Wachovia - Great Smokies Intercollegiate Record Book
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Round One Recap and Final Round Pairings
Cullowhee, N.C. - Twenty-three teams representing eight different states will converge upon the Great Smoky Mountains this weekend, Saturday, Sept. 30 through Sunday, Oct. 1 as Western Carolina University hosts the eighth-annual Wachovia-Great Smokies Intercollegiate at the par 72, 5,915-yard Waynesville Country Club (WCC).
The event kicks off Friday, Sept. 29 with practice rounds and an opening banquet in the main dining hall at the Club. The two-rounds will follow on Saturday and Sunday mornings, with shotgun starts at 9:30 am each day. Scoring for the tournament will include the top four individuals from the respective teams, with both a team and individual champion crowned on Sunday afternoon.
"Western Carolina and its women's golf team are again very excited about hosting this year's event," said Western Carolina Director of Golf and women's head coach Steve Lott. "This tournament has really turned into a big event for the school and community. We are again very pleased to be holding the tournament at the Waynesville Country Club. It is a great venue for golf, especially this time of year, and the hospitality displayed by their staff is top notch."
The Waynesville Country Club was established in 1926, nestled on the hills and valleys of Western North Carolina. The 27-hole course sits on a former dairy farm and features rolling fairways ending in bent grass greens. Several holes at the facility were laid out by renowned golf course designer, Donald Ross, who also designed Pinehurst #2 which hosted the 2005 U.S. Open.
Teams will once again play the Carolina and Blue Ridge courses at the WCC, but will face a few differences in yardages on several holes. This year, the Carolina course will play 2,971 yards with Blue Ridge, which features three par 3 and three par 5 holes, measuring out to 2,944 yards.
Western Carolina has captured five-consecutive individual titles and won the overall team championship four years in a row. In addition to the Catamounts, the two other past tournament champions - Elon (2001) and Tennessee Tech (1999, 2000) - will also be in this year's field, which is the smallest of the eight years, down one team to 23.
Individually, the 2006 edition of the Great Smokies Intercollegiate will see someone new hoist the medalist award as the past five champions - WCU's Ashley Hovda (2004, '05), Brandy Andersen (2003), and Line Cordes (2002) and Tennessee Tech's Cherry Bevis (2001) - have all graduated.
The Waynesville Country Club will again host the Eighth-Annual Wachovia-Great Smokies Intercollegiate.  |
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Adding to the drama, also absent are all six of the student-athletes who graced the tournament's leader board a year ago. The top returners from the seventh-annual event each finished tied for seventh in `05. Belmont sophomore Lori Warren, East Tennessee State junior Natalia Giraldo, and South Alabama sophomore Darah Newell each carded a two-round, one-under 143.
As if all of that wasn't enough, eight of the 23 teams will be seeing each other for the second time in a week. Eight of the Wachovia-Great Smokies Intercollegiate teams also took part in the Sea Trail Intercollegiate last weekend at Sunset Beach, N.C. In addition to Western Carolina, the tournament host - and team champion - Elon, Appalachian State, Gardner-Webb, Kennesaw State, Mercer, Radford and Wofford all competed against each other less than seven days ago. Eleven of the schools faced off in the season-opening Draper Valley Intercollegiate (Sept. 11-12) in Fort Chiswell, Va., hosted by Appalachian.
Entering this year's tournament, Western Carolina's women's golf team has posted eight-consecutive top five team finishes in tournament events, including back-to-back, third-place showings to open this season. Dating back to the spring of 2005, the Catamounts have posted top five's in 12 of the 13 played events, the longest such streak in school history.
WCU is being led by a pair of upperclassmen. Junior Malin Fryk, who debuted on WCU's all-time career scoring charts in first place, leads the team with the lone individual victory of the season, defending her medalist honors at Draper Valley. The Trollhattan, Sweden native is averaging 74 strokes per round, with a career-tying low round of 71 this season. Lone senior, Bianca Melone, posted her best finish of the season with a ninth-place showing last week at the Sea Trail and lowered her scoring average to 75.8 after last weekend.
The pair of WCU Swedish freshman, Desiree Karlsson and Elin Mickelsson, are averaging 76 and 77.4, respectively, while junior Kandy Carland is having her best season ever with a 77.8 stroke average.
Practice rounds for the tournament will be held on Friday at the Waynesville Country Club, with opening ceremonies commencing at 9:00 am on Saturday morning. Both rounds on Saturday and Sunday mornings will be shotgun starts at 9:30 am. Admission is free and the tournament is open to the public.
Tournament Information can be found by visiting www.CatamountSports.com ... Tee Times and Pairings will be updated again on Saturday night for the final round ...Full Results and Select Photos will also be available online at www.CatamountSports.com;
Tournament Notes:
• One of the largest women's collegiate golf tournaments (23 teams, 120 players including five playing as individuals; teams listed below);
• Tournament format is a shotgun start with each day teeing off at 9:30 am; Second round pairings will be determined by team order after opening round and will be set on Saturday evening;
• A total of 46 different teams have ventured to Western North Carolina for the annual Wachovia-Great Smokies Intercollegiate ... the 2006 tournament features 23 teams from eight different states including three making their first-ever appearance (Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia);
• In 2005, six teams shot rounds below the previous tournament team record (291 by WCU in 2004): Western Carolina - 286 Rd. 1; 290, Rd. 2; Ohio - 286, Rd. 1; East Tennessee State - 287, Rd. 2; Elon - 287, Rd. 2; South Alabama - 289, Rd. 1;
• In 2005, four teams broke the two-day, 36-hole score record entering the tournament (586, WCU in 2002): Western Carolina - 576; East Tennessee State and Ohio - 581; Xavier - 584
• Two individuals tied the tournament's low round of 66 last year; AND five tied or shot lower than the previous individual record round;
• Western Carolina has won four-straight team titles ('02-'05) AND five-consecutive individual titles - however, none of the previous champions are still active, meaning there will be a new tournament individual medalist this year;
• Each of the previous year's team champions are in attendance in 2006 - Western, Elon, and Tennessee Tech.
2006 Wachovia-Great Smokies Intercollegiate Teams: Univ. of Alabama-Birmingham (first year) Appalachian State Univ. Austin Peay State Univ. Belmont Univ. Charleston Southern The Citadel Univ. of Dayton East Tennessee State Univ. Elon Univ. (2001 team champion) Gardner-Webb Univ. High Point Univ. Kennesaw State (first year) Lipscomb Univ. Marshall Univ. Mercer Univ. Univ. of Mobile Radford Univ. Univ. of South Alabama Tennessee Tech Univ. (two-time team champion '99, '00) Troy Univ. Western Carolina Univ. (four-time team champion '02, '03, '04 , '05) Winthrop Univ. (first year) Wofford College Xavier University
Wachovia-Great Smokies Intercollegiate History:
2006 Wachovia-Great Smokies Intercollegiate
2005 Wachovia-Great Smokies Intercollegiate
2004 Wachovia-Great Smokies Intercollegiate
2003 Wachovia-Great Smokies Intercollegiate
2002 Wachovia-Great Smokies Intercollegiate
2001 Wachovia-Great Smokies Intercollegiate
2000 Wachovia-Great Smokies Intercollegiate
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