Cathrine Madsen fired a final round 70 (-2) to finish in the top ten, leading Georgia State women's golf to an 11th of 18 finish at the Golfweek Conference Challenge at the 6,135 yard par-72 Primm Valley Desert Course in Las Vegas, Nev. Tuesday.
The Panthers posted scores of 318-307-291-916 (+52) during their three days in the desert. Georgia State sat in 15th position at the end of day one, but improved by four spots over the next two rounds.
"On the first two days the wind blew really hard, but today we had a perfect day," said Georgia State head coach Cathy Mant. "There were some tough hole locations, but the girls played well. We just shot ourselves in the foot that first day. It was a lot of fun, really great to watch. Yesterday the girls were hitting 4-woods into number nine and today it was down 5 and 6-irons, that shows how hard it was blowing the first two days."
Madsen's ninth place finish marks the first of top-10 of the year for the Panthers and the eighth of her career. Her last top-10 came with a fourth-place finish at the Qdoba Invitational in Miami, Fla. to open the spring 2009 season.
Madsen struggled out of the gate in Las Vegas, carding a 77 (+5), but bounced back with scores of 73 (+1) and 70 (-2) to play the final 36 holes in 1-under par. The senior from Herning, Denmark posted the low score in all three rounds for the Panthers. Madsen's final tally is 77-73-70-220 (+4).
All five Georgia State golfers posted their best scores of the tournament on Tuesday. Senior Sandra Maier carded her tournament-best 76 (+4) to finish with a share of 42nd place. Over the course of 54 holes Maier fired rounds of 78-77-76-231 (+15).
Freshman Ellie Robinson broke her career-low by a full five shots, capping her tournament with a 72 (E). Robinson was forced to withdraw on day one with an injury, leaving her, officially, in 90th position. However, the freshman showed promise by firing 78 and 72 in the final 36 holes. Georgia State head coach Cathy Mant said Robinson was 1-over par after nine holes in Sunday's opening round.
Sophomore Charlotte Lorentzen showed marked improvement in the final round, posting a 73 (+1). Lorentzen's 83-78-73-234 (+18) gave her a share of 51st place. The Golfweek Conference Challenge marks the first time in Lorentzen's collegiate career that she has finished outside the top-25 in a 54-hole stroke play event.
Junior Iliska Verwey posted a 77 in the final round to finish her tournament with scores of 81-78-77-236 (+20) and a share of 58th place.
Oklahoma State's Caroline Hedwall won the individual competition with a 68-72-67-219 (-9). Pepperdine won the tournament with a 298-295-288-881 (+17).
Georgia State's final round 291 (+3) ties the third best team round at the Golfweek Conference Challenge. The Panthers pick up wins over Ball State, Coastal Carolina, Drake, Jacksonville State, Fresno State, Southern Methodist, and Portland State, while coming up just one shot short of tying Oral Roberts and East Tennessee State for ninth.
The Panthers now receive a well-deserved two-week layoff after opening the season with back-to-back tournaments. Georgia State will return to the links on October 4 for the Eat a Peach Collegiate hosted by Mercer.
"We have the potential to do good things, we haven't lived up to it quite yet," said Mant. "But we have it. We're not missing the shots by much, but, right now, we're just not making them. We'll have to go back and work on that. There are areas where we can improve greatly. These guys all know how to play."
