Feb. 23, 2009

CALERA, Ala. - The Samford women's golf team couldn't have asked for a better beginning to the 2009 spring season Monday as the Bulldogs cruised to an impressive 40-stroke victory at the Birmingham-Southern College Ann Rhoads Invitational held at Timberline Golf Course.

Samford, which earned its second first-place finish of the 2008-09 campaign Monday, fired a tournament-best round of 292 on the second day of competition. The Bulldogs concluded the two-day event with a final team tally of 603.

Jackson State University placed second in the competition with a final score of 643, while Indiana State University rounded out the top three at 652.

"We played extremely well today and I'm proud of how we competed," said Samford head coach Woodie Eubanks. "We had a great round yesterday and then our players came out today and didn't let up. Heather (Arnold) did an outstanding job and this was one of the biggest margins of victory that I've been a part of in collegiate coaching."

In a total of six tournaments this season, Samford has earned at least a top-five finish in five of the events.

Samford's Heather Arnold won the individual title Monday and carded a dominant two-round score of 147. After opening the competition with an eighth-place score of 79 on Sunday, she turned in a tournament-best round of 68 on Monday.

The individual championship title was Arnold's first of the 2008-09 season. In September, the Bulldogs' highly-touted junior from Lenior City, Tenn., turned in a 13th-place finish at the 2008 Fred Marx Invitational at the Bayou Desiard Country Club in Monroe, La. Samford won the 11-team tournament by 21 strokes.

The Bulldogs finished one-two-three in individual play at the BSC Ann Rhoads Invitational on Monday.

After Arnold's tournament-best score of 147, Samford's Katelyn Stanier placed second in the two-day event with a 148 (77-71). The Bulldogs' Sara Hunt earned a third-place finish by carding a final score of 152 (76-76), while Maria Troche also tallied a top-10 finish. Samford's senior from Asuncion, Paraguay, tied for sixth place with a 156 (79-77).

All six of Samford's women's golfers finished in the top 35 on Monday.

True freshman Sarah Butts placed 16th in the two-day competition with a final score of 164 (86-78), while senior Kellie O'Connell earned a 31st-place finish at 172 (87-85).

The Samford University women's golf team will next be in action March 1-3 as the Bulldogs are set to compete in the 2009 USA Lady Jaguar Invitational to be held at Azalea City Golf Course in Mobile, Ala.