Friday, April 9, 2004

Contact: Stan Cole

Campbell University and Keith Hills Ready To Host Atlantic Sun Golf Championships

BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Some of the nation's top collegiate golfers will converge on the Cape Fear Region in 10 days for the Atlantic Sun Conference men's and women's golf championships, Mon.-Wed., Apr. 19-21 at Keith Hills Country Club.

The team champion of both the men's and women's tournaments will receive an automatic berth in next month's NCAA Regional championships.

Tee times start at 8:00 a.m. each day and admission is free. For those unable to attend the championships, live scoring of each round will be available online at www.golfstat.com.

Campbell's men and women sit atop the latest Golfstat ratings for the Atlantic Sun. The men ranked 55th nationally in the latest Golfstat listing, best among A-Sun schools, but were followed closely by the University of Central Florida (67th) and Georgia State (68th). All five of Campbell's starters on the men's side rate among the top 20 individuals in the league, according to Golfstat's latest score vs. par rating.

The Lady Camels concluded March ranked 58th nationally, followed by Florida Atlantic (107th) and Jacksonville (120th) in the Golfstat team listing. Campbell's top five women's golfers sit among the top 23 in the A-Sun in Golfstat's individual ratings.

Coach John Crooks' men and women have played their best golf of the 2003-04 season in the last month.

The Lady Camels, who have won two of the last three A-Sun titles, finished as team runner-up at both the UNC Wilmington Lady Seahawk Invitational (Mar. 22-23) and at the Southern Miss Lady Eagle Invitational earlier this week. Campbell seniors Brandi Underwood (UNCW) and Josefina Usandizaga (Southern Miss) posted season-best third-place finishes in those events.

CU sophomore Sofia Gorelik leads the team and ranks third in the A-Sun in stroke average (76.7). The Tandil, Argentina native has finished among the top-five individuals four times in Campbell's last six tournaments. She won the Georgia State John Kirk Lady Panther Invitational last fall and most recently tied for fifth at Southern Miss.

The Campbell men opened the spring season with a third-place showing at the Winthrop-Waterford Invitational, highlighted by senior Ulf Hedlund's first-place individual result. Campbell then won its next two tournaments – the Stetson Spring Invitational and the East Carolina Bradford Creek Collegiate.

Seniors James Huffam and Braxton Wynns tied for second place at the Stetson tourney, while Wynns finished the Bradford Creek event as co-medalist.

Campbell's strength lies in its depth. All four senior starters (including Rickard Allard) have shot a season-low round of 67 (including Wynns in the final round of the ECU tournament). Sophomore Kyle Spahr's low round is 68. All five starters own a stroke average between 73.0 and 74.7

Coach Crooks' men conclude their regular season on Monday and Tuesday in Scottsdale, Ariz., at Talking Stick Golf Club in the Wyoming Cowboy Classic.

Keith Hills' No. 1 Course, designed by Ellis Maples, was also the site of the 1999 Atlantic Sun Men's Golf Championship, which the Fighting Camels won. Keith Hills also hosts the Keith Hills Amateur as well as Campbell's annual collegiate events.

This year, the women will play the par-72 Keith Hills No. 1 layout at 6,103 yards. The men's yardage stretches to 6,836 yards on the par-72 Keith Hills No. 2 course.

The 2004 event marks the first time that Campbell has hosted the A-Sun Women's Golf Championship. The last time that CU served as host for its women's league championship was 1990, the program's first year at the varsity level, when the Big South Championship was held at Keith Hills.

Since John Crooks added duties as head women's golf coach in 1991-92, the Lady Camels have won seven conference titles (five since joining the A-Sun in '94-95) and made nine NCAA Division I post-season appearances in 12 years.

Campbell has hosted its league men's golf championship five times on the NCAA Division I level. Keith Hills was the site of the 1986, 1987, 1989 and 1991 Big South Men's Golf Championship, as well as the 1999 A-Sun tourney. The Camel men won the Big South crown in 1989, 1992, 1993 and 1994 before adding the A-Sun title in 1999.