Sept. 18, 2008

C-USA Golf Notebook

After three weeks of competition the 2008 fall golf season has had a strong start. On the men's side UAB was tabbed 24th in Golf Week's Top 30 Preseason Rankings. In it's season opening tournament, UAB took third at the USF Olympic Club Collegiate Invitational in San Francisco, Calif., while Tulsa's women took second at the Topy Cup in Japan.

A pair of freshman in Tulsa's Marita Engzelius and UCF's Blayne Barber claim this season's first Conference USA Golfer of the Week awards. Engzelius finished in a tie for third at the Topy Cup in Tanagura, Japan, shooting a two-under-par 214 in her collegiate debut. Barber also had a strong debut in the Carpet Capital Collegiate, tying for 10th after shooting an even par 216.

MEN'S GOLFER OF THE WEEK
Blayne Barber - UCF
Fr., Lake City, Fla.
Competing in his first collegiate tournament, Barber had a strong showing in the Carpet Capital Collegiate, an event which featured 13 of the top-30 squads in the nation according to the latest Golfweek rankings. The freshman finished the three-round tournament at an even par 216, good for a 10th-place tie. He carded a four-under-par 68 in the first round and led the field after the first day of play. After a three-over-par 75 in the second round, Barber concluded the event with a one-over-par 73.

WOMEN'S GOLFER OF THE WEEK
Marita Engzelius - Tulsa
Fr., Oslo, Norway (Universal)
Engzelius turned in rounds of 70-70-74 in her first collegiate action for a two-under-par total of 214 to finish in a tie for third place at the Topy Cup in Tanagura, Japan. Engzelius' good finish can be credited to her strong play on the par 5's. In the three-day tournament, the freshman played the par 5's at a combined six-under-par, carding seven birdies. She led Tulsa to a second-place finish in the international field, which featured teams from Japan and the U.S., including No. 2 UCLA.

HAROLD VARNER - East Carolina Varner fired a 1-under par 214 to finish tied for ninth at the Raines Development Intercollegiate in Florence, S.C.. Varner, a freshman, tallied scores of 73, 71, 71 during the 54-hole tournament to close as the Pirate's top finisher.

BEN MOSER - HOUSTON Moser was the Cougars' leading performer in their season opening tournament at the Cobb/Ferrell Mean Green Classic. Moser tied for 15th shooting 221 (74-74-73) and was the only Cougar to finish among the individual Top-25 leaders.

ROBERT BURROW - RICE Burrow had a solid tournament and led the Owls to an eighth-place finish at the Kansas Invitational in Lawrence, Kan. Burrow carded a three-round score of 220 (73-71-76) to finish in a tie for 12th place at the two-day tournament.

ROGER SLOAN - UTEP Sloan shot a one-over par 217 (74-71-72) at the Ron Moore Invitational in Denver, Colo., leading UTEP to a ninth-place showing in the 17-team competition.

ABBY BOOLS - EAST CAROLINA Bools recorded a fourth-place finish at the 2008 Chip-N-Club Invitational after carding a three-over par 219 (76-73-70) finishing five strokes out of first place. Bools recorded 32 pars and 10 birdies, including four on the final day to move from eighth to fourth place.

KATE ACKERSON - SMU Ackerson claimed a top-10 finish at the rain-shortened Wolverine Invitational at U-M Golf Course on Sunday, tying for fourth. After the rain washed out 36 holes on Saturday, the even was shortened to 18-holes and Ackerson shot two-over par 73.

VIRGINIA ESPEJO - SOUTHERN MISS Espejo led Southern Miss to a sixth-place finish at the Cincinnati Fall Classic, earning a sixth-place finish, shooting 73-77 to open the tournament, then closing with a career-low round of 72. So far this year, Espejo is averaging 73.7 strokes per round.

CHRISTINA WENTWORTH - UAB Wentworth was UAB's top performer at the Towson Invitational, leading the Blazers to a third-place team finish. Wentworth carded rounds of 75 and 74 to finish in fourth place in the individual standings with a 149 during the 36-hole tournament.

DEBORAH MARTINEZ - UTEP Martinez led the Miners at the Ptarmigan/Ram Fall Classic in Fort Collins, Colo., shooting a two-over par 218 (72-74-72). Martinez finished 22nd at the event and led UTEP to 13th-place team finish.