April 9, 2002

WAYNESVILLE, N.C. - Kelly Villarreal shot a first-round 79 to tie for 23rd position and Samford's women's golf team fired a 328 to place 10th in the 11-team field in the Lady Catamount Intercollegiate, played at the Waynesville Country Club.

The Bulldogs are playing the tournament without its full complement of players, as junior Becky Hammel has been sidelined for this event and the Atlantic Sun Championship following throat surgery last week.

Coastal Carolina's Morgan O'Banion is the first-round leader with a 70, and Coastal also leads the team competition with a team score of 294. Host Western Carolina posted a team score of 300 for second place, followed by Elon (306), Belmont (308) and Radford (312) in the Top 5.

Tara Clayton (81) followed Villarreal, along with Tricia Harlow (82) and Sara Gossum (86).

Other team scores include East Tennessee State (316), Evansville (320), Dayton (324), Wofford (326), Samford (328) and Gardner-Webb (329).