Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Big South Championship
Bucknell Women's Golf Places Best-Ever Third at Big South Championship, Lauren Bernard Finishes T-2nd
4/13/2011 8:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
April 13, 2011
NINETY-SIX, S.C. -- Freshman Lauren Bernard (Malvern, Pa./Academy of Notre Dame) fired an even-par 72 to finish one stroke off the lead, and the Bucknell women's golf team finished with a round of 308 to move up to third place as the Big South Championship, presented by Musco Sports Lighting, came to an end on Wednesday at The Patriot Golf Club. The third-place team finish and the T-2nd place individual finish by Bernard were both new high-water marks for the program.
Bucknell entered the final round tied for fifth place before posting the second-best team score of the day with the 308. Coastal Carolina, ranked No. 40 nationally, finished with a 299 and won the team title by 18 shots over Gardner-Webb. Coastal Carolina totaled 912 for the 54-hole event, followed by Gardner-Webb at 930, Bucknell (949), High Point (953), Radford (959), Winthrop (959), Charleston Southern (960), Presbyterian (1021) and Holy Cross (1063).
Bernard made three birdies and three bogeys en route to her career-best 72. Previously she posted rounds of 75 and 79, and her 226 total was just one behind Jessica Alexander of Coastal Carolina. Alexander also finished with a 72 to hold off Bernard and Hannah Hellyer of Gardner-Webb by a single shot. The 72s by Bernard and Alexander were the low round of the day by three shots.
Bucknell's previous best team finish was fourth in 2008, and the previous low individual finish was T-4th by Minjoo Lee (Clarkston, Mich./Clarkston) last season. Bernard's 226 was the second-best score by a Bucknell player at the Big South Championship, trailing only Lee's 224 from last season.
Also for the Bison on Wednesday, Katie Jurenovich (Warren, Ohio/Howland) and Kasha Scott (Cherry Hills Village, Colo./Cherry Creek) both shot 77, Lee carded an 82, and Bridget Wilcox (Bernardsville, N.J./Taft School) posted an 83.
Bernard, whose brother Dan is one of the top players on the Bucknell men's golf team, became the second Bison this year and fifth all-time to earn All-Big South honors. On Monday it was announced that Jurenovich was voted by the coaches as an all-conference member based on accomplishments from the full season. Previous All-Big South honorees were Lee in 2010 and Amy Loughney in 2005 and 2007.
This was Bucknell's sixth top-four finish of the 2010-11 season, which will go down as the best in program history. This season the Bison scored two team victories and two individual wins, and the individual and team scoring records were shattered.
