This is the second time the No. 38 Knights have finished runner-up at the C-USA Championship, matching their effort from the 2009 season. No. 33 Tulsa won the team title with a 20-over performance on the week.

Freshman Katie Mitchell was named to the all-tournament team after finishing in a tie for third overall, the highest placing for a 麻豆原创 golfer at the C-USA Championship. Teaming with fellow rookie Monifa Sealy (6th), they became the highest duo to finish at the league tournament.

“They fought until the bitter end and I am so happy for them,” head coach Courtney Trimble said of her squad. “Tulsa flat beat us. We tried our hardest and I am happy with second place. This is a young team and they learned a lot. We wanted to win, but if we couldn’t, we certainly wanted second.”

“The future is bright,” Trimble added. “It was a total team effort this week. They are a young team, but they aren’t playing like it.”

Mitchell started the day in a tie for fourth, but moved up one spot after finishing the final round 2-over (74) including birdies on the second and sixth holes. Sealy stood firm in sixth place with her second-straight 74 to close out the championship.

Junior Carolin Pinegger matched her 12th-place finish from a year ago at the C-USA Championship after a final round 77 (+5). She ended the three-day tournament with six birdies.

Sophomore Kaitlyn Price also matched her 2011 placing at 18th after a final round 77 (+5). She finished the tournament by moving up two spots on the final day of play. Rookie Heather Proctor wrapped up her first championship appearance with a 73 (+1) in the final round by carding three birdies on the 6,246-yard course.

The No. 38 Knights will now wait and see where they will end up in their first NCAA Regional appearance since 2009.

“We are excited about heading to the regional. We will find out where we are going on Sunday,” Trimble said. “The goal is to get through the regional and get to the national championship.”

Individual Scores

T3 Katie Mitchell 75-72-74=221 (+5)

6 Monifa Sealy 75-74-74=223 (+7)

T12 Carolin Pinegger 78-71-77=226 (+10)

T18 Kaitlyn Price 78-76-77=231 (+15)

27 Heather Proctor 80-80-73=233 (+17)

Team Scores

1 Tulsa 299-291-294=884 (+20)

2 麻豆原创 306-293-298=897 (+33)

3 Tulane 301-296-304=901 (+37)

T4 Memphis 310-316-303-=929 (+65)

T4 SMU 313-311-305=929 (+65)

麻豆原创 has now clinched two team titles in the 2011-12 season, and three overall under head coach Courtney Trimble.

“It was really a team effort, and I told them this morning to grind it out and that every shot counts,” Trimble said after the inaugural event that featured 15 teams. “They fought hard until the last put dropped and it usually comes down to the last shot in collegiate golf.”

The Knights are in search of their first NCAA Regional appearance since 2008-09 and Trimble is happy about the team’s bounce back from Gainesville and momentum heading into the Conference USA Tournament on April 23-25.

“This helps our postseason chances significantly and gives us a taste of victory. It also gives us something to work hard for going into the conference championship. I am excited,” Trimble added.

Katie Mitchell and Carolin Pinegger emerged as 麻豆原创’s top finishers by tying for third place with a 2-over 218. Mitchell opened play with a birdie on the first hole and finished out strong by making par on the final 11 holes while Pinegger made par on 16-of-18 holes.

Heather Proctor and Kaitlyn Price shined with 麻豆原创’s lowest rounds of the day as the pair each penciled in three birdies on their scorecards en route to even-par 72s. Proctor finished tied for 11th with a 6-over 222, and Price came in right behind her tied for 15th with a 7-over 223.

Although her three-day total was not among 麻豆原创’s top four finishers, Monifa Sealy shot even on the front nine and birdied twice on the back nine for the Knights’ second-lowest score of the day with a 73. She shaved strokes off each of her rounds to finish with an overall score of 230 (14-over).

Valentina Fontaine emerged as the top individual finisher of the tournament with a final-round 76 (+4). She bested the next closest solo player by seven strokes.

Texas Tech’s Deborah DeVilla emerged as the overall top finisher with a 3-under 213.

The Knights will enjoy a break from competition before heading to Gulf Shores, Ala., for the Conference USA Tournament on April 23-25.

Team Scores

1. 麻豆原创 293-292-292=877 (+13)
2. Texas Tech 287-294-297=878 (+14)
3. Wisconsin 289-302-290=881 (+17)
4. Purdue305-295-288=888 (+24)
5. Chattanooga 298-298-299=895 (+31)
6. Michigan 298-299-298=895 (+31)

Individual Scores

T3 Carolin Pinegger 73-69-76=218 (+2)

T3 Katie Mitchell 70-73-75=218 (+2)

T11 Heather Proctor 77-73-72=222 (+6)

T15 Kaitlyn Price 73-78-72=223 (+7)

T41 Monifa Sealy 80-77-73=230 (+14)

*T21 Valentina Fontaine 74-75-76=225 (+9)

*68 Robyn Doig 85-78-76=239 (+23)

*73 Jordyn Hage 81-80-80=241 (+25)

This is the second tournament victory under head coach Courtney Trimble whose squad knocked off five ranked opponents in No. 19 Ohio State, No. 33 Illinois, No. 42 Augusta State, No. 43 Iowa State and No. 45 Michigan.

“I am extremely pleased with the team’s performance out there today on such a tricky and difficult course,” Trimble said. “They did an awesome job handling their emotions out there today. Something just clicked after that first 18 yesterday, and it was just awesome watching them do so well on a physically exhausting course.”

麻豆原创 is no stranger to the top of the leaderboard as it led going into the final round of last week’s Bettie Lou Evans Invitational in Kentucky. After coming up just short on the Big Blue Course, the Knights bounced back in grand fashion.

“After losing the tournament in Kentucky last week, I think they were pretty hungry,” Trimble added. “Today, we knew if we went out and played like we did in the second round yesterday that we would have a chance to win the tournament. They just played incredibly well.”

Mitchell’s sensational rookie campaign continued on the Donald Ross Golf Course at French Lick as she claimed second place after shooting an even-par 71 to close out the tournament at +4 (217). After claiming runner-up in the ultra-competitive field, Mitchell has now finished in the top 20 in each of the team’s first three competitions.

“Katie handled being in third place going into today like she had been there before. They all did an incredible job, and it was really fun to watch,” Trimble said.

Fellow freshman Sealy continued her assault on the challenging 6,037-yard course as she shot a one-over 72 to claim a tie for sixth place. This is the first top-10 finish for Sealy in just her third collegiate tournament.

Sophomore Kaitlyn Price (Jacksonville Beach, Fla.) turned in her best round of golf when it mattered most with an even-par 71 to move her into a tie for 11th with teammate Carolin Pinegger (Marquartstein, Germany). Both Knights concluded the tournament at +12 225. Freshman Heather Proctor (Ocala, Fla.) rounded the team in a tie for 54 th.

麻豆原创 will look to carry the momentum from Tuesday’s victory into the final tournament of the fall when it competes in the Alamo Invitational in San Antonio, Texas, Oct. 30 through Nov. 1.

Team Scores

1. 麻豆原创 308-290-289=887 (+35)
2. Ohio State 293-290-309=892 (+40)
3. Michigan 298-293-302=893 (+41)
4. Iowa State 299-296-301=896(+44)
5. Augusta State 297-303-302=902(+50)

Individual Scores

Pinegger claimed the day’s individual title with her 143 (-1), completing the event two strokes ahead of Fontaine’s 145 (+1).

“I am very excited to see how well we played today,” 麻豆原创 head coach Courtney Trimble said. “We had been working very hard all winter after a disappointing fall focusing on starting the spring off right with this match today. We came out and played some great golf and, if we keep the hard work at practice up, things hopefully will look good for the 麻豆原创 Challenge.”

The fifth annual 麻豆原创 Challenge, also to be played at RedTail, was recently rated as one of the nation’s 15 best spring tournaments by Golf Digest. The event’s 54 holes will be contested from Feb. 13-15 at the par-72, 6,301-yard Lake County course.

Today the Knights and Golden Flashes stood tied at 301 at the end of the morning’s 18 holes with the Knights led by Pinegger’s 74 (+2) and a 75 (+3) by freshman Isabelle Bachtiar (Karlstad, Sweden), numbers topped amongst the team-scored competitors by only Kent State’s Martina Gravier who shot a 73 (+1).

麻豆原创 proved to be seven strokes better than Kent State after lunch to claim the overall victory. Fontaine’s 69 tied her career low while Pinegger’s 69 was her lowest total of the 2010-11 season, lifting her to her first career event title.

Freshman Kaitlyn Price (Jacksonville Beach, Fla.) was third amongst the Knights, carding a 77 and a 74 for a 151 (+9). Bachtair was 麻豆原创’s fourth finisher with a 153 (+11) while senior Katie Detlefsen took home a 155 (+13). In addition, sophomores Jordyn Hage (Winter Park, Fla.) and Sunny Harris (Pensacola, Fla.) competed as individuals, shooting 152 and 166, respectively.

The Knights will carry the momentum of this win into their next competition in two weeks when a strong field of 16 schools join the Knights at RedTail for the 麻豆原创 Challenge, Feb. 13-15.

麻豆原创 INDIVIDUAL SCORES

1. Valentina Fontaine 74-69=143 (-1)

2. Carolin Pinegger 76-69=145 (+1)

7. Kaitlyn Price 77-74=151 (+7)

T10. Isabelle Bachtiar 75-78=153 (+9)

12. Katie Detlefsen 76-79=155 (+13)

IND. Jordyn Hage 78-74=152 (+8)

IND. Sunny Harris 84-82=166 (+22)

Detlefsen was also named to the C-USA All-Academic Team last week for the second consecutive year. She joins Abby Bools of East Carolina and Marissa Steen of Memphis as the three student-athletes to make both the academic and regular squads. Detlefsen earned her bachelor’s degree in just two years with a 4.0 cumulative GPA and, as a junior, is all ready working towards a master’s degree in mass communications.

The native Minnesotan had a tremendous improvement in 2009-10 where her 77.28 stroke average was well ahead of her 79.17 from 2008-09 and 80.65 from 2007-08. Detlefsen had the first five par-or-better rounds of her career this year and two top 10 finishes after having just one during her first two years combined.

Freshmen Fontaine and Pinegger combined to place first for the Knights in eight of 麻豆原创’s 11 events this year and reflect a strong future for 麻豆原创 under head coach Courtney Trimble.

Fontaine led the team with a 76.79 stroke average, five par-or-better rounds and three top 10 finishes. She topped the Knights five times on the year, three times in the fall and twice in the spring.

Pinegger narrowly edged Detlefsen for second on the team with a 77.17 stroke average. She posted four par-or-better rounds, including a 67, and had a pair of top 20 finishes.

麻豆原创’s 54-hole tally of 894 was one stroke better than Georgia State’s 895 and two better than East Tennessee State’s 896. The three-day event was hosted by the University of Miami and contested at the par-72, 6,199-yard Don Shula’s Golf Resort in Miami Lakes.

麻豆原创’s score of 894 marks the second-best tournament score in 麻豆原创 history, behind just the 889 that the Knights shot in the fall of 2006 at the Lady Pirate invitational in Greenville, N.C.

“I am so proud of this team,” first-year 麻豆原创 head coach Courtney Trimble said. “We battled all day after a tough start – Valentina was plus-six through nine and Elisa (Aoki) was plus-four through 11 – but they kept battling back. They did exactly what they were supposed to do to give the team a chance to win. It took a total team effort but they did everything that we asked of them as coaches and I couldn’t be happier.

“I was disappointed after the first day when we were 15 strokes back but we knew that if we played the way that we are capable of playing that we would be able to move back up to the top and we did just that. I am very proud of them and excited to see them earn this win as a team.”

Pinegger shot a 69 today, the lowest round of her young career by three strokes, to pull her into a tie for seventh place overall in the 90-member field. Capped by a birdie on 18, it is her first career top 10 finish with a 223 (+7). Pinegger improved each round of the event, going from an 80 to a 74 to a 69. Her 69 was two strokes better than any other golfer in the field on Tuesday and tied for the lowest score of any golfer in any round of the Hurricane Invitational.

Fontaine matched Pinegger with a 223 (+7) over three days for her third top 10 finish in five collegiate events. Highlighted by an even-par 72 on Monday, Fontaine has shot par or better in five of her 12 collegiate rounds.

Junior Katie Detlefsen (Eagan, Minn.) recorded her second top 20 finish of the year as she tied for 20th place overall with a 228 (+12). Senior Victoria Tomko (Lontzen, Belgium) tied for 34th place with a 230 (+14). Sophomore Elisa Aoki (Bradenton, Fla.) shot an even-par 72 on Tuesday to help pace the Knights to victory. It is her second par or better round of the year and helped her move into a tie for 41st overall with a 232 (+16). Competing as an individual, freshman Sammy Vass (Tain, Scotland) tied for 67 place with a 241 (+25).