Women's Golf Signs Two to Letters of Intent
Jun 21, 1999 | Women's Golf
June 22, 1999
NEW ORLEANS - Tulane women's golf coach Sue Bower announced Tuesday that two student-athletes have signed National Letters-of-Intent to attend the school and compete for the Green Wave. They will join the team in the fall of 1999.
Marcela Gonzalez, a native of Cali, Colombia, was the top-ranked amateur in Colombia in 1998. She has represented Colombia in numerous international tournaments, including the World Amateur Championships in November 1999, where she fired a four-round total of 307. A transfer from the University of Florida, Gonzalez posted two top-10 finishes for the Lady Gators, including a sixth-place effort at the Lady Gator Invitational last February. She will be a sophomore this fall and have three years of eligibility remaining at Tulane.
Gonzalez, an accomplished amateur, has 12 tournament wins and 26 top-five finishes to her credit. She won three titles in 1998, including the Hatogrande Open, the Penalisa Open and the Colombian Women's Championship. Gonzalez also played a number of tournaments in the United States, highlighted by a fourth-place finish at the 1997 Greater Greensboro Chrysler Junior Tournament and a 12th-place finish at the 1997 Orange Bowl International. She finished 1997 as the top ranked junior golfer in Colombia.
"Marcela is a great competitor who brings a complete game to Tulane," said Bower.
Kathy Schafer, a native of Bogota, Colombia, is currently the No. 2-ranked amateur in Colombia. She won the Abierto Club Campestine de Cali Open, finished fourth at the 1999 Mexico Women's Amateur and was the runner-up at the Carmel Open in Bogota. Schafer earned five top-two finishes last season, including a win at the Bogota Country Club International Open and a runner-up finishes at the Deskubra International Open and the Jeans & Jackets Junior Open. Schafer led Colombia to a team runner-up finish at the Junior South American Championship. She finished 1998 as the top-ranked junior in Colombia.
"Schafer's length off the tee and tremendous short game give her the tools to make an immediate impact in college golf," said the seventh-year head coach.
Schafer, who will be a freshman in the fall, teamed with Gonzalez to win the Colombian Four Ball Championship in May 1998. She attended Anglo Colombian High School, the same high school as current Green Wave team member Catalina Lara.
"On paper Marcela and Kathy make us a significantly better golf team," said Bower. "Both have extensive international experience. With an already strong corps of players, these two should help take our program into the top 20. These two are also tremendous students and that will help in the adjustment to Tulane and college golf."
The duo joins a Green Wave team that earned runner-up honors at the 1999 Conference USA Championships and finished the season ranked No. 31 in the nation by Golfstat. Coach Bower returns the top-six scorers from the 1999 squad.
