Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Big South Championship
Lee Earns All-Conference, Scholar-Athlete of Year Honors as Bison Finish Sixth at Big South Women's Golf Championship
4/14/2010 8:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
April 14, 2010
NINETY-SIX, S.C. - The Bucknell women's golf team could not match its record-setting performances of the first two days of the Big South Championship, but despite finishing with a team total of 331 the Bison turned in one of their most outstanding tournament showings since joining the Big South in 2002-03. Bucknell finished in sixth place, but for the first time in program history they placed two individuals in the top 10 as Minjoo Lee (Clarkston, Mich./Clarkston) finished fourth and Katie Jurenovich (Warren, Ohio/Howland) tied for ninth. Lee not only earned All-Big South honors for the first time, but she was also voted the league's Scholar-Athlete of the Year for women's golf.
Lee entered the final round at even par (70-74) and was the owner of a precarious one-stroke lead in the individual standings. The Bison sophomore finished with a round of 80, and her 54-hole total of 224 put her in sole possession of fourth place. After staking her claim as the first Bison ever to lead the Big South Championship following any round (she was both the first and second-round leader), Lee become the second Bucknell player to earn All-Big South honors, joining Amy Loughney, who did it in both 2005 and 2007.
The fourth-place finish is the best ever for a Bucknell player since the team joined the Big South for women's golf in 2002-03. Loughney tied for fifth in 2005.
Jurenovich posted the team's low round of the day (79) after opening with 77-73. As a freshman in 2008, Jurenovich finished tied for eighth and missed earning All-Big South honors by one shot. This time she was T-9th and was just two strokes outside the all-league cutoff.
Also for Bucknell on Wednesday, Brittany Rendell (Winnetka, Ill./New Trier) posted an 82, Kelsey Meybin (Midlothian, Va./Saint Gertrude) carded a 90, and Leah Antkiewicz (Aliquippa, Pa./Quigley Catholic) shot 93.
The Bison were coming off a school-record 303 in the second round, following a first-day 310. The 944 total is its best ever in a Big South Championship, bettering the 956 compiled in 2006.
Backed by 2-under-par 70s from Olivia Jordan-Higgins and Katrin Rumpf, Charleston Southern cruised to the team championship final round 291. Charleston Southern became the first team to post three sub-300 rounds en route to a tournament-record total of 881, well ahead of runner-up Coastal Carolina (904). Winthrop finished third at 925, followed by Radford (929), Gardner-Webb (938), Bucknell (944), Presbyterian (950), High Point (967) and Holy Cross (1024).
Jordan-Higgins, the Big South runner-up in each of the last two seasons, won the individual title with a 1-under par 215 (70-75-70). She outdistanced defending champion Aruka Felgueroso of Coastal Carolina by three shots and teammate Rumpf by five. Lee was fourth, nine strokes off the lead, while Winthrop's Rachel Smith took fifth at 226.
Lee became the first Bucknell student-athlete to earn the Big South Women's Golf Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award, which was announced Wednesday following a vote of the league's sports information directors. In addition to her fine play on the golf course, Lee is a mechanical engineering major with a 3.78 cumulative grade-point average. She earned a perfect 4.0 GPA in the 2009 fall semester, is a member of the Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society and has volunteered reading to youngsters at nearby Kelly Elementary School.
Lee's final 2009-10 scoring average of 77.8 is a program record for full season. She turned in three top-10 and five top-20 finishes this year and had averages of 76.9 in the fall and 78.7 in the spring.
