Here Comes The Judge: Sophomore Leads Spartans To 5th-Place Finish
3/31/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
March 31, 2009
Judge, a sophomore from Hurley, Miss., finished one-over on both the front nine and the back nine to shoot 74. Her performance led Upstate in the final round of the 54-hole tournament as she moved into a sixth-place finish individually. The sixth-place finish is the best finish of her career.
"Jennifer's round was amazing," said Upstate assistant coach Sandy Halkett. "She played her heart out today. She was not happy when she shot par. She had so many birdie opportunities that just didn't go in. She left four or five birdie putts hanging on the lip. When she made par, it was almost like a letdown. It was really neat to see that out of her."
Behind the play of Judge, Upstate turned in a solid round of 316 to finish with a 955 total. The 316 was the lowest round of the day in the tournament. The Spartans claimed fifth place by five strokes over host Kennesaw State at 960 and finished just four strokes out of third. Gardner-Webb won the tournament with a 939 total, two shots ahead of Samford in second at 941. Belmont Abbey finished third with a 951 total and was followed by Tennessee Tech (953), Upstate (955), Kennesaw State (960), Xavier (987), Mercer (989) and South Dakota State (1001). Upstate defeated the other two A-Sun schools in the tournament in preparation for the A-Sun Championships April 13-15 at Victoria Hills Golf Club in DeLand, Fla.
"We just didn't let big numbers get on our scorecard today," said Halkett. "Everybody posted a good score. It wasn't our best, but we didn't turn a bogey into a triple bogey trying to make-up shots. We took our scores and moved on to the next hole without making silly mistakes. That was nice to see."
While Judge turned in a tremendous round Tuesday and finished in sixth place, she was not alone in top Spartan performances. Julie Miller carded an 81 Tuesday to finish with a 235 total and in fifth-place on the individual leaderboard. It marked the third-best finish of her career.
"Julie played smart golf today," said Halkett. "She was competitive knowing this was the second-to-last tournament she was going to play as a college golfer. She wanted to see her name at the top of the leaderboard and finish her career on a high note."
Richelle Wedzik finished with an 82 Tuesday and a 54-hole total of 242 to finish tied for 21st, while Jessica Wofford finished with an 80 and a 243 total in a tie for 24th to give the Spartans four players in the top-25. Richia Wedzik carded an 81 Tuesday and finished tied for 34th with a 253 total. Johanna Ebenhag, playing her first tournament of the year after dealing with a nagging back injury throughout the season, finished 45th with a 265 total playing as an individual.
Belmont Abbey's Carley Warrington won medalist honors with a 220 total. Samford's Sara Hunt was second at 226.
