Falcons Finish 16th at Great Smokies Intercollegiate

Sunday, September 19

Waynesville, NC

All Day

Bowling Green State University

Great Smokies Intercollegiate

September 19, 2010 | Women's Golf

More Records Fall, But Falcons Can't Take Advantage

By: by Matthew Daley, Athletic Communications Intern

FINAL RESULTS

Over their first two tournaments of the 2010 season, the Bowling Green State University women's golf team has effectively re-written the program's entire record book. Despite that success, the Falcons are finding it difficult to translate the new records to a high place on team leaderboards.

At the 2010 Great Smokies Intercollegiate in Waynesville, N.C., the Falcons broke the team record for 18- and 36-hole composite scores.

All seemed well after the first day, as Bowling Green held second place out of the 24-team field. However, the team ran into difficulty on the second day and fell to 16th place.

The Carolina heat may have been a contributing factor; fatigue may have also played a role, given the team's second long trip and fifth round of competitive golf in just seven days. Regardless, the team's score dropped from 294 on Saturday (Sept. 18) to 315 on Sunday (Sept. 19).

As a potential example of the fatigue factor, senior captain Lauren Glew was the only one of the Falcons' five member team to improve her score from Saturday to Sunday. She went from a day one 78 to a 76 over the final 18. Glew was also the only one of the five not to travel to Texas earlier in the week.

With a combined 154, Glew tied for 66th place.

Junior Paula DiFrancesco had the team's second-best score on Sunday, carding a 78. She earned a total of 153 over the tourney's 36 holes and tied for 57th.

Joining DiFrancesco in that tie is freshman Bailey Arnold, whose score fell from a 70 on the first day to an 83 over the final 18.

Susy Grunden, who posted a 72 on the first day, completed the tournament as the Falcons' top scorer. She ended the weekend with a total of 152 and a tie for 54th place after an 80 on Sunday. Through five rounds of the season, her average stands at 72.1.

Sophomore Amy Ruthenberg finished just behind the others with a tournament total of 158 after securing an 81 on Sunday.

As a team, the Falcons finished with a cumulative mark of 609 (294-315) over the two days at the par-72, 5,922-yard course at the Waynesville Inn Golf Resort. The two-round score breaks the old Falcon 36-hole record of 615, while Saturday's 294 broke the team 18-hole record.

Over the first two tournaments, the team and the individual BGSU records for 18-, 36-, and 54-holes have been broken.

Regarding the team's 315 on Sunday, all of the 15 teams that finished ahead of BGSU scored 301 or better on the final day, causing the fall in the standings. Jacksonville State had scores of 289 on both days to win the 12th annual event, while host Western Carolina tied for third, ten strokes back.

Jaime Ritter of Alabama-Birmingham won the individual title with a two-day score of 140 (69-71).

The Falcons now receive a much-needed week-long break before traveling to Muncie, Ind. for the Cardinal Classic. After that, they get another two weeks off before going to Fairlawn, Ohio for the Zippy Invitational, which BGSU's Susy Grunden won in 2009.