CHARLESTON, S.C. – The LSU women’s golf team, coming off their best finish in the NCAA D1 Championship in school history, now try to continue that success as the 2011-12 season opens Sunday at the College of Charleston Cougar Classic at Yeamans Hall.
The Lady Tigers, with three members of the team back that finished a school best third in last year’s championships, will tee off in the three-day event that features a large field of 22 teams. Joining Charles and LSU in the field are: Alabama, Charleston Southern, Duke, Florida, Furman, Georgia, Maryland, Miami, Minnesota, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Ole Miss, Penn State, Richmond, South Carolina, Tennessee, UNC Greensboro, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest and Wisconsin.
LSU, ranked fourth in the preseason coaches’ poll, has veteran senior players Jacqueline Hedwall of Sweden and Tessa Teachman of Baton Rouge to lead the way with one of the nation’s top golfers in Austin Ernst back for her sophomore season. Ernst, of Seneca, S.C., shot seven-under for 72 holes including two-rounds of 66, to win the NCAA individual championship as a freshman in May of this year.
She then returned to school during the summer and pulled to golf clubs out to finish as a semifinalist in the United States Women’s Amateur in August.
LSU’s lineup will be completed by Lindsey Gahm of Louisville, Ky., a sophomore transfer who was the freshman of the year in the Big 10 in 2011, and Swedish freshman Madeline Sagstrom, who had an outstanding international junior career.
“I feel really good about our team,” said LSU Coach Karen Bahnsen, who is beginning her 28th season as the head coach of the LSU women’s team after starting as the first recruit of the fledgling program when it began in 1979. “We have three players back from last year’s squad and two seniors that can provide a lot of leadership for us. Our new players have outstanding credentials and will add a lot for our team. We need to establish the same type of drive and chemistry we had a year ago and just continue to play as we did last year. I am very excited to get things started again.”
The Lady Tigers go off in the morning wave on Sunday at 7:54 a.m. CST with host Charleston and North Carolina, while they will play in the afternoon wave in Monday’s second round. The final round is set for Tuesday and will be a shotgun start with all teams on the course, beginning at 8 a.m.