Defending Sun Belt Champion Troy Women’s Golf Opens Season at Schooner Fall Classic

TROY, Alabama – The two-time defending Sun Belt Conference champion Troy women's golf team opens its 2015-16 season this weekend at the Schooner Fall Classic hosted by Oklahoma. The three-day, 54-hole event opens Saturday and takes place at the par-71 Belmar Golf Club in Norman, Okla.

Troy's lineup will feature a trio of new faces, but the Trojans return a pair of juniors in Fátima Fernández Cano, who is a two-time First Team All-Sun Belt selection, and Becca Horner, who was named to the Sun Belt All-Tournament Team a year ago.

"Two juniors with a ton of tournament experience," Troy head coach Bart Barnes said. "We are looking for leadership from those two. They have played in some tough tournaments in their careers and are both coming off strong summers. After two years, we're all on the same page as to the goals for this program and the type of team we can be."

The field will be strong as seven of the 12 teams participated in the NCAA Regionals a season ago. No. 9 Oklahoma State, No. 11 Texas A&M, Florida State, Mississippi State, Notre Dame, Oklahoma and Troy all made the postseason field last year, while the remainder of the teams in the Schooner Fall Classic are Kansas, Kansas State, Texas State, Tulsa and UTSA.

"This is a big challenge and a great field," Barnes said. "It will be a great measuring stick for us as a team. It will give us a chance to see where are strengths and weaknesses are early in the year; a nice barometer of where we are and what we need to work on."

Cano is coming off a record-breaking season for the Trojans. She finished the year with a 73.66 stroke average and a 1.54 score vs. par, both numbers were the best in the Sun Belt Conference and best in Troy history. Through the first two years of her Troy career, Cano has a 74.70 career stroke average, the best in school history by 1.98 strokes.

Horner closed out the year strong as she finished in fifth place at the Sun Belt Championship and was tied for second following the opening round of the NCAA South Bend Regional. She finished the year with a 77.53 stroke average and turned in a pair of top 10 finishes.

New to the lineup for the Trojans will be junior Gabi Oubre along with freshmen Bianca Lohbauer and Lindsey Harrison.

Oubre transferred to Troy following a two-year career at Mississippi State. She was the only Bulldog freshman to play in all four of their fall events in 2012 and tied Mississippi State's single-season freshman birdie record as she tallied 73 on the year. Lohbauer comes to Troy following a successful juniors career in Paarl, South Africa, while Harrison won numerous district titles at Arnold High School in Panama City Beach, Fla.

"Gabi is an experienced college player as she played a lot as a freshman at Mississippi State," Barnes said. "She also had a nice summer and won our team qualifier for this event. Bianca and Lindsey had great showings in the qualifier and earned their spots in the tournament. They are both accomplished junior golfers, and while I expect them to be nervous and have some butterflies, they are both extremely talented and will be able to perform at a high level once the tournament gets underway."

Troy will be paired with Texas State and Kansas State; the grouping will tee off at 9:50 a.m. on the first hole.

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Players Mentioned

Lindsey Harrison

Becca Horner

Bianca Lohbauer

Gabi Oubre'