Women's Golf Opens Season At Cougar Classic
Courtney Taylor
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNCG women's golf team opens the 2012-13 season this weekend as it takes part in the Cougar Classic hosted by the College of Charleston at Yeamans Hall Club in Hanahan, S.C., Sept. 9-11. The field features the top-five finishers from last year's NCAA Tournament and 10 of the top 15 teams last year.
"The Cougar Classic is a great tournament to get the year started," first-year head coach Sarah Sargent said. "With 15 of the top 25 teams in the country playing, our team will have a good idea of what we need to do to start moving up in the rankings."
The Spartans return six members from last season's team that finished second at the Southern Conference Championship. UNCG is headlined by the return of sophomore Fanny Cnops (Gent, Belgium/K.A. Voskenslaan) who became the first player in SoCon history to win Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year honors. She led the conference with a 72.34 stroke average, while qualifying for the NCAA Regional as an individual.
Also returning for the Spartans is sophomore Berglind Bjornsdottir (Reykjavik, Iceland/Menntaskolinn I Reykjavik), who posted her best finish at the conference championship, placing 27th in the event. Senior Courtney Taylor (Gastonia, N.C./Ashbrook) returns after posting a 77.07 stroke average last year, including a career-best three-round score of 228 at the Palmetto Intercollegiate (Oct. 23-24).
The teams will take to the par-72 6,219 yard layout starting Sunday with tee times from 7:50 a.m. through 9:10 a.m. and 11:50 a.m. through 1:20 p.m. The tournament will continue with the same format Monday and will see the final round Tuesday have an 18-hole shotgun start at 9 a.m.
The Cougar Classic has 13 teams ranked in Golfweek's final collegiate poll from 2011-12, including No. 2 Alabama, No. 3 Southern California, No. 4 LUS, No. 6 North Carolina, No. 7 Auburn, No. 8 Duke and No. 9 Vanderbilt. The field also includes No. 12 Georgia, No. 13 Florida, No. 15 Tennessee, No. 18 South Carolina, No. 21 Virginia and No. 23 NC State to go along with unranked Charleston Southern, Furman, Maryland, Miami, Mississippi, Penn State, Central Florida, Wake Forest, Wisconsin and the host College of Charleston.
- UNCG -