ETSU's Laura Jansone set a conference scoring record with her opening-round 67 to lead by nine at the 2008 Atlantic Sun Women's Golf Championship. Courtesy ASunPhotos.com
Date Posted: 4/14/2008
JONESBOROUGH, Tenn. – ETSU's Laura Jansone turned in the best round in Atlantic Sun Women's Golf Championship history on Monday when she fired a 67 at The Ridges Golf and Country Club. Jansone leads a group of four Lady Buccaneers in the top-five, as ETSU sits in first-place after day one of the 2008 Atlantic Sun Women’s Golf Championship.
Jansone's first-round 67 established an ETSU record and the low 18-hole round in the A-Sun this season. Georgia State's Erica Wein owned the previous best round at the A-Sun Championship with a 68 in the second round of the 2004 championship.
"I felt luck was on my side," Jansone said. "[The course] is the hardest that it has ever played because the greens are pretty fast and the cold weather, the rain and the wind."
Belmont's Lorie Warren provided some excitement when she recorded the day's only eagle, holing her tee shot on the par-3 seventh hole. Warren used a seven-iron to score her first hole-in-one.
"It landed right on the front of the green and we saw it coasting towards the hole and it just fell," Warren said. "I wanted to cry."
As a team, ETSU shot a 10-over par 298 on the 6,175 par-72 layout, to lead by 17 stokes over two-time defending champion Campbell. ETSU's Natalia Giraldo sits in a tie for second-place on the leader board after shooting a 4-over par 76 in the first round. Maria Ringdahl recorded a 5-over 77, putting her in sole-possession of fourth-place and Sinead O’Sullivan shot a 6-over 78 to tie with three other golfers in fifth.
Campbell had four golfers in the top-20 following day one, led by Mary Mattson who turned in a 4-over 76, good enough for a second-place tie. Maite Ortiz de Pinedo shot a 6-over 78 to tie her for fifth.
Warren's hole-in-one helped position Belmont in third-place to lead a cluster of three teams separated by four strokes. The Bruins shot a 320 to lead Stetson by two and Jacksonville by four. Alex Banham’s 8-over par 80 effort leads Stetson and Jessica Green’s 80 paced Jacksonville.
Mercer (335), Gardner-Webb (345) and Lipscomb (353) round-out the first-day field.
The 2008 Atlantic Sun Women’s Golf Championship continues tomorrow with an 8:00 a.m. start.
The Atlantic Sun Conference is a 12-member league committed to Building Winners for Life, with a focus on academic and athletic integrity and a balance between the two for the student-athlete, and maintaining a high level of sportsmanship. Headquartered in Macon, Ga., the A-Sun encompasses six of the top eight media markets in the Southeast. The A-Sun consists of some of the most dynamic private and public institutions in the region: Belmont University, Campbell University, East Tennessee State University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Gardner-Webb University, Jacksonville University, Kennesaw State University, Lipscomb University, Mercer University, University of North Florida, University of South Carolina Upstate and Stetson University.
