March 26, 2006
ATHENS, Ga. - The Auburn women's golf team moved up one spot in round three to finish second at the Liz Murphey Classic here Sunday afternoon at the par 72, 6,228-yard University of Georgia Golf Course.
The Tigers finished the three-day tournament with a 41-over (308-304-293--905), two strokes behind first-place Georgia, who concluded the day with a 39-over (301-302-300--903). Rounding out the top five is Wake Forest in third at 46-over (301-302-300--903), Florida State finished fourth at 54-over (307-310-301--918) and Kent State took fifth with a 59-over (311-305-307--923).
"I am proud of the girls for their hard work this weekend," Auburn head coach Kim Evans said. "They stayed consistent and kept moving up each round, finishing just two strokes behind a very strong Georgia team on their home course."
Senior Maria Martinez led Auburn with a fourth-place finish carding a 7-over (76-76-71--223), followed by Nicole Hage in a tie for sixth at 8-over (76-72-76--224), Margaret Shirley finished in a tie for 16th firing a 12-over (78-79-71--228), Jessica Lovell tied for 27th at 16-over (78-77-77--232) and Abigale Schepperle finished in a tie for 67th with a 28-over (86-83-75--244).
Individually, Florida State's Carolina Westrup took medalist honors firing a 5-over 77-73-71--221 on the weekend. She was followed by Jenny Suh of Alabama (74-78-70--222) and Amanda Goins of Wake Forest (75-74-73--222), each with a 6-over and a tie for second.
Auburn will now ready for the SEC Championship, April 14-16 in Nashville, Tenn. The Tigers claimed the SEC title in 2005 after a three-hole playoff with Georgia in Tunica, Miss.