The University of Mississippi Athletics
1996-97 Review
6/21/1999 | Women's Golf
Sept. 1, 1997
OXFORD, Miss. - Academic All-America-Megan Breen, a sophomore Finance major from Longwood, Fla., was named to the GTE/CoSIDA Academic All-America District 6 At-Large Second Team and the Golf Coaches Associaton Academic All-American Team.
Beginning the season hot-the Lady Rebels finished in the top five in three of their first four tournaments-the Lady Seminole Invitational (Sept. 13-15), Lady Rebel Intercollegiate (Oct. 5-6) and Beacon Woods Invitational (Oct. 11-13).
Conference honors-Megan Breen and Robyn Rinaldo were named All-SEC Honorable Mention.
Deciding to redshirt-Margo Akin, a senior from Hope, Ark., redshirted the 1996-97 season.
Every hole played-Megan Breen and Anna Kirchner were the only Lady Rebels to play every round in all tournaments in 1996-97.
Florida-the home of three Lady Rebel golfers: Megan Breen (Longwood), Lauren Mellen (Orlando) and Robyn Rinaldo (Dade City).
Graduate Assistant-Jennifer Sayman, who played for the Lady Rebels from 1993-96, served as a graduate assistant coach while working on her master's degree in Business.
Hole-in-one-Robyn Rinaldo became the first Lady Rebel golfer to hit a hole-in-one when she accomplished the feat during the Lady Seminole Invitational in Tallahassee, Fla. (Sept. 13-15).
Individual records-Megan Breen set a new Lady Rebel record for stroke average in a season with her 77.30 fall average. She also tied the record for lowest three-round score with 221 at the Beacon Woods Invitational (72-73-76), and she tied for second in lowest single-round score with her 72 at Beacon Woods. Robyn Rinaldo also put her name in the record book, taking fourth place in stroke average in a season with a 77.53 fall average.
Joanne Caldwell-the 1995 All-SEC performer from England ended her career by finishing 17th at the SEC Championships (April 18-20) and shooting a season-low 74 in the final round.
Kaneohe Klipper Golf Course-the site of the Rainbow Wahine Invitational in Honolulu, Hawaii, March 25-27 (see bottom photo). Ole Miss tied with the host school for eighth place with a 973.
Low round of the year-304 at the SEC Championships (April 18-20).
Marianne Morris-the junior played in four tournaments, shooting a best 83-89--172 (tie for 42) in the Lady Rebel Intercollegiate and made the UMAA Honor Roll.
Nearly a win-Ole Miss did not bring home a tournament title in 1996-97, but the Lady Rebels came close to the top several times. They finished second at the Lady Rebel Intercollegiate, third at the Beacon Woods Invitational and Tulane Green Wave Classic, fourth at the FAU/Miami Preview Classic and fifth at the Lady Seminole Invitational.
Ole Miss team records-the Lady Rebels tied for second in the record book for the lowest tournament total with their 930 at the Beacon Woods Invitational. They also tied for fifth place in the lowest total for a single round by shooting a 304 in the third round of the SEC Championships.
Placing second-Robyn Rinaldo (Lady Rebel Intercollegiate, Oct. 5-6) and Megan Breen (Beacon Woods Invitational, Oct. 11-13) finished tied for second in their respective tournaments.
Quite a finish-although Ole Miss shot a 328 and 320 the first two days of the SEC Tournament, the team tied a school record by shooting a 304 in the final round.
Robyn Rinaldo-the freshman from Dade City, Fla., recorded four Top 10 finishes and six Top 20 finishes.
Smart golfers-the SEC Golf Academic Honor Roll included Megan Breen, Joanne Caldwell and Lauren Mellen of Ole Miss.
Top 10 finishes-in the 11 tournaments played by the Lady Rebels, they finished in the top 10 nine times.
University Golf Course-host of the second Lady Rebel Intercollegiate (Oct. 5-6). Ole Miss finished second behind defending SEC Champion Auburn as Lady Rebels Robyn Rinaldo tied for second, Lauren Mellen placed fifth and Megan Breen tied for seventh.
Valuable role models-several of the Lady Rebels have family members with collegiate and professional golf experience. The list includes Lauren Mellen (her father and brother played golf at Rollins College), Marianne Morris (her grandfather is a former golf pro, and her father played golf for the University of Oklahoma), Anna Kirchner (her father played golf at the University of Illinois) and Robyn Rinaldo (her father and uncle are PGA professionals, and her brother played golf at Florida Atlantic University).
Wind and rain-shortened the Tulane Green Wave Classic to two rounds. Ole Miss finished third in the tournament despite the conditions, shooting a total of 641.
Exclusive group-Megan Breen became only the third Academic All-American for the Lady Rebels. The other members of the group are Sarah Britt (1992-93) and Chris Dacri (1992).
Youthful team-the Lady Rebels had only one senior on the team, Joanne Caldwell, and were led in stroke average by freshman Robyn Rinaldo and sophomore Megan Breen.
Zone-the way the Lady Rebels played, they were in the zone in 1997.
