March 30, 2007

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The University of Memphis women's golf team will travel to Stockbridge, Ga. April 2-3 to compete in the 14th annual John Kirk/Lady Panther Intercollegiate tournament hosted by Georgia State University. The tournament will be played at Eagle's Landing Country Club.

Memphis has a very successful history in this tournament. In the Fall of 1994 and 1995, the Lady Tigers were tournament champions. In the Spring of 2006, the Lady Tigers finished second, just one stroke behind Augusta State, the winner of the tournament. Stacey Tate was the champion of the tournament last year and is looking to defend her crown.

"Stacey is the defending champion of this tournament," said head coach Jenny Bruun. "She is really looking forward to playing this golf course again."

Traveling to Georgia for the Lady Tigers and the line-up for the tournament will be Rachel Larson, Stacey Tate, Meghan Mahoney, Dawn-Marie Conaty and Kathryn O'Rourke. Memphis is looking to take home the crown this year, after falling short last year.

"I am looking for my team to go out there and compete like they are capable of this week," said Bruun. "We will be competing against a very strong field and if we come in with the attitude the team has been practicing with the past two weeks, we will be successful. Our last round at LSU was very important for this team and we will continue to build off that performance."

For the Lady Panther Intercollegiate, this 17-team field will be the largest in tournament history. Memphis will be competing against tough competition. The Lady Tigers enter the tournament ranked 67th. There are three teams ranked in the top-50 and 10 ranked in the top-100.

Louisville enters the tournament ranked 35th, with Campbell ranked 37th and Birmingham Southern ranked 39th. Ranked in the top-100 are Augusta State (55), Maryland (63), East Tennessee State (68), Coastal Carolina (75), East Carolina (76), Mississippi (84), Georgia State (93), Elon (97) and Western Carolina (99).

Other teams competing in the tournament are Jacksonville State (112), Arkansas State (124), Richmond (125) and Mercer (131).

There are several tournament champions competing at this event. Campbell holds the record for the most wins in the tournament with four. Their last victory was in 2004. Other tournament champions are Jacksonville State and Western Carolina. Jacksonville State won in 2003 and Western Carolina won in 2002.

The tournament will consist of 36 holes, with 18 holes on Monday and 18 holes on Tuesday.