Tulane University
Conference USA Championship
Women's Golf Wins First Conference USA Championship
Apr 21, 2004 | Women's Golf
April 21, 2004
FORT WORTH, Texas - Sophomore Liliana Alvarez fired an even-par 72 and the Green Wave shot a team 312 as the Tulane University women's golf team won the 2004 Conference USA Championship Wednesday afternoon at the par-72, 6,197-yard Shady Oaks Country Club.
Alvarez won the individual title with a 10-over par 226 (77-77-72), marking the first time a Green Wave golfer won the title since 1999 when then-junior Pam Buff won her second championship in as many years, and the team win marked the first time Tulane won a league title. The Green Wave shot a combined 77-over par 941 (318-311-312) and pushed a four-stroke heading into the final round to an 18-shot victory over runner-up and host TCU (325-308-326=959).
"This is a tremendous win for this program, and I'm proud of this team for getting the first conference title in school history," head coach Sue Bower said. "We've come into the tournament a few times as the favorite, but for whatever reason didn't get it done. We had the lead coming into today, so that took a little pressure off, and I'm glad to see that the team come out and take care of business.
"This is a very tough course, and you've got to forget about score because of the challenging greens. We were able to capitalize on birdie opportunities and really made a strong run today. The scores don't reflect this, but the focus and never-give-up attitude was tremendous all week long. This course made a lot of good golfers looked silly. TCU plays out here all the time, and they struggled, so that tells you how good this course is."
Alvarez was one of two Green Wave golfers to finish in the top five as freshman Mary Ellen Jacobs shot a 14-over par 230 (78-75-77) to tie for third. Senior Carolin Landmann finished 11th with a plus-25 241 (81-76-84), and junior Alexis Wooster shot a 79 in day three to finish 13th with a 28-over par 244 (82-83-79). Junior Lindsay Hulwick rounded out the Tulane golfers with a 36-over par 252 (82-85-85).
"We got off to a shaky start today, but and Mary Ellen and Lili came on and shot really well down the stretch," Bower added. "TCU struggled at the 4-5 spot, and that just shows you how much of a team sport this is. You can have great days from your top two or three golfers, but if you don't get a complete team effort, you're going to come up short. We got a good performance from our entire team today and all weekend, and that was the difference.
"I'm happy for Carolin to go out on top as a senior, and I'm thrilled for Lili. This is something she said she wanted to do from the beginning of the year, and I couldn't be happier for her. This is a great win, and it was important for us to get some momentum going into the NCAAs."
Alvarez edged Adrienne Millican of East Carolina for the individual crown as Millican finished with an 11-over par 227 (75-76-76). Jacobs finished tied with TCU's Brooke Tull (77-78-75=230) for third in the championship.
The Green Wave will return to action on May 6 when Tulane opens play in the NCAA Regionals. The Green Wave will play in one of three regional sites: University Golf Course in Normal, Ill., for the Central Regional, Mission Inn Golf and Tennis Resort in Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla., for the East Regional, or Stanford Golf Course in Stanford, Calif., for the West Regional.
Team Scores: 1. Tulane 318-311-312=941 (+77); 2. TCU 325-308-326=959 (+95); 3. USF 318-321-331=970 (+106); 4. Louisville 338-317-321=976 (+112); 5. East Carolina 330-334-314=978 (+114); T6. UAB 328-333-334=995 (+131), Southern Miss 326-337-332=995 (+131); 8. Memphis 344-348-337=1029 (+165); 9. Cincinnati 367-349-354=1070 (+206).
Individual Leaders: 1.Liliana Alvarez (Tulane) 77-77-72=226 (+10); 2. Adrienne Millican (East Carolina) 75-76-76=227 (+11); T3. Mary Ellen Jacobs (Tulane) 78-75-77=230 (+14), Brooke Tull (TCU) 77-78-75=230 (+14); T5. Jill Crowe (USF) 79-80-76=235 (+19), Elly Leonard (Louisville) 79-75-81=235 (+19).
Tulane Scores: 1. Liliana Alvarez 77-77-72=226 (+10); T3. Mary Ellen Jacobs 78-75-77=230 (+14); 11. Carolin Landmann 81-76-84=241 (+25); 13. Alexis Wooster 82-83-79=244 (+28); T25. Lindsay Hulwick 82-85-85=252 (+36).
