May 21, 2011

BRYAN, Texas - The Coastal Carolina women's golf team put the finishing touches on the 2011 season Saturday afternoon in the fourth and final round of the NCAA Championships from the Traditions Golf Course.

The Chanticleers, who became the first school in Big South history to qualify for the NCAA Championships, finished 24th overall in the tournament after firing a 310 Saturday in the fourth round. Coastal Carolina will conclude the season ranked as the No. 24 team in the nation to mark the highest team finish in both school and league history.

Second-ranked UCLA claimed the National Championship after finishing with an overall score of 1173 (289,-295-294-295). No. 4 Purdue (292-295-298-292 = 1177), No. 7 LSU (292-296-303-290 = 1181), No. 5 Virginia (291-300-299-296 = 1186), No. 1 USC (302-302-292-294 = 1190) and No. 11 Arkansas (305-296-296-293 = 1190) round out the top 5 teams. Coastal Carolina finished the four-day event with an overall score of 1,232 (322-302-298-310) on the par-72, 6,260 yard course.

Austin Ernst of LSU was the individual medalist after finishing seven-under par with an overall score of 281 (72-66-77-66).

Coastal Carolina sophomore and Big South Player of the Year Jessica Alexander finished first for the Chanticleers and tied for 37th place with an overall score of 299. The Riverview, Fla., native shot a 75 Saturday on her way to finishing first for the Chants for the sixth time this spring. Alexander featured a steady fourth round that included a birdie on the fourth hole and an eagle on the eighth hole. She shot a 73 Friday in round three and tallied five birdies. Her best score of the tournament came when she fired a 72 in round two that saw her record a birdie or make par on 16 consecutive holes. Alexander opened the event with a 79 Wednesday in round one.

Sophomore Brittany Henderson placed second for the Chanticleers and tied for 88th overall after shooting a 77 Saturday in round four en route to an overall score of 310. Henderson started the day with a bogey on the first two holes of the front nine, but responded nicely by making par on the next two holes before registering birdies on the fifth and sixth holes. She closed the tournament by collecting a birdie on hole 18. Henderson carded a 71 Thursday in round two to mark her best score of the tournament. In that round, Henderson recorded a birdie on the third hole of the front nine before making par on the nine holes. She then turned in a birdie on hole 13 before making par on the final five holes.

Freshman Courtney Boe finished in 101st place and was third on the team after shooting an 82 on Saturday on her way to a final score of 312. Boe started the day with a double bogey on the first hole of the back nine, but made par on the next six holes to maintain her score. She finished the back nine with a birdie on hole 18. Boe posted her best score of the tournament when she finished round three with a 69. Boe started the back nine with a birdie on the 10th hole before making a hole-in-one on the following hole. The 2011 Big South Freshman of the Year went on to make par on six of the final seven holes of the back nine. Boe also carded two birdies on the front nine and made par on six of the other seven holes. The Bluffton, S.C., native shot an 80 in round one and an 81 in round two.

Junior Kaitlin Higginbotham fired an 80 Saturday in round four and completed the tournament with an overall score of 318 en route to finishing tied for 111th place. Higginbotham birdied two of the first three holes of the back nine and then finished that round with birdies on two of the three final holes. She fired a 78 in round three and started the back nine with a birdie on the 10th hole and then made par on six other holes. She started the front nine by making par on the first six holes before recording a birdie on the seventh hole. Higginbotham fired a 78 in round two and featured four birdies and started the event with an 82 in round one, which included three birdies.

Senior Alicia Grier round out the Chanticleer quintet by finishing tied for 119th place with her score of 323. Grier shot a 78 Saturday in round four to mark the second straight day she has finished with a 78. The Hagerstown, Md., native started the back nine my registering birdies on two of the first four holes before closing the round by making par on the final three holes. She opened the front nine with a birdie on the first hole and was able to make par on five of the final eight holes. On Friday in round three, Grier made par on hole 17 before recording a birdie on the final hole of the back nine. On the front nine, Grier closed her nine holes by making par on hole 7, collecting a birdie on hole 8 and finished by making par on the ninth hole. Grier fired an 82 in round one and an 85 in round two.

"We had a tough week and didn't really get the result that we were looking for, but I can't say enough about how great of an experience this was," Coastal Carolina head coach Katie Quinney said. "It was an honor to represent Coastal Carolina and the Big South Conference and hopefully we will be back again next year."

NCAA D1 Women's Championships
Traditions Golf Course
Bryan, Texas
May 18-21

TEAM SCORES
1. UCLA - 289, 295, 294, 295 = 1173 (+21)
2. Purdue - 292, 295, 298, 292 = 1177 (+25)
3. LSU - 292, 296, 303, 290 = 1181 (+29)
4. Virginia - 291, 300, 299, 296 = 1186 (+34)
5. USC - 302, 302, 292, 294 = 1190 (+38)
5. Arkansas - 305, 296, 296, 293 = 1190 (+38)
7. Texas A&M - 295, 294, 302, 300 = 1191 (+39)
8. North Carolina - 305, 293, 297, 298 = 1193 (+41)
8. Alabama - 301, 303, 297, 292 = 1193 (+41)
10. Vanderbilt - 297, 294, 304, 301 = 1196 (+44)
10. Florida - 294, 298, 309, 295 = 1196 (+44)
12. California - 306, 292, 305, 294 = 1197 (+45)
13. Tennessee - 299, 299, 306, 296 = 1200 (+48)
14. Wake Forest - 298, 307, 301, 296 = 1202 (+50)
15. Arizona - 304, 295, 305, 301 = 1205 (+53)
16. Washington - 312, 307, 297, 293 = 1209 (+57)
17. Arizona State - 296, 303, 308, 303 = 1210 (+58)
18. South Carolina - 302, 315, 298, 296 = 1211 (+59)
19. Minnesota - 305, 294, 307, 307 = 1213 (+42)
20. UC Davis - 313, 305, 307, 294 = 1219 (+67)
21. Ohio State - 303, 315, 298, 305 = 1221 (+69)
22. Notre Dame - 308, 310, 307, 299 = 1224 (+72)
23. Stanford - 308, 305, 303, 309 = 1225 (+73)
24. Coastal Carolina - 322, 302, 298, 310 = 1232 (+80)

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
1. Austin Ernst, LSU - 72, 66, 77, 66 = 281 (-7)
2. Kelli Shean, Arkansas - 75, 70, 71, 68 = 284 (-4)
3. Laura Gonzalez, Purdue - 74, 71, 70, 71 = 286 (-2)
4. Tiffany Lua, UCLA - 71, 71, 70, 75 = 287 (-1)
4. Marta Silva Zamora, Georgia - 71, 71, 72, 73 = 287 (-1)

COASTAL CAROLINA SCORES
T37. Jessica Alexander - 79, 72, 73, 75 = 299 (+11)
T88. Brittany Henderson - 81, 71, 81, 77 = 310 (+22)
101. Courtney Boe - 80, 81, 69, 82 = 312 (+24)
T111. Kaitlin Higginbotham 82, 78, 78, 80 = 318 (+30)
T119. Alicia Grier - 82, 85, 78, 78 = 323 (+35)