DADE CITY, Fla. – For the fifth time in Conference USA’s eight years, South Florida has captured the women’s golf championship. The Bulls shot a tournament-low 302 on the final day to finish with a three-day total of 912, edging out second place TCU by one stroke. The Bulls won three straight league championships from 1998-2000 and also captured the league’s inaugural crown in 1996. TCU produced the top individual performer, as D’Rae Ward shot a 74 on the final day to finish with an 8-over-par 224, edging out a pair of USF golfers, Katie Ruhe and Jill Crowe, who each fired a nine-over-par 225.

Through 52 holes of the 54-hole Conference USA Women’s Golf Championships at Lake Jovial Golf & Country Club, not a single eagle had been carded by any of the 45 golfers. But with the team championship on the line, South Florida’s Crowe, playing in the final group, holed a shot from the 17th fairway for an eagle two on the 320-yard hole. It proved to be the difference in USF’s one-shot win over TCU.

“It really could not have been a more exciting finish”, said South Florida head coach Susan Holt. “I was standing off the 14th green really feeling bad for my seniors, and that's when everything turned around. Katie (Ruhe) chipped in an unbelievable birdey on 16 and then I was told that Fany (Scaheffer) had just birdied 16 ahead of Katie. Then I drove to 18 and found out Megan (Cushman) had finished strong with a 75.”

“On Jill's eagle, she said she hit it a little thin from 130 yards and it hit right between the bunker and the pin and rolled down and in,” added Holt. “It was really an unbelievable finish and I'm really proud of our team because it looked bad at the 14th.”

TCU’s Ward nearly pushed the Horned Frogs even on the 18th hole, when she made a 20-foot birdie putt before Crowe finished the hole with a par four. Ward’s birdey did give her medalist honors with a 54-hole 224, one shot ahead of Crowe and USF teammate Katie Ruhe, who tied for second place at 225.

USF and TCU entered the final round tied for the team lead and it remained that way even after each team’s three golfers had finished their final round.

TCU’s Crowe and USF’s Ruhe and Ward headline the 10 all-tournament selections. South Florida’s Megan Cushman and TCU’s Brooke Tull and Shannon Barr also were named, as the Bulls and Frogs combined for six of the 10 spots. The other honorees were UAB’s Brooke Mangan, Tulane’s Lindsay Hulwick and a pair of East Carolina golfers, Adrienne Millican and Margaret Mitchell.

Conference USA also announced its 2003 awards on Wednesday.

TCU’s Brooke Tull, who was the medalist at the 2002 Conference USA championship, was named the Player of the Year. East Carolina’s Kevin Williams earned Coach of the Year honors, while the league’s Freshman of the Year honor went to Tulane’s Liliana Alvarez.

Tull and South Florida’s Fany Schaeffer were joined on the All-Conference USA first team squad by three Tulane players: Carolin Landmann, Lindsay Hulwick and Liliana Alvarez. Tulane produced four of the 15 all-conference performers, more than any school. South Florida had three players named to the team, while East Carolina, Memphis and TCU had two each.


2003 CONFERENCE USA WOMEN’S GOLF AWARDS

Player of the Year
Brooke Tull, TCU

Freshman of the Year
Liliana Alvarez, Tulane

Coach of the Year
Kevin Williams, East Carolina

First Team All-Conference
Brooke Tull, TCU
Carolin Landmann, Tulane
Lindsay Hulwick, Tulane
Liliana Alvarez, Tulane
Fany Schaeffer, South Florida

Second Team All-Conference
D’Rae Ward, TCU
Adrienne Millican, East Carolina
Jessica Krasny, East Carolina
Katie Ruhe, South Florida
Marianne Ruud, Memphis

Third Team All-Conference
Brooke Mangan, UAB
Kelly Martin, South Florida
Jennifer Jaszek, Memphis
Alexis Wooster, Tulane
Morgan Hapney, Louisville

All-Freshman Team
Liliana Alvarez, Tulane
Stephanie Godare, TCU
Heidi Helliesen, East Carolina
Elly Leonard, Louisville
Danielle Reilly, Memphis

Tournament Champion
D’Rae Ward, TCU

All-Tournament Team
D’Rae Ward, TCU
Katie Ruhe, South Florida
Jill Crowe, South Florida
Brooke Mangan, UAB
Brooke Tull, TCU


C-USA WOMEN’S GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP
FINAL RESULTS
PAR 72/YARDAGE 6105


TEAM SCORES
1 South Florida 307 303 302 912 +48
2 TCU 304 306 303 913 +49
3 East Carolina 308 308 317 933 +69
4 Tulane 311 310 313 934 +70
5 Louisville 317 313 309 939 +75
6 Memphis 312 324 321 957 +93
7 Southern Miss 321 325 321 967 +103
8 UAB 328 317 326 971 +107
9 Cincinnati 347 328 355 1030 +166


INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
1 D’Rae Ward TCU 75 75 74 224 +8
2 Katie Ruhe South Florida 76 77 72 225 +9
Jill Crowe South Florida 78 72 75 225 +9
4 Brooke Mangan UAB 75 77 74 226 +10
Brooke Tull TCU 72 80 74 226 +10
6 Shannon Barr TCU 76 77 75 228 +12
7 Megan Cushman South Florida 78 77 75 230 +14
8 Adrienne Millican East Carolina 77 76 79 232 +16
Lindsay Hulwick Tulane 76 76 80 232 +16
Margaret Mitchell East Carolina 77 73 82 232 +16
11 Morgan Hapney Louisville 82 76 75 233 +17
Kathy Schafer Tulane 78 79 76 233 +17
13 Fany Schaeffer South Florida 77 77 80 234 +18
Carolin Landmann Tulane 75 80 79 234 +18
Alison Wright Louisville 79 80 75 234 +18
16 Liliana Alvarez Tulane 82 75 79 236 +20
Marianne Ruud Memphis 76 74 86 236 +20
18 Natasha Vincent Southern Miss 78 80 79 237 +21
Heidi Helliesen East Carolina 77 81 79 237 +21
Ofelia Lopez Southern Miss 74 82 81 237 +21