The University of Mississippi Athletics
Lady Rebels Travel To Athens For Liz Murphey Collegiate
3/23/2005 | Women's Golf
March 23, 2005
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OXFORD, Miss. - The Ole Miss women's golf team will travel to Athens, Ga., this weekend for the annual Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic, their last tournament before hosting this year's SEC Championships at Tunica National.
The Lady Rebels, who posted their best tournament scores of the spring at last weekend's LSU/Cleveland Golf Classic, will look to continue that improvement with a solid showing at the Liz Murphey, one of the nation's most competitive annual invitationals.
"We're looking forward to this tournament. Georgia has an unbelievable golf course and this field is always one of the most competitive. We want to show the SEC what we're made of," said Ole Miss head coach Meghan Bolger.
The field of 18 features eight of Golfweek's top 25 teams and 10 of the 12 members of the Southeastern Conference. The field is as follows: Alabama, No. 17 Arkansas, No. 2 Auburn, East Carolina, Florida State, Furman, No. 7 Georgia, Kent State, Kentucky, No. 16 LSU, Michigan State, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, No. 10 Ohio State, South Carolina, No. 9 Tennessee, No. 13 Tulane and No. 11 Wake Forest.
The Lady Rebels' lineup includes senior Nikki Hadd, juniors Sarah Kate Cousart and Laura Evans, sophomore Katie Davidson and freshman Katherine Jones. The five women have participated in all eight events and 22 rounds for Ole Miss this season.
Hadd and Davidson are neck-and-neck with the Lady Rebels' low stroke averages of 76.23 and 76.27, respectively. They have carried Ole Miss to five top-10 finishes and one top-five finish thus far in 2004-05.
The Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic is no new tournament for the Lady Rebels. This will be their 10th visit in the last 11 years to Athens, missing only the 1998 edition. They placed 13th last season, with a 305-316-299--920.
The Classic has been held annually since 1973. Georgia and Duke have won seven of the last eight team titles, with the Lady Bulldogs capturing victory last year.
"Year after year, this is a battle of the best teams in our conference and definitely helps prepare us for the SEC Championships," Bolger added.
The three-day affair will kick off Friday morning and conclude with a Sunday morning final round at the University of Georgia's par 72, 6,014-yard golf course.
