By: by Mark Toma
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Kennesaw State Scores
NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. – The Kennesaw State women’s golf team finished in second place at the 2010 Atlantic Sun Conference Women’s Golf Championship as the final round was completed on Wednesday afternoon at the Venetian Bay Golf Club.
Kennesaw State battled Stetson, Campbell, ETSU and Florida Gulf Coast from the outset on Wednesday as only six strokes separated the top five teams. However, a 13-over par 301 was too much for the Owls to overcome as the defending champion Hatters shot an A-Sun record 286 to overtake the field and win their second straight championship.
The Owls run for the championship saw numerous ebbs and flows during the final round as Kennesaw State teetered back-and-forth from first to second place throughout the early portion of the final round as four teams held the top spot throughout the day.
“We are obviously very disappointed to not be walking away with the championship trophy,” said head coach Rhyll Brinsmead. “We were leading or tied for the lead for most of the day so it was definitely within our grasp. But with that said, I'm also very proud of the effort the team put in this week. We fought to the end and came up short. In golf there is nothing you can do about your competitors play so for Stetson to come out and shoot 286 all we can do is our best and today that was good for second place."
Entering the final day of competition just one stroke behind East Tennessee State, the Owls led both Campbell and ETSU through 12 holes and looked to seize momentum after Patricia Arana hit a hole-in-one on the par 3 12th hole.
"When Patty made her hole in one I definitely felt the momentum swing our way,” said Brinsmead. “It was just the perfect shot into the hole. At that point we took a four shot lead, unfortunately we faltered over the final stretch of holes and didn't finish as well as had in the first two rounds. With Stetson in the clubhouse at 20 over par our bogeys coming home cost us dearly."
After five birdies on the front nine, the Owls got just two birdies on the back nine while making 25 bogeys while Stetson raced off to a strong start with seven birdies on the front nine and six on the back nine as they made just 13 bogeys or worse on the day.
Ket Preamchuen and Jordan Lazenby both finished in the top 10 with Preamchuen placing fourth while Lazenby finished in a tie for sixth place with Francesca Young of Jacksonville.
Preamchuen (73-70-76=219 +3) finished six strokes behind individual medalist Laura Jansone of East Tennessee State who finished the tournament at 3-under par 213 while Lazenby (72-71-78=221 +5) finished eight strokes off the pace.
"I'm so proud of Jordan and Kets play this week, as I am the whole team,” added Brinsmead. “They both placed in the top 10 and played really solid for all 54 holes. We will miss Jordan's steady play next year, but its very encouraging to have a freshman in Ket, finishing fourth overall."
Arana had the best round of the day on Wednesday, shooting an even-par 72, helped in part to her first collegiate hole-in-one. The Barcelona, Spain native improved her scores in each of the three rounds to finish with a 13-over par 229 for a 24th place finish.
Abby Fitzgerald, who finished in a tie for 17th place, shot a 3-over par 75 to finish at 11-over par 227 while Molly Winnett shot a 7-over par 79 in the final round to end at 12-over par 228 in a tie for 21st place.
