Greenville, S.C. - Led by senior Charlotte Lorentzen's third career victory, the Georgia State women's golf team shot a final round 318 Sunday to finish in third place with 944 (+80) at the Lady Paladin Invitational.
After holding onto second place during the first two rounds, the Panthers dropped into the No. 3 spot in the 15-team field. GSU's third place finish represented wins over No. 44 Augusta State as well as the top-ranked Division II school Nova Southeastern.
Lorentzen took over the top spot during Saturday's second round after firing 2-over 74. The Soroe, Denmark native remained at the top of the leaderboard throughout the final round of competition to capture her second win of the season. Her first victory of the year came near the beginning of October at the UNCG Starmount Fall Classic.
"I've got to say congratulations to Charlotte (Lorentzen)," said head coach Cathy Mant. "She played mentally tough all three days. The course played difficult today so her round was really a fantastic round of golf."
Living up to her 49th-place ranking from Golf Week, Lorentzen landed three birdies on the front nine to just two bogeys and made the turn at 35. She maintained even par throughout the final nine holes to finish the day at 1-under and capture the individual title. Lorentzen completed the three-day tournament at 6-over with a five-stroke margin of victory over the next best individual.
Senior Charlotte Guilleux entered the day in a tie for second place but struggled throughout the final round. Despite collecting a birdie on the 15th hole, the St. Maur de Fosses, native shot 81 (+9) on the day and finished in a tie for 12th place at 18-over.
Sophomore Laura Sanchez had one birdie and two bogeys in her opening holes to finish the front at just 1-over 37. She ran into some trouble on the back nine, however, to card a final round 83 (+11) and finish the tournament in 40th place at 29-over.
Sophomore Solveig Helgesen shot 83 in the final round and finished with a share of 48th place at 33-over. Freshman Lauren Court shot 84 (+12) during day three to conclude competition in a tie for 52nd place.
"As a team, we played well for nine holes, but then didn't handle it how we should mentally on the back," said Mant. "There were some difficult and speedy greens on the course today. A third place finish is ok but just not what we wanted. We'll take some things away from this to apply in the spring. It just shows as an example that you can't try too hard on each hole and that every shot counts."
South Florida took over the top spot with a round's best 302 in the final round. South Florida edged East Tennessee State, the leader through the first two rounds, by just one stroke to finish with a total score of 933 (+69). Georgia State finished 10 shots behind East Tennessee State followed by Nova Southeastern in fourth place with 946 and No. 44 Augusta State and Samford tied for fifth, both with 950.
In individual competition, South Florida's Christina Miller fired a final-round 70, the lowest score of the day, to jump 11 spots on the leaderboard and finish five strokes behind Lorentzen in second place. At 229, Nova Southeastern's Lilliana Camisa and James Madison's Nicole Sakamoto share the bronze.
The Lady Paladin Invitational ended the Panthers' fall season. The team will take a break from competition for the next three months before returning to the links for the UCF Challenge in Sorrento, Fla. beginning Feb. 12.
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