WOMEN'S GOLF WINS BOBCAT DESERT CLASSIC; COPPIN TIES FOR THIRD

3/14/2007

GOODYEAR, Ariz. — The Sacramento State women’s golf team rallied from an eight-stroke deficit entering the final round to win the team title at the Bobcat Desert Classic on Wednesday. The Hornets shot 300 during the third round and finished even with Cal Poly. However, Sacramento State was awarded the title based on the tournament’s tie-breaker.

Junior Kim Coppin led the charge for Sacramento State, shooting a career-best 226 to tie for third place overall. Coppin’s 54-hole total is tied for the second best in school history and is the highest finish by a Hornet this season. The Sheldon HS graduate shot 74 on Monday and 79 on Tuesday before posting a 73 in the final round.

Consistency was the key for the Hornets throughout the three-day event as none of the six golfers posted a round over 79. Seniors Jennifer Parkes and Margaux Sheehan shot 230 to tie for 14th, junior Heather LeMaster was 18th with a 231 and Emily Longcrier was two strokes back to tie for 22nd.

Sacramento State and Cal Poly finished six strokes ahead of Oral Roberts in the team standings. The tie-breaker was decided by counting the fifth score from each round. Gonzaga shot 926 to place fourth while Northern Arizona and UC Riverside tied for fifth at 934.

The Hornets’ total ranks as the second best in school history for a 54-hole tournament. The 300 on Wednesday is tied for the fifth-best score in the record book and the first-round 304 ranks eighth.

The tournament, which was hosted by Montana State, took place at the Palm Valley Golf Club. Sacramento State will return to the course in April for the Big Sky Conference championships. In fact, six of the other eight Big Sky schools played in the event and only NAU was within 40 strokes of the Hornets.

TEAM SCORES
T1. Sacramento State 304-311-300-915*
T1. Cal Poly 301-306-308-915
3. Oral Roberts 303-308-310-921
4. Gonzaga 315-308-303-926
T5.  Northern Arizona 313-315-306-934
T5. UC Riverside 315-302-317-934
7. North Texas 309-315-312-936
T8. Portland 312-315-313-940
T8. Wm. & Mary 305-324-311-940
10. Wyoming 317-320-305-942
11. British Columbia 312-319-324-955
12. Northern Colorado 319-319-321-959
13. Montana 318-319-328-965
14. Weber State 319-325-322-966
15. Utah Valley State 343-317-310-970
16. Montana State 324-322-325-971
17. Western New Mexico 332-324-324-980
18. North Dakota State 335-318-335-988
19. Grand Canyon 335-327-343-1005
20. Idaho State 343-355-350-1048

Individual Top Five
T1. Mary Kate Morgan, GU, 79-76-70-225
T1. Tara Lambright, NT, 74-75-76-225
T3. Kim Coppin, SAC, 74-79-73-226
T3. Laura Mengelkamp, WYO, 75-75-76-226
T3. Julia Heath, CP, 76-77-73-226

Sacramento State Finishers
T3. Kim Coppin 74-79-73-226
T14. Jennifer Parkes 78-76-76-230
T14. Margaux Sheehan 77-79-74-230
18. Heather LeMaster 75-79-77-231
T22. Emily Longcrier 78-77-78-233