Trojans Slip To 8th At UALR Classic

Sunday, March 28

Diamante Country Club - Hot Springs, Ark.

TBA

Troy University

Host -- UALR

3/30/2010 11:00:00 PM | Golf (W)

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – The Troy University women's golf team shot a final round score of 307 on Tuesday to slip into eighth place at the fourth annual UALR Women's Golf Classic.

Troy posted scores of 305-302 on Monday during the first two rounds at the par 72, 5,999-yard, Diamante Country Club. The Trojans finished just one shot behind fellow Sun Belt member Arkansas State for seventh place.

“We are so close to putting it all together, but we just can't seem to get over the hump,” Trojans coach Matt Terry said. “It seems as if every player is having one bad round in each tournament. They all are shooting low numbers in the other rounds, and they all know they can do it, but we have to keep trying to put it all together.”

Another Sun Belt Conference foe, Middle Tennessee, held the tournament lead after the opening day of play but also shot a 307 on Tuesday and fell into third place, two shots behind the host Trojans from UALR, which posted a score of 300 on Tuesday to take the tournament title.

Oral Roberts finished one shot behind UALR in second place. UALR made up a five-shot deficit on the final day of the tournament.

Crystal Reeves of Oral Roberts held on to her opening day lead, finishing with a 71 on Tuesday to win top individual honors by five shots over Brittney Hamilton of Western Michigan. Reeves was the only player to finish the tournament under par, shooting a three-under score of 213.

Ashley Haggard of Middle Tennessee finished third, six shot behind the winner.

Troy senior Desirae Zine (Vaccaville, Cal.) led the Trojans going into the final round, but struggled on Tuesday, posting a 13-over par score of 85 to slip all the way from 13th to a tie for 41st place overall.

“Dez just never could get anything going today,” Terry said. “Everything she tried on the course seemed to backfire on her.”

Freshman Sofia Bjorkman (Vanersborg, Sweden) posted the best score for the Trojans on Tuesday with a one-under par 71 to move into a tie for 23rd place overall.

Sophomore Haley Lawrence (Prattville, Ala.) was one of three players who tied with Bjorkman for 23rd. Lawrence finished with a final round score of 74 for an overall score of 226.

Junior Liz Balkcom (Juliette, Ga.) tied for 37th after shooting rounds of 76-79-78 to finish at 233, one shot ahead of Zine.

Senior Kaley Branton (Cartersville, Ga.) struggled throughout the tournament and finished tied for 70th after posting scores of 84-76-84=244.

The Trojans will be back in action this weekend when they play in the Canes and Cardinal Classic, hosted by Miami and Louisville at the Don Shula Golf Club in Miami. The first round of play in the tournament is slated for Monday, April 5.