followed with a two-over 73 on Sunday to easily finish with a top ten finish, tying for fifth at two-over 215 (73- 69-73). It was Brooke Shelton who made the big move on Sunday for LSU, rallying from a 78 in the first round to shoot a two-under 69 Sunday to finish at seven-over 220, good enough for a tie for 15th place.
Freshman Kimberly Meek had her most consistent tournament as a Lady Tiger with rounds of 74-75-74 to finish at 10-over 223, good enough for 23rd place, while Rebecca Kuhn’s 74 rounded out the counting scores for LSU in the final round. Vicky Meyer had a 75 on the final day.
Diane Ramage of Auburn, paced by her 64 on Saturday, won the individual title by four shots with a seven-under par 206 (70-64-72). Elizabeth Janangelo of Duke and Beth Irwin of Mississippi State had three-under 210 to finish in a tie for second.
“I’m very pleased with what we did this fall with a tournament win and a strong third place finish, losing out to two top-five teams in this tough field,” said LSU Coach Karen Bahnsen. “We challenged the team to really finish this tournament off right and they did. I think we are setting the table very nicely for the spring. We look forward to defending our championship in the Central District event and hosting our annual tournament at the University Club.”
The Lady Tigers first event of the spring is the Central District Championships in Parrish, Fla., Feb. 21-22, where LSU is the defending champion and the Lady Tigers will host the annual LSU/Cleveland Golf Classic at the U-Club, March 18-20.
SEC/ACC Challenge
Destin, Fla.
Final Team Results (Par 284-852)
1. Duke 294-284-278 — 856 +4; 2. Auburn 292-271-294 — 857 +5; 3. LSU 299-290-290 — 879 +27; 4. Wake Forest 300-295-286 — 881 +29; 5. Mississippi State 295-289-304 — 888 +36; 6. Florida 294-305-295 — 894 +42; 7. South Carolina 297-299-300 -896 +44; 8. North Carolina 303-297-305 — 905 +53; 8. Florida State 301-301-303 — 905 +53; 10. Virginia 292-312-304 — 908 +56; 11. North Carolina State 308-298-303 — 909 +57; 11. Miami 302-301-306 — 909 +57; 13. Mississippi 316-296-301 — 913 +61; 14. Kentucky 321-309-306 — 936 +84; 15. Maryland 325-308-308 — 941 +89; 16. Alabama 323-303-317 — 943 +91.
Individual Top 5 (Par 71-213)
1. Diana Ramage, Auburn, 70-64-72 — 206 -7; 2. Elizabeth Janangelo, Duke, 74-74-62 — 210 -3; 2. Beth Irwin, Mississippi State, 71-67-72 — 210 -3; 4. Ashley Hoagland, Wake Forest, 73-70-71 — 214 +1; 5. Tina Miller, Miami, 74-72-69 — 215 +2; 5. Melissa Eaton, LSU, 73-69-73 — 215 +2.
LSU Scores
T5. Melissa Eaton 73-69-73 — 215 +2
T15. Brooke Shelton 78-73-69 — 220 +7
T23. Kimberly Meek 74-75-74 — 223 +10
T28. Rebecca Kuhn 74-76-74 — 224 +11
T35. Vicky Meyer 78-73-75 — 226 +13