April 14, 2003

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Samford women's golf team shot a first round 328 at the Atlantic Sun Championships Monday. The Bulldogs were led by Kelly Villarreal's 78, and are in ninth out of 12 teams. The tournament continues Tuesday and concludes Wednesday.

"Everyone on the team had a fast start," said coach Ian Thompson. "Through five holes everyone was even or 1-over par, but everyone also struggled on the back nine. We could move up a couple of spots over the next two days if we are consistent."

Villarreal is tied for 15th individually. Kelly Stout shot 80 and is tied for 28th. Tricia Harlow's 82 is good for a tie for 34th.

"We had some unusual massive numbers on a few holes," said Thompson. "That's what really hurt us. Kelly Stout took an 8 on a hole, Kelly Villarreal had an unfortunate double bogey on the final hole. If we can stay away from the big number we can make an improvement."

Georgia State placed four players in the top eight to take the early lead after Monday's first round of the 2003 Atlantic Sun Conference Championship at the par-72, 5,942-yard Indigo Lakes Golf Course.

Florida Atlantic's Anne Fraser scored a 1-under-par 71 to lead the field of 60 players. Fraser, the only player to score under-par, shot rounds of 36-25 to hold a two-who lead over second place Nicole Wagner's (Georgia State) total of 73. Jacksonville State Florencia Moran is third after scoring a 2-over-par 74, just three shots behind.

Round two of the 54-hole event begins at 8 a.m. on Tuesday with the final round to crown the 2003 A-Sun Champion scheduled for Wednesday. The winner will receive the A-Sun's automatic bid to the 2003 NCAA Women's Golf Regionals in May and the Top 10 Regional winners advance to the NCAA Championships.

9 Samford University 328

T 15 Kelly Villarreal 41- 37 78

T 28 Kelly Stout 40- 40 80

T 34 Tricia Harlow 44- 38 82

T 52 Christine Sparks 47- 41 88

T 54 Sara Gossum 40- 49 89

Team Score

1 Georgia State 298

2 Jacksonville St. 305

3 UCF 307

4 Florida Atlantic 309

5 Campbell 312

6 Stetson 316

7 Jacksonville 323

8 Mercer 327

9 Samford 328

10 Troy State 332

11 Belmont 338

12 Gardner-Webb 345