Sept. 26, 2007
Albuquerque, N.M. - The seventh-ranked Auburn women's golf team fired a 4-under 288 to finish strong at the Margaret Moses Branch Fall Preview. The Tigers (298-299-288--885) tied with Arizona for sixth place.
"I think we came out and played very well to conclude this tournament," head coach Kim Evans said. "We try to improve at every tournament and I think we accomplished that this week. The Fall Preview really gives us a look at the competition that we will see next May at the NCAA Championship and I think we have a lot to look forward to this year."
Duke took the overall team crown after shooting 16-under for the tournament (287-286-287--860). UCLA finished one stroke out of the top spot at 15-under (292-285-284--861), while UCLA grabbed third after shooting 6-under (291-294-285--870). Auburn finished 25 strokes behind Duke.
Four of the five Auburn competitors shot even par or under on Wednesday, capped off by junior Mariana Macias who fired a career-low 3-under 70. Macias turned in five birdies on the day, including four on her final nine holes and three straight (holes four to six). Macias tied for 26th (75-75-72--222) with teammate Cydney Clanton (73-76-73--222). Clanton, a freshman, shot even par 73 after making four birdies.
Senior Margaret Shirley went 2-under 71 after making six birdies, including two back-to-back to finish out the day. Shirley ended up tied for 33rd (72-80-71--223). Sophomore Candace Schepperle had her best round on Wednesday, shooting 1-under 72. She had three birdies on the day, two of which came on holes 1-9. Schepperle ended up tied for 55th (81-75-72--228).
Rounding out the Tiger lineup was freshman Sarah Thead. Thead finished tied for 51st after shooting 3-over 76. Thead managed two birdies but five bogey's were the difference (78-73-76--227).
Southern California's Dewi Claire Schreefel won the individual title after firing 15-under for the tournament (68-69-67--204). Taking second was Duke's Amanda Blumenherst (73-68-67--208) and third place went to Arizona's Alison Walshe (70-69-70--209).
The Tigers return to action next weekend at the Lady Tar Heel Invitational in Chapel Hill, N.C. The three-day event, Oct. 5-7, will be held at the Finley Course Golf.