Oct. 11, 2009

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The Samford University women's golf team earned its second-consecutive top-five finish Sunday as the Bulldogs placed fifth in the 2009 Xavier Invitational Golf Tournament held at the prestigious LPGA International Golf Course.

Samford's fifth-place finish was the team's second best performance of the 2009-10 campaign. In their last outing, the Bulldogs earned a third-place finish at the Sea Trail Intercollegiate hosted by Elon University, Sept. 25-27.

"I'm really pleased with how we played this weekend," said Samford head coach Woodie Eubanks. "We got off to a little bit of a shaky start, but since the completion of the first round we played some very solid golf. I was glad to see Katelyn (Stanier) earn another top-10 finish, but as a team I still think that we are capable of playing a lot better."

Katelyn Stanier, Samford's senior from Newnan, Ga., finished the three-day competition in a tie for ninth place. She concluded the event with a 54-hole score of 224 and earned her third-consecutive top-10 finish.

As a team, the Bulldogs tallied a three-round total of 913 at the 2009 Xavier Invitational. Samford's best round of the weekend was registered Saturday. In the second round of play at the LPGA International Golf Course, the Bulldogs fired a team-best 297.

Daytona State, a junior college, finished first in the tournament with a total team score of 881, while Campbell University won the NCAA competition with a 54-hole mark of 888. Daytona State's Amy West earned the individual championship, while Xavier's Rachel Levi placed second. West finished the tournament with a score of 3-under 213. Levi tallied a mark of 219.

Samford concluded the weekend with three players ranked among the top-20.

Stanier led the Bulldogs with her ninth-place finish, while Heather Arnold and Sara Hunt finished tied for 17th place. Arnold and Hunt both carded third-round scores of 77 on Sunday to record identical 54-hole marks of 226. Hunt's best round of the weekend was a 73 on Saturday. Arnold also posted her best score in the second round with a 74.

Rounding out the scoring for Samford at the 2009 Xavier Invitational was sophomore Sarah Butts (82-77-78=237) and freshman Kayla Turner (85-81-83=249).

"I really like the improvements that we've been able to make this year," Eubanks said. "We've gotten better in every tournament and now we just have to continue to work hard and get better. We really have a lot of talent on this team and I believe that we can accomplish big things this season if we maintain our focus."

The Samford University women's golf team will next be in action Nov. 2-3, as the Bulldogs conclude their 2009 fall schedule at the UAB Beach Bash being held in Gulf Shores, Ala.