Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
Lady Herd Fall Invitational
Marshall Wins Lady Herd Fall Invitational Team and Individual Titles
9/14/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
Sept. 13, 2005
Final Results
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Sept. 13, 2005
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - The Marshall women's golf team placed four players in the top five, including a first place finish by junior Allyson Hatcher (Wheeling, W.Va./Wheeling Park), to win the Lady Herd Fall Invitational on Tuesday at Guyan Golf and Country Club. The team and individual titles are the Herd's first since the program was reestablished in 2002.
Marshall (917) finished 27 strokes ahead of second place Eastern Kentucky (944), with defending champion Ohio placing third (947).
Hatcher shot a 3-over 75 in the final round for a 54-hole total of 224, which was two strokes ahead of second place Stephanie Hicks from Longwood and Marshall's Amber Churchill (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman) with a 226.
The victory was Hatcher's first career collegiate tournament win.
"Ally is a consistent player," Marshall head coach Meredith Knight said. "She's been taking more risks in her game - although she's still a conservative player - and it's contributing to her lower rounds."
Hatcher scored the tournament's lowest round - an even par-72 in Monday's second round - en route to pacing a dominating Marshall attack. After Hicks and Churchill, the Herd rounded out the top five with Tammy Mahar (Ashland, Ky./Central Arkansas) and Stacy Wagner (Harmony, Pa./Seneca Valley). Mahar was the 36-hole leader by one stroke over Hatcher, but she shot her worst round of the tournament with a 10-over 82 to finish six strokes back (230). Wagner shaved strokes in each subsequent round, shooting a 75 in the final round to finish at 232.
"We had the ability to win this tournament last year, and the girls were ready to breakthrough at any time," Knight said. "Everyone played well in the summer and there was some really good intrasquad competition to get them ready for this opening weekend of the fall.
"Amber (Churchill) emerged last year as a consistent player along with Ally (Hatcher). It's a week-to-week battle between those two. But, having four girls in the top five, other girls have decided to battle with them as well."
Hatcher collected herself after a double-bogey on the par-3, 15th hole to finish the tournament with three straight pars. Hicks, meanwhile, birdied No. 15 but couldn't cut any more strokes down the stretch to make a run at Hatcher.
In last year's inaugural Lady Herd Fall Invitational, Marshall placed only one player (Mahar) in the top-10 and finished fourth in the team race.
The Herd will be in action at next week's Napa River Grill Cardinal Cup in Louisville, Ky., on Sept. 19-20.
Players Mentioned
