Hilltoppers Finish Fourth, Lady Toppers Place Eighth At Sun Belt Championships

Tuesday, April 23

Niceville, Fla.

All Day

Western Kentucky University

Sun Belt Conference Championships

Hilltoppers Finish Fourth, Lady Toppers Place Eighth At Sun Belt Championships

4/24/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf

April 24, 2002

NICEVILLE, Fla. - Brandon Waldrop (Fr., Louisville, Ky.) collected his second round of 73 in three days Wednesday, finishing in a tie for 10th place with a score of 221, to help lead the Western Kentucky University men's golf team to a fourth-place finish at the 2002 Sun Belt Conference Championships, held at Bluewater Bay Resort.

The Hilltoppers had a team score of 300 for the second straight round, finishing with a 899 total in the three-day event. South Alabama won the event after posting an 895.

Jennifer McGill (Jr., Bowling Green, Ky.) carded a 78 in the final round, the Lady Toppers' best individual performance of the tournament, to help WKU to an eighth-place finish with a 981 total. McGill was Western's top finisher, tying for 28th with a score of 242.

John Mullendore (Jr., Bowling Green, Ky.) tied for 13th at 223 after recording a 75 on the final day, while Jared Topmiller (Jr., Central City, Ky.) and Eric Mason (Sr., Booneville, Ky.) each tied for 26th with a total of 230 - Topmiller fired a 74 in the last round to move up nine spots in the individual standings. Sam Smith (Fr., Bedfordshire, England) had a final-round 78 to tie for 37th place, totalling a 233.

Jennifer Taylor (Fr., Indian Springs, Ohio) had an 82 in the final round, collecting a 246 in the three days to tie for 33rd. Sarah Lilly (So., Owensboro, Ky.) was 37th after posting an 85, with Crystal Anglea (Jr., Greenwood, Ind.) finishing in 39th, three shots back. Morgan Hannah (So., Franklin, Tenn.) was 41st in the event.

New Mexico State defended its title with a score of 908, 25 shots ahead of runner-up Denver. The Aggies' Rachel Bailey was the medalist after shooting even-par 216 for the three days.

Jon Babich of NMSU won the men's individual title, posting a 213 to finish three under par.

- WKU -

Sun Belt Conference Golf Championships, Bluewater Bay Resort, Niceville, Fla.
Men's Team Scores (final, 54 holes) - 1) South Alabama 298-292-295-885 (+21), 2) New Mexico State 295-294-297-891, 3) Denver 296-306-290-892, 4) Western Kentucky 299-300-300-899, 5) North Texas 301-298-301-900, 6) Arkansas-Little Rock 305-299-297-901, 7) Louisiana-Lafayette 309-296-301-906, 8) Arkansas State 303-301-307-911, 9) Middle Tennessee 313-298-305-916, 10) New Orleans 318-310-317-945.
Men's Individual Leaders -  1) Jon Babich, NMSU 71-69-73-213 (-3), 2) Shawn Wills, Denver 73-73-71-213, 3) Luke Bakke, UALR 73-73-72-218,  4) four golfers tied at 219.
WKU Individuals - 10) Brandon Waldrop 73-75-73-221, 13) John Mullendore 72-76-75-223, 26) Jared Topmiller 80-76-74-230, Eric Mason 76-73-81-230, 37) Sam Smith 78-77-78-233.
Women's Team Scores (final, 54 holes) - 1) New Mexico State 300-296-312-908 (+44), 2) Denver 309-312-312-933, 3) Arkansas-Little Rock 306-316-316-938, 4) New Orleans 312-317-313-942, 5) Florida International 308-303-335-946, 6) Arkansas State 324-315-314-953, 7) Middle Tennessee 320-326-311-957, 8) Western Kentucky 326-319-336-981, 9) North Texas 320-331-333-984, 10) South Alabama 335-334-330-999.
Women's Individual Leaders - 1) Rachel Bailey, NMSU 75-66-75-216 (E), 2) Alena Sharp, NMSU 74-74-71-219, 3) Amanda Pettit, UNO 73-80-75-228, Sara Silva, Denver 75-73-80-228,  5) two golfers tied at 230.
WKU Individuals - 28) Jennifer McGill 79-85-78-242, 33) Jennifer Taylor 84-80-82-246, 37) Sarah Lilly 84-79-85-248, 39) Crystal Anglea 79-79-93-251,  41) Morgan Hannah 84-81-91-256.