Bartell & Fahey Post Top-15 Place Finishes; Falcons Turn in Record Low 54-Hole Team Score

Tuesday, March 15

Dallas, Texas

All Day

Bowling Green State University

ORU/SFA Women's Spring Break Invite

Bartell & Fahey Post Top-15 Place Finishes; Falcons Turn in Record Low 54-Hole Team Score

March 15, 2016 | Women's Golf

By: by Kevin Davis, Assistant Director for Athletic Communications

Results: Final Combined Results - BirdieFire.com (HTML)
Results: Final Team Results (PDF)
Results: Final Player Results (PDF)

Dallas, Texas – Senior Lily Bartell and freshman Erin Fahey each finished in the top-15 overall on the individual leaderboard, while the Bowling Green State University women's golf team carded a record low 54-hole team score of 901, +61, to finish in sixth-place overall at the ORU/SFA Spring Break Invitational held on the Whitworth Course at the Trophy Club Country Club in Dallas, Texas.

Bowling Green finished the three-round event with a team score of 302, +22, on Tuesday to end the two-day event with rounds of 298, 301 and 302 for a combined 54-hole team score of 901, +61.

"Even though we dropped a couple places, we played a very solid tournament this week," commented head coach Stephanie Young. "There were some amazing final round scores posted today. We fired consistent numbers, numbers below our current average, all week and that's something to be proud of for sure. It's also a real thrill to set a 54-hole record on a challenging course against highly ranked teams."

The 54-hole team score of 901 is a record low for the Falcons' program, besting the previous 54-hole tournament score program record of 903 which the Falcons posted twice – first at the 2013 Redbird Invitational and again this fall at the 2015 Cardinal Classic.

The Falcons' first round of 298 on Monday tied for the seventh lowest 18-hole team score in BGSU women's golf history. BGSU also shot a round of 298 at the Laker Fall Classic during the 2008 fall slate.

"The records that past teams have set, in both recent years and over the years before, were real significant milestones for this program and this is no different," Coach Young continued. "We well celebrate the highlights today and get back to work tomorrow. There is still much to work on for us as we move to the second half of the spring season."

BGSU, which finished sixth out of the 20-team field, was just four strokes out of the top-five and only 10 strokes behind the team champion in Houston Baptist University at 891, +51.

The Falcons finished ahead of a number of teams ranked above them by Golfstat in (109) Wichita State, (118) Missouri State, (140) Bradley, (156) Arkansas State and (159) North Dakota State.

Entering the final round of play in a tie for sixth-place overall, Bartell shot a round of 77, +7, on Tuesday to finish the 54-hole event in a tie for 12th-place overall. The senior carded rounds of 72, 73 and 77 to finish with a season-low 54-hole score of 222, +12. She finished the two-day event with six birdies overall and finished tied for second in the entire tournament field with a par-3 scoring average of 3.00, even par.

Finishing just one stroke behind Bartell was BGSU's Fahey with her 54-hole score of 223, +13. With rounds of 75, 73 and 75, the first-year freshman finished in a tie for 15th-place overall with a BGSU career-low 54-hole score of 223. The Texas native totaled five birdies over her 54 holes of play and ranked third overall with a par-4 scoring average of 4.10, +3, for the tournament.

Making the biggest leap up the leaderboard on the final day of play was junior Mikayla Bear, as she climbed from 62nd-place to 45th-place overall with a final round of 74, +4, on Tuesday. Baer turned in rounds of 78, 79 and 74 over the tournament to finish with a 54-hole score of 231, +21. She finished the tournament with just one birdie, but had a consistent final round on Tuesday with 14 pars over her final 18 holes of play.

Senior Hannah Lewis finished the two-day event in 58th-place overall with a 54-hole score of 234, +24. Lewis carded rounds of 75, 76 and 83 over play on Monday and Tuesday, which included five birdies over her three rounds. The senior also finished tied for second over the entire tournament field with a par-5 scoring average of 4.64, -4 under par, for the three round tournament.

Texas native Fran Rodriguez placed in a tie for 66th overall for the Falcons, shooting rounds of 76, 84 and 76. The junior recorded three birdies overall, including two over her final 18 holes of play on Tuesday, to finish with a 54-hole score of 236, +26.

Houston Baptist claimed the team title with a three-round combined score of 891, +51, while Arkansas-Little Rock finished in second-place with a team score of 892, +52. Co-host Oral Roberts took third-place with its score of 893, +53, edging fourth-place Georgetown by just one shot at 894, +54.

Bowling Green finished the tournament with a team par-4 scoring average of 4.33, +50, which was tied for the tournament lead.

The Falcons were also fifth over the tournament field in pars with 148 and sixth in birdies with 21 for the 54-hole event.

BGSU will look to continue its strong spring season when the Falcons will return to the links for competition on April 1-2 at the EKU Colonel Classic hosted by Eastern Kentucky University at the University Club at Arlington in Richmond, Kentucky.

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6th – Bowling Green – 298, 301, 302 = 901, +61
T12. Lily Bartell – 72, 73, 77 = 222, +12
T15. Erin Fahey – 75, 73, 75 = 223, +13
T45. Mikayla Baer – 78, 79, 74 = 231, +21
58. Hannah Lewis – 75, 76, 83 = 234, +24
T66. Fran Rodriguez – 76, 84, 76 = 236, +26