Southland Championships begin Monday
4/17/2011 3:11:00 PM | Women's Golf
Runners-up in two of the last three Southland Conference Women's Golf Championships, Sam Houston State is looking to repeat its success in 2004 and 2007 at the 10th annual league tournament tees off Monday at the Corpus Christi Country Club.
Sam Houston State finished second in the 2010 tournament at Raven Nest in Huntsville after holding leads following the first and second rounds. The Bearkats also were Southland runners-up in 2002 and 2008.
The Bearkats are led by sophomore Shelby Hardy who ranks second in the conference with a 75.21 stroke average in 10 tournaments including medalist honors at the Houston Baptist Intercollegiate.
A native of San Saba, Texas, Hardy led the Bearkats to a tournament record in 2010 for the lowest round team score (285) and Sam Houston State's highest team finish since 2007 when the Bearkats won their last title.
Sam Houston leads the Southland with the most individual wins as sophomore Jessica Borth and senior Landa Stewart have one and two first-place finishes respectively, giving the Bearkats a conference-leading four medalist honors.
Texas State returns four golfers from its 2010 championship team that set the Southland tournament record for lowest winning score (885) and overcame a 15-stroke deficit in the final round to claim its second title in the last three years.
The Bobcats are led by sophomore Krista Puisite, who has a 75.70 stroke average in nine tournaments this year.
UTSA looks to claim its first Southland championship as the Roadrunners enter the tournament as the highest ranked team in the conference. Leading UTSA into the tournament is sophomore Paola Valerio. A native of Mexico City, Valerio leads the Southland with a 74.85 stroke average in nine tournaments and finished sixth in last year's tournament.
Central Arkansas returns sophomore Julia Roth and junior Gemma Hardie who finished tied for ninth in last year's tournament. Roth, a native of Karlskrona, Sweden, currently ranks third in the Southland with a 75.42 stroke average in nine tournaments with three top-10 finishes. Hardie has a 79.30 stroke average in eight tournaments with a low round of 73.
The conference tournament is slated to tee off Monday at 8 a.m., where team pairings will be based on seeding. Golfers will then play 18 holes Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
Eight Southland universities field a women's golf team: Central Arkansas, Lamar, McNeese State, Sam Houston State, Stephen F. Austin, UTSA, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Texas State.
Live scoring for the conference championship will be available at www.southland.org.
