Auburn Claims SEC Women's Golf Championship in Playoff

April 17, 2005

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TUNICA, Miss. Â- It required two holes of sudden victory playoff, but Auburn outlasted Georgia to claim the SEC Women's Golf Championship Sunday at Tunica National Golf & Tennis Club.

The third-ranked Tigers led by as much as 12 strokes on the back nine only to have UGA, Arkansas, LSU and Tennessee all pull within two strokes over the final holes. After sitting atop the leaderboard for the entire tournament, Auburn slipped a stroke behind the No. 4 Bulldogs during the last two holes but pulled even at the end of regulation to extend the championship into what is believed to be the first team playoff in tournament history.

The two clubs remained deadlocked after Hole 1, but behind Maria Martinez's six-foot birdie putt, the Tigers prevailed on Hole 2 to secure the program's fifth SEC title and second in three years.

"I went through a world of emotions today," said AU head coach Kim Evans. "I felt pretty good at the turn and thought maybe I would be able to relax in the fact that we were in good shape. But 12, 13 and 14 tackled us and we weren't sure after 15 if we could pull it out. There is always a chance though and we didn't give up.

"We have played the last three holes well every day and when the playoff came around, we fought hard to stay in it. Maria landed her putt for birdie on the last hole and that was it. It wasn't a pretty win, but we are bringing home the trophy."

The Lady Razorbacks improved 14 strokes to finish one away from joining the playoff, and Stacy Lewis directed the charge with one of the finest performances in SEC golf history. The redshirt freshman from Woodlands, Texas took home medallist honors after carding a 67 Sunday, setting a Tunica National course record in competition and tying the SEC Tournament all-time final-round low.

"It hasn't really sunk in yet," Lewis said. "It's amazing. I really didn't start to feel it until about the fourth or fifth hole. It was just so easy today. I kept my composure and made a lot of putts today."

Lewis finished at two-under par with a three-round tally of 214, while Florida's Whitney Myers was six strokes off the pace in grabbing the runner-up medal with a 72-74-74=220. UT's Jessica Shepley placed third with a 221, while Georgia's Whitney Wade was fourth at 223.

Ole Miss was the host institution for the championship, which was being held in Tunica for the first time in its 25-year history and in Mississippi for only the third time. The Lady Rebels' low round Sunday came from junior Laura Evans, who matched her season-best with a 73. Katie Davidson was the squad's top overall finisher at 39th with a 236, while Nikki Hadd fired 75 and 77 over her final two collegiate rounds in posting a 238.

"I thought the tournament was a complete success, especially with an ending like that," said Ole Miss head coach Meghan Bolger. "It was an exciting event for the conference and for Auburn to pull it out. I want to thank Bob Wolcott and his staff at Tunica National as well as Phil Bridges and everyone with the Mississippi Golf Association for making this championship possible."

Vanderbilt will host the 2006 SEC Women's Golf Championship in Nashville, Tenn.

2005 SEC WOMEN'S GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPTUNICA NATIONAL GOLF & TENNIS CLUB (TUNICA, MISS.)
T1 Auburn* 291 302 311 904 +40T1 Georgia 301 302 301 904 +403 Arkansas 301 309 295 905 +41T4 LSU 303 293 310 906 +42T4 Tennessee 299 304 303 906 +426 Florida 304 307 300 911 +477 South Carolina 313 301 300 914 +508 Kentucky 310 314 299 923 +599 Vanderbilt 308 316 303 927 +6310 Alabama 303 316 314 933 +6911 Mississippi St. 330 312 305 947 +8312 Ole Miss 321 328 320 969 +105
*Claimed championship in second hole of sudden victoryplayoff

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
1 Stacy Lewis Arkansas 72 75 67 214 âˆ'22 Whitney Myers Florida 72 74 74 220 +43 Jessica Shepley Tennessee 71 74 76 221 +54 Whitney Wade Georgia 78 77 68 223 +7T5 Chris Brady Vanderbilt 76 80 69 225 +9T5 Melissa Eaton LSU 77 73 75 225 +9T7 Nicole Hage Auburn 69 76 81 226 +10T7 Maria Martinez Auburn 74 75 77 226 +10T7 Kimberly Meck LSU 73 75 78 226 +10T7 Natalia Nicholls Georgia 75 75 76 226 +10T7 Brooke Shelton LSU 75 74 77 226 +10T12 Kelly Froelich Georgia 74 73 80 227 +11T12 Whitney Simons South Carolina 76 73 78 227 +11T12 Kristen Svicarovich Vanderbilt 75 75 77 227 +11T15 Erica Battle South Carolina 80 78 70 228 +12T15 Diana Ramage Auburn 75 77 76 228 +12T15 Caroline Rominger South Carolina 79 76 73 228 +12T15 Margaret Shirley Auburn 73 74 81 228 +12T19 Tiffany Chudy Florida 77 77 75 229 +13T19 Gena Johnson Arkansas 79 77 73 229 +13
OLE MISS RESULTS
12 Ole Miss 321 328 320 96939 Katie Davidson 76 80 80 236T46 Nikki Hadd 86 75 77 23849 Laura Evans 83 84 73 24058 Katherine Jones 82 89 90 26159 Sarah Kate Cousart 80 WD

The University of Mississippi Athletics

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