UNCG opens play at Landfall Tradition on Friday

WILMINGTON, N.C. - The UNCG women's golf team will return to action on Friday when it begins play at the highly touted Landfall Tradition.

Three top 10-ranked teams and five of the top 20-rated individuals will play in this year's event at the Country Club of Landfall. UCLA (No. 4), Duke (No. 5) and Virginia (No. 8) headline the 18-team field that is scheduled to compete for 54 holes on the winding Par 72, 6246-yard layout along the Intracoastal Waterway. UNCW is hosting the event on the same course that served as the site of the 2010 NCAA Women's Golf Championships.

In addition to UNCG, tournament-host UNCW and the aforementioned Bruins, Blue Devils, and Cavaliers, the tournament features Florida State, Michigan State, North Carolina, NC State, Notre Dame, Northwestern, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, South Carolina, Chattanooga, Texas, Texas Tech, and Wake Forest. Live scoring will be available via Golfstat with links at www.UNCGSpartans.com.

The teams will play 18 holes daily, beginning at 8:30 a.m. on Friday and Saturday, with an 8:45 a.m. shotgun start scheduled for Sunday's big finale.

The Spartans return from a 12-day layoff afer competing at the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate. UNCG finished 15th in the tournament with Ana Lucia Martinez leading the way in 36th place.

Individually, Duke's Lindy Duncan and Virginia's Brittany Altomare bring the highest rankings into the tourney. Duncan is rated eighth and Altomare checks in at 10th.Three other golfers - Notre Dame's Nicole Zhang (No. 12), Virginia's Carlie Nielson (No. 17) and Wake Forest's Michelle Shin (No. 19) - are in the top 20.

This is the final event of the five that UNCG will play in its fall slate. Sophomore Courtney Taylor is UNCG's top golfer thus far this season with a 76.64 stroke average.

- UNCG -