LEDBETTER, Ky. — Freshman Mary Joiner won the individual title in her first college event Tuesday, leading the WKU women's golf team to a resounding 16-stroke victory at Murray State's Drake Creek Invitational.
Joiner, a Franklin, Ky., native, fired a 1-under 71 in Tuesday's final round to finish her debut with a 217 (71-75-71) total at the par-72, 6,178-yard Drake Creek Golf Club.
That was one stroke better than Southern Illinois' Brooke Cusamano and WKU junior teammate Georgina Blackman (71-75-72-218), who tied for second.
Joiner's win was WKU's first individual medalist effort since Ellinor Haag notched her second career title at the Lady Eagle Invitational on March 10, 2015.
"Winning my first-ever college tournament is beyond exciting and gives me great confidence for the future," Joiner said. "We have a great team that I think will go far, and I can't wait to see what the rest of the season has in store for us."
The Lady Toppers extended their first-day lead as a team to win by 16 strokes with an 886 (294-300-292) effort, finishing ahead of Murray State B (902), Akron (908) and Murray State A (208) in the 12-team field.
WKU's 292 total in Tuesday's finale was the program's best single team round since shooting a collective 290 in the opening event of the 2015-16 campaign. The program had three team rounds of 294 or better all of last season and registered two in this year's first three rounds.
"I'm proud of the team for closing out the tournament strong today for the victory," head coach Adam Gary said. "Mary showed great poise in her first tournament, and the girls turned in solid performances across the board that we can build on as we move forward."
This is WKU's fourth team championship in Gary's third season at the helm. Gary's four titles are the second-most for a Lady Topper coach, and he's the second coach in program history to win a tournament in each of his/her first three seasons with the reins.
Blackman, who was tied with Joiner for the individual lead through the first two rounds, carded an even-par 72 on Tuesday to complete her highest college finish and tie her best 54-hole score at 218.
WKU junior Emily Alexander finished 11th with a 226 (75-75-76), while junior Katie Story tied for 17th with a 230 (79-78-73). Senior Daniela Galassi tied for 19th with a 231 (77-75-79) tally, which matches her best 54-hole performance.
Freshman Abigail Smee tied for 22nd with a 232 (77-78-77) playing as an individual.
The Lady Toppers will look to continue the momentum from their opening victory in East Carolina's Lady Pirate Intercollegiate on Sept. 26-27 in Greenville, N.C.
WKU Final Results
1. Mary Joiner (71-75-71-217)
T2. Georgina Blackman (71-75-72-218)
11. Emily Alexander (75-75-76-226)
T17. Katie Story (79-78-73-230)
T19. Daniela Galassi (77-75-79-231)
T22. Abigail Smee (77-78-77-232)
