March 7, 2011

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Reclaiming the form that guided her to one of the best performances in school history a year earlier, sophomore Courtney Taylor fired a 4-over-par 74 on Monday as the UNCG women's golf team finished in 15^th place in the elite, 17-team SunTrust Gator Women's Golf Invitational at the University of Florida on Monday.

Taylor, whose total of 216 in last year's Lady Gator established a program record for a 54-hole event, started on the 13^th hole at the 6,002-yard, par-70 Mark Bostick Golf Course and birdied No. 16 and No. 5 on Monday. She got back on track after a pair of 79s on Sunday.

Overall, UNCG defeated Stetson and Missouri in the tournament, which featured nine of the top 50 teams in the country.

"This was our first event of the spring, and I was pleased to beat two schools that are nationally ranked ahead of us," UNCG coach Emily Marron said. "The Lady Gator is a really strong field, and the course is demanding. Bee Sarabia had a nice start to her Spartan career with an opening-round 73, and Courtney Taylor had a nice closing day with a 74."

Taylor's finish tied her for 47^th place among individuals. Her card was joined Monday by efforts from Lizzie Bundy (78), Sarabia (81) and Ana Martinez (82). The Spartans carded rounds of 308, 317 and 315 and finished six strokes ahead of the Hatters and seven better than the Tigers.

The Spartans, who, like the rest of the UNCG student body, are on spring break, will stay in Florida for another event. They'll tee it up in the JMU Eagle Landing Invitational in Jacksonville from Friday through Sunday. James Madison University hosts the tournament.

"We are looking forward to the JMU invite this weekend in Jacksonville," Marron said. "This event should give us some good momentum going into play there."

SUNTRUST GATOR WOMEN'S GOLF INVITATIONAL
Mark Bostick Golf Course, (Par-70, 6,002 yards)
Gainesville, FL

Team scores
1. Florida 865; 2. Florida State 883; 3. Ohio State 895; 4. Colorado 896; 5. Arkansas 899; t6. Iowa State 901; t6. Coastal Carolina 901; t6. Chattanooga 901. 9. Augusta State 911; 10. Kent State 913; 11. Texas Tech 914; 12. UCF 919; 13. Georgia State 928; 14. James Madison 937; 15. UNCG 940; 16. Stetson 946; 17. Missouri 947.

Individual scores
Top 10: 1. 1. Hannah Thomson (Florida State) 69-72-69--210; 2. Vicky Villanueva (Ohio State) 72-67-73—212; t3. Emma de Groot (Chattanooga) 73-73-70—216; t3. Charlotte Lorentzen (Georgia State) 74-64-78—216; t3. Emily Tubert (Arkansas) 76-71-69—216; t3. Jessica Wallace (Colorado) 75-68-73—216; t7. Evan Jensen (Florida) 69-73-75—217; t7. Isabelle Lendl (Florida) 68-77-72—217; t7. Mia Piccio (Florida) 72-73-72—217; t7. Kaitlyn Price (UCF) 67-76-74—217; t7. Maria Salinas (Florida State) 73-72-72—217.

UNCG golfers:  t47. Courtney Taylor 79-79-74—232; t67. Begonia Sarabia 73-84-81—238; t74. Ana Martinez 80-78-82—240; t79. Lizzie Bundy 86-78-78—242; Erica Creed-76-82-DQ. 

- UNCG-