Berlin and Strickland Among Top 10 at Bama Beach Bash

GULF SHORES, Ala. – With both Emma Berlin and Kelly Strickland standing among the top 10, the Georgia State women's golf team is in fifth-place following the first round of the Bama Beach Bash at Gulf Shores Golf Club on Sunday.

Berlin made a pair of birdies during her opening round 2-over par 74 and continued her stellar play that has led to back-to-back top 10 finishes in the first two events of the spring. Strickland made four birdies during the first 18 holes to stand in a tie for eighth place with Berlin.

Georgia State shot an opening round 17-over par 305 on a day where only four individuals in the field broke par.

"Today was a solid showing from the team," head coach Jessica Steward said. "Although we can look back at our round and find a handful of shots that we gave away, I witnessed a lot to applaud. We made so many great par saves and fought hard. Kelly recorded five birdies and helped pace the team alongside Emma. A 74 places them both inside the top-10 and is a great score for today. We're going to tighten up our course management and give our all tomorrow."

Sun Belt Conference foe Texas State leads the 17-team field at 5-over par, while Bobcat Federica Tavelli-Westerlund leads all individuals at 4-under par.

Top 5 Teams
1. Texas State: +5
2. South Alabama: +7
3. ULM: +11
4. Dartmouth: +12
5. Georgia State: +17

Top 5 Individuals
1. Federica Tavelli-Westerlund (Texas State): -4
2. Samatha Yao (Dartmouth): -3
t3. Madigan Murray (UT Arlington): -1
t3. Annaliese Fox (IUPUI): -1
t5. Alessia Mengoni (ULM): +1
t5. Siti Shaari (South Alabama): +1
t5. Belinda May (South Alabama): +1

Georgia State Results
t8. Emma Berlin: +2 (74)
t8. Kelly Strickland: +2 (74)
t20. Mahina Leveau: +4 (76)
t61. Ari Acuff: +9 (81)
t61. Maria Blasco: +9 (81)

The Schedule: The tournament will play 36 holes on Monday to try to beat inclement weather coming into the Gulf Shores area. The teams will utilize a shotgun start at 9:30 a.m. ET.

How to Follow: Live scoring will be provided on GolfStat.com

Lineup: (1 to 5): Emma Berlin, Mahina Leveau, Kelly Strickland, Ari Acuff, and Maria Blasco

Field: Hosts UAB and South Alabama, Central Arkansas, Dartmouth, Elon, Georgia State, IUPUI, Jacksonville, Little Rock, ULM, Murray State, North Alabama, Southern Illinois, UT Arlington, Texas State, Troy, and Western Carolina.

Next Up: Georgia State Invitational; March 28-29; Rivermont Golf Club, Johns Creek, Ga.

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Players Mentioned

Emma Berlin: 5' 7"; Sophomore

Maria Blasco: 5' 7"; Sophomore

Kelly Strickland: 5' 4"; Redshirt Freshman

Mahina Leveau: 5' 6"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Emma Berlin
: 5' 7"; Sophomore

Maria Blasco
: 5' 7"; Sophomore

Kelly Strickland
: 5' 4"; Redshirt Freshman

Mahina Leveau
: 5' 6"; Sophomore