With less than a month to the Conference USA Men's & Women's Golf Championships, everyone's spring seasons are in full swing. Eight men's teams and four women's teams will compete in tournaments beginning Thursday, March 24.

C-USA GOLFERS OF THE WEEK (ENDING MARCH 22)

East Carolina junior Robin Smith and Tulane sophomore Alison Walshe earned C-USA Golfer of the Week honors for tournament play through March 22. Smith collected his first collegiate tournament title over the weekend leading the Pirates to a win at the Bradford Creek Intercollegiate. Walshe placed third at the LSU/Cleveland Golf Classic in Baton Rouge and led the Green Wave to a runner-up finish in the 16-team field.

Men’s Golfer of the Week
Robin Smith – East Carolina (Junior, Grifton, N.C.)

Smith earned medallist honors at the rain-shortened Bradford Creek Intercollegiate, posting a two-round score of 137 (-7). Smith carded a 68 in the second round, which tied the low round for the tournament and was his second best single round score of his career. It was his second Top 5 finish of the season. Smith led the Pirates to their first team title of the 2004-05 season with a total of 568. On the season, Smith has competed in five events and has a 73.86 stroke average in 14 rounds.

Women’s Golfer of the Week
Alison Walshe – Tulane (Sophomore, Westford, Mass.)

Walshe carded a 1-over 217 (69-75-73) to place third at the LSU/Cleveland Golf Classic in Baton Rouge. Walshe’s first-round score of 69 was the third-best 18-hole score in school history. The Green Wave placed second in the 16-team field behind host LSU and 12 strokes ahead of third place North Carolina State. Only three teams (Tulane, LSU and Mississippi State) kept total-round scores under 300 in 18 holes, as Tulane did it twice, shooting a 302-297-297=886.

OFF THE C-USA TEE
UPCOMING SCHEDULE - MEN
March 24-25 DePaul at Fidelity National Title Intercollegiate (Arroyo Grande, Calif.)
March 25 Marquette vs. Wisconsin (Orlando, Fla.
March 25 Saint Louis vs. Evansville (Normandie Golf Club)
March 25-26 Houston at Border Olympics (Laredo, Texas)
March 25-27 Charlotte at Furman Intercollegiate (Greenville, S.C.)
March 27-29 DePaul at Diablo Grande Intercollegiate (Patterson, Calif.)
March 27-29 TCU at National Invitational Tournament (Tucson, Ariz.)
March 28-29 East Carolina hosts Pinecrest Invitational (Pinecrest, N.C.)
March 28-29 Marquette and Southern Miss at Pinecrest Invitational (Pinecrest, N.C.)
March 28-29 Houston and Louisville at UALR Intercollegiate (Little Rock, Ark.)
IDLE Cincinnati, Memphis, UAB, USF

UPCOMING SCHEDULE - WOMEN
March 24-25 Memphis at Baylor University/Tapatio Springs Shoot Out (Boerne, Texas)
March 25 Saint Louis vs. Evansville (Normandie Golf Club)
March 25-27 East Carolina and Tulane at Liz Murphey Intercollegiate (Athens, Ga.)
March 26-27 Louisville at Mountain View Collegiate (Tucson, Ariz.)
IDLE Cincinnati, Southern Miss, TCU, UAB, USF

MEN
CHARLOTTE was idle last week, but came off a 24-stroke victory in the Birkdale Collegiate in Huntersville, N.C., on March 13. Freshman Andrew DiBitetto, who matched the 49rs’ school record with a 65 in round two Saturday, shot a -4, 68 in the final round to take medallist honors with a tournament record 207 (-9). Sophomore Matt Mincer finished tied for second at 212 (-4). … CINCINNATI junior Adam Fluty paced the Bearcats in all three tournaments in October, finishing the month with an average of 74.6. Fluty also paced UC in the spring opener March 8-9, with rounds of 74 and 75 to lead UC at the Emerald Coast Collegiate Intercollegiate. Sophomore Joe Young was the second-highest placing Bearcat, tying for 48th with a three-round score of 231. Classmate Geoff Newman carded Cincinnati’s lowest round of the tournament, a 73, in the second round. The Bearcats return to the links April 1-2, traveling to Eastern Kentucky’s Spring Intercollegiate. … DE PAUL freshman Matthew McMahon finished tied for 49th overall and DePaul took 15th at the annual Dick Wittcoff/USF Invitational held this weekend at the University of South Florida Golf Club. McMahon fired rounds of 75 and 74 after opening with an 84. … EAST CAROLINA junior Robin Smith earned C-USA Golfer of the Week honors after winning his first collegiate tournament title at the Bradford Creek Intercollegiate. Smith also led the Pirates to the team title. He becomes the third ECU golfer in school history to earn a C-USA weekly honor. … HOUSTON sophomore Pablo Acuna was the Cougars leading performer at the Hall of Fame Invitational in Houston on March 18-20. He recorded back-to-back 73s during the final two rounds. Freshman Jordan Irwin fired the team’s best round with an even-par 72 in the opening round. Irvin was coming off medallist honors at the Palmetto Intercollegiate on March 14-15. The Cougars wrap up a busy month (competing in five events) with two tournaments over a five-day span at the Border Olympics on March 25-26 and UALR Intercollegiate March 28-29. … LOUISVILLE placed fifth at the General Jim Hackler Invitational Presented by Active Glass & Marble, Mar. 13-14. The 54-hole event was contested at the TPC of Myrtle Beach in Murrells Inlet, S.C. Freshman Derek Fathauer was tied for seventh place after carding, 77-70-73=220, while his brother Daryl Fathauer and Adam Rainaud were tied for 24th with 228. Daryl shot 77-74-77=228 and Rainaud fired 74-77-77=228. … MARQUETTE placed 12th at the El Diablo Intercollegiate in Citrus Springs, Fla. The Golden Eagles could not make up any ground as they shot a 318 over the last 18 holes. Junior Kyle Murphy shot an 11-under, 227, to lead the team with a 15th place finish. … MEMPHIS was idle this week, coming off a sixth place finish at the Conrad Rehling Invitational in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Freshman Andy Shiels took the lead in Memphis’ last two tournaments spanning over the last two weekends as top Tiger finisher at both the St. Croix Collegiate Classic and the Conrad Rehling. … SAINT LOUIS in its first tournament of the spring, Saint Louis men's golf tied for eighth in the 18-team field at the William & Mary Invitational at Golden Horseshoe Golf Club. Junior David Perritt led the steady Billikens with two rounds of 77 to finish 23rd in the event. … SOUTHERN MISS, host of the 2005 C-USA Men’s Golf Championship, fired a final round 292 to pick up three places and finish fifth at the Homewood Suites Invitational, hosted by South Alabama. The Golden Eagles, who opened in eighth after shooting a combined 302-289--591 on the first day of play, shot the second-best round of the day, only behind eventual team winner Mississippi State, who shot a 289 to finish at 862 for the tournament. Justin Elliott had his best round of the tournament on the final day, shooting a 3-under 69 to finish the event 5-under par with a combined score of 211 to stand in third place overall, narrowly missing the final playoff. … TCU senior J.J. Killeen led TCU with a 13th-place finish at the Hall of Fame Invitational in Humble, Texas, Mar. 18-20. Killeen posted rounds of 70-71-74=215 (-1) to help TCU tie for fifth among 19 teams, including nine schools rated among the top 25. He is currently rated 37th in the nation according to Golfweek/Sagarin for the ninth-rated Horned Frogs. … TULANE sophomore Michael Thompson fired a two-under par 70 Tuesday in the final round of the Homewood Suites Intercollegiate to claim his fifth top 10 finish of the season. The Green Wave also finished ninth in the team standings at the par-72 Azalea City Golf Club in Mobile. … UAB recorded a 13th-place finish after three total rounds at the Oregon Duck Invitational held at the Eugene Country Club. Sophomore Garrett Osborn was UAB's leading golfer, finishing in a tie for 21st after shooting a 219, including a three-under 69 in the final round on Tuesday. Senior Ryan Thomas finished tied for 41st with a score of 223. The Blazers return to action April 8-10 at the Billy Hitchcock Invitational in Auburn, Ala. … USF tied for sixth place in the 13-team Homewood Suites Intercollegiate at Azalea City Golf Club in Mobile, Ala. The Bulls finished with a 54-hole 884 to tie with Middle Tennessee and New Orleans, 22 shots behind winner Mississippi. USF freshman Tyler Hitchcock, who entered the field as an individual, finished in a fifth place tie with a 214 total (69-74-71). Senior Brad Quiri was USF’s top finisher among the five scoring members of the team with a 218 (71-75-72).


WOMEN
CINCINNATI The Bearcats finished in a seventh-place tie with Ohio University at the Lady Herd/El Diablo Intercollegiate at the El Diabo Country Club in Citrus Springs, Fla., hosted by future C-USA member Marshall. UC finished 50 strokes behind champion Coastal Carolina in the 17-team field, posting a three-round total of 958. Freshman Hillery Wilson led UC with a score of 236 after shooting final rounds of 80 and 77. Senior Allison Couch was next at 240. … EAST CAROLINA has been idle since its fifth place finish at the Pinehurst Invitational in Pinehurst, N.C. on March 6-8. Sophomore Jessica Hauser led the Pirates, posting a 54-hole score of 237 and finished tied for 19th. Senior Adrienne Millican was the only other Pirate to finish in the top-25 after she carded a final score of 239 (74-81-84). ECU returns to action for the Liz Murphey Intercollegiate at the Georgia Golf Club in Athens, Ga. … LOUISVILLE sophomore Adrienne White moved up five spots on the final day of the LSU/Cleveland Golf Classic after shooting a 71 to finish tied for fourth (the highest Cardinal finisher). White finished the tournament with a score of 218, her lowest tournament score of the spring. White's 71 was also her low round of the spring season. … MEMPHIS Despite shooting its best round of the spring, Memphis ended the UNLV Spring Invitational in 16th place on Wednesday. Led by freshman Ashleigh Garman, who tied a career best with a 78 (+6) in the final 18-hole round, the Lady Tigers finished 336-327-321--984 (+116). Garman's 89-84-78--251 is her third best three-round total in her young collegiate career. It is also the second-straight tournament she has had a 78. Sophomore Stacey Tate led Memphis with an 82-78-82=242 finish and was followed by Meghan Mahoney's 82-86-80=248 total. … SAINT LOUIS finished 12th among 15 teams at the North/South Intercollegiate hosted by Butler University at the Jacksonville Beach Golf Club with a season-low score of 746. Freshman Jenny Madras led the team in 47th place, while Lainey Trahan shot a career-low to help the Billikens to their best tournament of the year. … SOUTHERN MISS finished third in the Northern Illinois Snowbird Intercollegiate Tournament after shooting a team score of 314 at the Pebblecreek Country Club. The tournament was slated for three rounds before rains canceled the first day of play on Thursday. Nicole Mackey led Southern Miss in scoring with a 77, tying for ninth overall. … TCU was idle this week. The Horned Frog junior varsity team fired a 312 to come from behind for a 19-shot win over Redlands Community College in the Hardin-Simmons Spring Golf Invitational that concluded in cold conditions Tuesday at Diamondback Golf Course last weekend. The two-day tourney concluded with Camila Sola of Redlands taking the individual crown by two shots over TCU sophomore Stacey Bieber. Freshmen Elisa Gomez and Carrie Morris followed Bieber in a tie for third place. … TULANE sophomore Alison Walshe, the Conference USA Golfer of the Week shot a one-over-par 73 and the Green Wave fired its second consecutive 297 as Tulane finished second at the LSU/Cleveland Golf Classic. … UAB recorded a team score of 318, good for eighth place at the third annual Applebee's/Up The Creek Samford Intercollegiate. Day two of the tournament was cancelled on Tuesday due to inclement weather. Elizabeth Schweihs was the leading golfer for UAB, recording a 4-over 75. Senior Brooke Mangan shot a 77 and tied for 15th place. … USF saved its best for last, shooting a tournament-low 291 in the final round of the Waterlefe Invitational in Bradenton, Fla., to move from fourth to second in the final standings. Miami won the 12-team event at Waterlefe Golf & River Club with an 888, 19 shots ahead of USF. Daniella Ronderos, who shot a final round 5-under par 67, including five birdies on the back nine, led USF.