JONESBORO, Ark. (5/18/16) – Arkansas State women's junior golfer Kirsten Garner finished in second-place as the Red Wolves placed two teams in the top-3 in the final standings of the Lady Red Wolves Classic as Sage Meadows Country Club.
Garner shot a six-over-par 222 to finish in a tie with Katie of William Woods, but Garner took home runner-up medalist honors after she earned the advantage via a scorecard playoff as the conclusion of the two-day event. Lily Downs of UTEP took home medalist honors after a three-round total of 218 (+2).
The Lady Miners also took home the team total with a two-day score of 891.
As a team, the Red Wolves placed two squads in the top-3 after each group turned in an impressive final round. Led by Garner, the “Black” team turned one of only sub-300 rounds of the tournament with a final round score of 296 to vault them from fourth to second place in the standings with a final score of 911. True freshman Marisa Marquez and senior Maci Brooks each carded final round scores of 74 (+3), while junior Olivia Loiacano shot a 75 (+4) to finish out the round for the team.
Marquez, who competed in her first tournament of the season, also finished in sixth place as an individual with a three-round score of 225 (+9).
“We obviously came into our home event wanting to defend our championship from a year ago, but I am proud that we had both our competing squads finish in the top three,” A-State head coach M.J. Desbiens Shaw said. “I think that it speaks volumes about the depth we have on this team. We had some outstanding individual performances with four top-10 finishes, including an excellent tournament Kirsten.”
A-State's “Red Team” finished in second place in the tournament with a two-day total of 917 behind the efforts of sophomore Aracelly Jimenez Rios who finished seventh in the individual standings the a 10-over-par 226. Fellow sophomore Beth Ann Compton also finished in the top-10 with a tournament score of 12-over-par 228 to finish in a tie for ninth place.
Garner and Brooks were two of four players to turn in sub-par rounds in the tournament. Brooks carded a 1-under-par 71 in Monday's opening round, while Garner fielded the same score in Monday's second round.
A-State returns to actions Oct. 30-Nov. 1 at the Little Rock Classic in Hot Springs Village in Arkansas.
