Jayhawks journey south to compete at Betsy Rawls Invitational
March 11, 2008
LAWRENCE, Kan. – The Kansas women’s golf team will resume spring competition after a three-week hiatus as it travels south to Austin, Texas, where big 12 foe, the University of Texas, will play host at the 35th annual Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational. The event will be conducted at the UT Golf Club (par-72, 6,344 yards), March 17-19. <?xml:namespace prefix=”o” ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office”?>
<?xml:namespace prefix=”st1″ ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags”?>Kansas enters the event following a top-3 finish at the Kitahara Invitational in Fresno, Calif., where the Jayhawks finished in third place with a team score of 596 after two rounds. The Jayhawks will look to build on their momentum from the first two tournaments of the spring season as they enter a highly competitive 17-team field, featuring eight squads from the Big 12 Conference.
“We are excited to compete in Austin this weekend,” Kansas head coach Erin O’Neil said. “We’re off to a good start this spring and the plan is to give it our all every day.”
The Jayhawks will try to improve on their 11th-place finish from the event a year ago. Purdue captured both team and individual medalist honors at last year’s event, firing a three-round score of 907, while sophomore Boilermaker Maria Hernandez fired a pair of 70’s in the final two rounds of the tournament to compile a score of 217.
Kansas sophomore Emily Powers will look to lead the Jayhawks against the highly-touted field. The Quincy, Ill. native was the top Jayhawk finisher at the Kitahara Invitational finishing tied for second place while improving her average to 74.47.
Also returning to the lineup from KU’s last tournament is the sensational freshman duo of Meghna Bal and Grace Thiry, who each own averages of 76.79 and 76.63, respectively.
Kansas senior Annie Giangrosso will continue her streak of competing in all tournaments of the year next week and will try to improve on her previous 37th-place finish and her season average of 77.05. She will be joined by sophomore Meghan Gockel who owns a 79.15 scoring average through five events.
The three-day event will consist of 54 holes, with players completing 18 holes each day.
Check back to kuathletics.com for a complete recap and results of the action.
Complete Field
Arkansas
Baylor
Florida
Indiana
Iowa State
Kansas
Kansas State
Missouri
Nebraska
New Mexico
Notre Dame
Ohio State
Oklahoma
SMU
TCU
Texas
Wisconsin
