Tulane Golfers Post Third Place Finish at UCF Challenge

Tuesday, February 14

Sorrento, Fla. (Red Tail Golf Club)

All Day

Tulane University

UCF Challenge (hosted by UCF)

Senior Ashley McKenney (pictured) fired a 3-under 69 during the final round of the UCF Challenge and finished tied for second with teammate Gemma Dryburgh.

Tulane Golfers Post Third Place Finish at UCF Challenge

Feb 14, 2012 | Women's Golf

Feb. 14, 2012

UCF Challenge Final Results

NEW ORLEANS - Senior Ashley McKenney shot a 3-under 69 and freshman Gemma Dryburgh fired a 2-under 70 and led a furious comeback for the Tulane women's golf team during Tuesday's final round of the 2012 UCF Challenge as the Green Wave combined for a 2-over 290 total and finished just three strokes shy of tournament winner and third-ranked Auburn at the Red Tail Golf Club in Sorrento, Fla.

Tulane came into the tournament ranked 53rd nationally, but looked more like a Top-10 ranked team the last three days. The Green Wave entered the final round seven strokes back of co-leaders Auburn and No. 22 Baylor. But a strong effort helped the Wave produce the lowest team score of the day that had TU tied with Baylor late in the round, but when the dust settled the Wave finished just one stroke behind the Bears. Tulane concluded the event with a 2-over 866.

McKenney and Dryburgh each tied for second with a pair of 2-under 214s, which was just one stroke behind individual champion Victoria Trapani of Auburn. Junior Maribel Lopez Porras posted a ninth-place effort with a 2-over 218 to give the Wave three golfers among the top 10 individuals. Auburn was the only other team to have three players in the top 10.

"Today was a very good day for us and I thought we played very well this weekend and started our spring on a solid note," Tulane head coach Andrew Pratt said. "Ashley and Gemma each had a huge day for us despite the windy conditions and really put us in contention. But, as close as we came today, we really wanted this victory. We are disappointed that we came up short, but they're also hungry to get better.

"I thought we had a good plan for the week, and I thought everyone was able to stick to it and we saw great results. We're trying to get better each week and this was a good starting point."

McKenney, who entered the day in 13th place, carded the lowest round of the day individually with four birdies and produced her best round since an identical score during the second round of the 2010 Alamo Invitational. Only a bogey on her first hole of the day kept her from tying her career mark for the lowest round. Her second place effort today bested her third place finish at this same event a year ago.

Dryburgh wrapped up the finest 54-hole performance of her young collegiate career. She began the round in seventh place and recorded one bogey and one birdie on the front nine to remain even at the turn. On the back nine, the rookie chalked up birdies at 13 and 15 and played even the rest of the way for a strong finish. After recording a 1-over score during Sunday's opening round, Dryburgh was 3-under during her final two rounds.

Porras got into trouble early in the round with a bogey on her opening hole, and was guilty of a double bogey at four and another bogey on five and was 4-over through nine holes. On the back nine, she recovered from two more bogeys with a pair of birdies to finish even.

Senior Samantha Troyanovich matched her first round score with a 3-over 75 on Tuesday and earned a 25th place finish with a 6-over 222, while senior Stephanie Wagstaff carded a 4-over 76 to complete the event with a 13-over 229 for 58th place.

Auburn outlasted Baylor and Tulane to claim the tournament title with a 1-under 863, while Baylor logged a 1-over 865 for second place. Tulane was third and was seven strokes better than fourth place and Conference USA member UCF and the Wave finished 13 strokes ahead of fifth place Augusta State.

The Green Wave also finished ahead of No. 15 Texas, No. 27 South Carolina and No. 37 Kentucky.

Tulane returns to action when it hosts the second annual Allstate Sugar Bowl Intercollegiate Championship, Feb. 26-28, at English Turn Golf & Country Club in New Orleans. The 15-team field will include 12 teams ranked among the top 50 squads in the country and will also feature the nation's top-ranked player in Duke's Lindy Duncan.

RESULTS

3   Tulane                  287-289-290-866 (+2)T2  Ashley McKenney           72-73-69-214 (-2)T2  Gemma Dryburgh         73-71-70-214 (-2)T9  Maribel Lopez Porras  69-73-76-218 (+2)T25 Samantha Troyanovich 75-72-75-222 (+6)T58 Stephanie Wagstaff 73-80-76-229 (+13)

Team Results:
1. Auburn (-1), 2. Baylor (+1), 3. Tulane, (+2), 4. UCF (+9), 5. Augusta State (+15), 6. South Florida (+19), 7. South Carolina (+25), 8. Kentucky (+26), 9. Texas (+27), 10. Kennesaw State (+36), 11. Miami (Fla.) (+42), 12. UTSA (+46), 13. Memphis (+48), T14. Mississippi State (+51), T14. Coastal Carolina (+51), 16. Kansas (+53), 17. Georgia State (+60), 18. Minnesota (+65)

Individual Results (Top-10 Only):
1. Victoria Trapani, Auburn (-3), T2. Ashley McKenney, Tulane (-2), T2. Gemma Dryburgh, Tulane (-2), T4. Chelsey Cothran, Baylor (-1), T4. Hayley Davis, Baylor (-1), T4. Diana Fernandez, Auburn (-1), T7. Leticia Ras-Anderica, Miami (+1), T7. Haley Wilson, Auburn (+1), T9. Maribel Lopez Porras, Tulane (+2), T9. Anna Hancock, South Florida (+2), T9. Katie Mitchell, UCF (+2), T9. Nicole Vandermade, Texas (+2), T9. Natalie Wille, Augusta State (+2)